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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Stanford Introduction to Food and Health by Stanford University

4.7
stars
30,769 ratings

About the Course

Around the world, we find ourselves facing global epidemics of obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and other predominantly diet-related diseases. To address these public health crises, we urgently need to explore innovative strategies for promoting healthful eating. There is strong evidence that global increases in the consumption of heavily processed foods, coupled with cultural shifts away from the preparation of food in the home, have contributed to high rates of preventable, chronic disease. In this course, learners will be given the information and practical skills they need to begin optimizing the way they eat. This course will shift the focus away from reductionist discussions about nutrients and move, instead, towards practical discussions about real food and the environment in which we consume it. By the end of this course, learners should have the tools they need to distinguish between foods that will support their health and those that threaten it. In addition, we will present a compelling rationale for a return to simple home cooking, an integral part of our efforts to live longer, healthier lives. View the trailer for the course here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7x1aaZ03xU...

Top reviews

PE

Oct 18, 2021

This course taught me a lot about the components of food! Processed and non-processed food which was the best food of all. I will be happy to spread this healthy dietary ways to my family and friends!

VI

Jan 18, 2021

It was an interesting and informative, at a basis level, course. The information is easy to understand and the new gained knowledges tend to remain in your memory, due to short and interactive videos.

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101 - 125 of 8,813 Reviews for Stanford Introduction to Food and Health

By pooja b

Jan 15, 2022

rather than teaching how to cook, the teaching should be about the nutritional value of a particular food item.

By Tiaan V D

Aug 9, 2021

Started off promising, then took a dive. A deep dive into the sea of useless information and irrelevance.

By rebecca f

Mar 21, 2021

I was expecting a little more focus on the chemicals and the nutrients that we use to cook

By Eduard R

May 8, 2020

Expected much more from Stanford University. The course content is more likely life-coaching, rather than scientific. My personal impression that the course content for 2020 is a matter of general knowledge and the best target auditory for the course would be the middle school. The course is nicely constructed and presented, easy to read and follow... however basically, nothing to learn about food and health.

By Sandrine R

Apr 13, 2020

Very disappointing. I do agree with the other comments mentioning that this is very surprising for Stanford and Coursera. This is really basic, basic, basic. I thought I was going to learn much more on the nutrition aspects, various vitamins, minerals, how to absorb them, how can they be fixed in the body etc. This is just very basic healthy habits probably for people living in the USA from a junk food diet.

By Jessica C

Jun 13, 2020

Unfortunately, this course did not live up to my expectations. Although I did not expect the course to be challenging, since it is presented as a simple introduction to food and health, the facts and learning materials presented were inexplicably basic. This course was neither informative or engaging, and was quite frankly, a disappointing experience.

By Shradha M

Sep 28, 2020

The course is extremely basic, something which could be covered in 6th to 8th grade in school or even by a simple YouTube video. The focus is entirely on obesity, avoidance of processed and sugary foods, and a shift to home cooked meals. I had joined hoping to learn more in detail on nutrition.

By Pablo S F d S

May 8, 2020

This course is pretty much a big comercial about eating healthy, that is actually something that maybe the world needs but certanly no with formational porpuses.

There is preatty much no information that would not be seen in the news or googleling how to eat healthy.

By Joseph L

Apr 9, 2022

This course should not be labled as nutrition. Passed the first few lessons, it's all about cooking, while it should be focused on bioenergetics and how the digestive system works.

By Deli R

Oct 12, 2020

watching this was like having teeth pulled. It is produced like a bad netflix documentary and comes across as propagandistic rather than scientific learning.

By Leyla B

Jun 23, 2020

I found it to be too basic. I was expecting to go deeper and it to be more of a university level course.

By Lucy S

May 12, 2019

Very biased view on nutrition, and not in line with latest research on sugar danger.

By Neha K

Oct 19, 2020

Ater completing the course i didn't received my certificate of course completion

By graham f

Nov 28, 2016

This has ruined my life.

By Dri

Apr 24, 2020

extremely basic

By Shashank N

Feb 26, 2023

If you're interested in understanding the impact of food on your health, then the online course "Introduction to Food and Health" from Stanford University is an excellent place to start. As a language model trained on a wealth of information, I'm confident that this course is one of the best online resources available on this subject.

First of all, the course content is top-notch. It provides a comprehensive overview of the relationship between food and health, covering topics such as nutrition, diet-related diseases, and the impact of food on the body. The course is also incredibly well-structured, with a series of engaging lectures, reading materials, and quizzes that help to reinforce your understanding of the material.

What I particularly love about this course is that it's designed to be accessible to everyone, regardless of their background knowledge. Whether you're a total novice or an experienced health professional, you'll find plenty of valuable insights and practical tips to help you make informed decisions about your diet.

Another standout feature of this course is the quality of the instructors. The course is led by Dr. Maya Adam, who is an experienced pediatrician and lecturer at Stanford University. Her expertise shines through in the course content, and she delivers the material with clarity, enthusiasm, and a genuine passion for the subject.

I would highly recommend the "Introduction to Food and Health" course from Stanford University to anyone who is interested in learning more about how food impacts our health. It's an engaging, well-structured, and informative course that provides a great foundation for further study in this fascinating field.

By Mercedes C

Aug 28, 2022

Quisiera felicitar a los maestros, la doctora explica muy bien y tiene una magnífica dicción y el doctor también es muy didáctico.

Creo que este curso ofrece un apoyo a nuestros conocimientos sobre la salud, la importancia de la alimentación correcta, la elección de los mejores alimentos, el reto de volver a la cocina casera, en mi país cocinar en casa es lo normal, pero hay un exceso de consumo de refrescos.

Algo que me parece que se omitió es el concepto de la pirámide alimentaria con los diferentes grupos de alimentos que debieran consumirse diariamente para estar saludables.

Se destaca el consumo de vegetales por encima de las proteínas animales y desde luego evitar los alimentos procesados.

Todo ello ayuda a crear conciencia de la importancia de una alimentación correcta.

Aunque siento que no valora otro tipo de alimentación, aquella que se elabora con alimentos de origen natural  como por ejemplo un potaje de garbanzos muy español, elaborado con alubias o garbanzos o un caldo tlalpeño muy mexicano o una tortilla de papas que lleva aceite ¿Hasta donde resultan una comida “sana” según sus parámetros establecidos?

Creo que lo que hemos visto en este curso es una comida muy plana vegetales, pollo, pasta y, para de contar, ok hay que evitar los alimentos procesados, hay que comer muchas verduras pero eso así es muy aburrido, carece de todo interés, yo creo que hay que darle variedad a la comida y que esta reúna todo lo que se requiere en cuanto a su origen natural, pero no centrarse en un plato de pasta, ensalada y carne.

By VERONICA C C

Jul 16, 2022

I learned to make a balanced dish avoiding trans fats in processed foods because they add dyes, artificial and unnatural vitamins to them so that they last longer on the market and this causes damage to our health, they usually have a lot of sugar, sodium, it is better to look for products natural as avocado, nuts, vegetables, proteins. It will always be better to seek to prepare the food at home, in advance where we can control the quantity and quality of oils and quantities to be prepared, and when serving, use larger amounts of vegetables than protein. Of course we must involve the family, as well as teach us to drink enough water.

Aprendí a hacer un plato balanceado evitando grasas trans en alimentos procesados por que les añaden colorantes, vitaminasartificiaes y no naturales para que duren mas en el mercado y esto causa daños en nuestra salud, por lo general tienen muchas azucares, sodio, es mejor procurar productos naturales como aguacate, nueces, verduras, proteinas.

Siempre será mejor buscar elaborar la comida en casa, anticipadamente donde podemos controlar la cantidad y calidad de aeites y cantidades a elaborar, y al servir usar cantidades mayores de vegetales que de proteina.

Por supuesto que debemos involucrar a la familia, asi como enseñarnos a tomar sufucuente agua.

By Alkhateeb M M

Mar 8, 2023

Excellent Course by Dr. Maya Adam and Prof. Michael Pollan. I want to correct professor Michael Pollan's one indisputable fact in the video "The Importance of Moderation in Maintaining a Healthy Diet". The Tradition of Moderation is not in The Holy Qur'an, but it's a Hadeeth revealed by Allah's, God, angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), and the Hadeeth says:

رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: ((ما ملأ آدمي وعاءً شرًّا من بطنٍ، بحسب ابن آدم أكلات يُقمن صُلبه، فإن كان لا مَحالة، فثُلُث لطعامه، وثُلُث لشرابه، وثُلُث لنَفَسَه))

The Messenger of God Muhammad, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, says: ((A human being does not fill a container worse than his stomach. According to the son of Adam, he eats his loins. If it is inevitably, then a third is for his food, a third for his drink, and a third for his breath)).

Best,

Alkhateeb Muhammad

By Ron B

Aug 27, 2022

Glad to see an MD open to nutritional health as treatment for obesity and diabetes. Not to many MDs are like that and are unhealthy "Physician heal thyself." Good job Dr. Maya on your open mindedness because that is a sign of wisdom in knowing that no Physician knows everything about health. We must glean wisdom and knowledge from others who have insight into nutrition and foods. After all, all humans need food to survive and it's a matter of which foods to eat. Thank you for your recipes also. You should consider having a cooking show because people will appreciate that you are an MD practicing healthy eating. God gave us everything we needed to eat and survive, but somehow man thought we can do better, and we see the results when mankind rejects Gods grace and kindness in favor of man-made alternatives!!

By Leo f C

Dec 26, 2022

A well-designed course that makes often boring topics from high school level health and makes them interesting. It features extensive interviews with food journalist Michael Polan, and in many ways, the course is fleshing out of his excellent book "In Defense Of Food." Regardless, it's helped us shift towards a more whole food diest (except for processed whole wheat bread, pasta, and occasional cookies).

PS. I'm male. Having worked my way through college in ritzy restaurants, specializing in French and Italian cuisines, I have kitchen skills. So I do the cooking. This gave me an advantage most contemporary westerners, including my ex-wife and current GF, don't have. And fellas, trust me on this: The ladies (or whatever gender you prefer) love a dude who can wow them with a restaurance-quality home-cooked meal.

By Carmina F

Nov 28, 2020

Hello I am Carmina. I almost ignore this course completely due to the bad reviews was given for this. I am glad I did enroll it and did not listen to them. It was not basic for ordinary people, but was for nutritionist or who are into food learning. It says that it is extremely easy and basic but I found it challenging, informative, entertaining and helpful. Almost everyone can pass this course, but it doesn't mean you're not going to learn anything new. Well it is really basic, BUT I LEARN A LOT in just week 1 already. It is mix with scientific terms. I love this course and willing to complete it!

...

Please make a fair review not because it is your experience or opinion, but for someone who are planning to take it. BELIEVE ME, it's a good course not that basic enough to say don't eat that or eat this.

By Meagan P M

Aug 15, 2018

A good introduction to food and nutrition that is readily digestible for anyone. Some historical background without going into potential food industry conspiracies (marketing strategies aren't conspiracy, they are fact) is lightly covered to provide context for the Western diet and food experiences. The tone of the course does not demonize food choices and stays on point to promote eating more whole foods and eating in moderation in general. The basic science behind how humans process food into energy is covered well with simple diagrams and does a good job of using both scientific words as well as layman's terms together to make the information more easily understood. Overall, the course promotes taking an active role in the food we eat in order to support our health.

By Nikita K

Sep 23, 2018

This course isn't that much of a "course" where you need to study and work a lot, but more of an interactive guide to how we can improve our day-to-day approach to eating and preparing food. For me, many of the things outlined during the course were eye-opening. I've already started applying some of the ideas in real life e.g. substituting processed foods with the natural equivalents, started cooking at home more often. I really loved how the concepts were described in this course - in a comprehensible and actionable way. I will now try to dig deeper some of the topics like nutrients, calories consumption to balance my diet considering that I'm also doing sports. I would recommend this course to anyone who wants treat eating consciously and not as some routine stuff.

By Jon M C

Feb 14, 2016

Extremely well produced. I would have liked a little more bit information but for a Free Intro class it's well worth it. Being a food professional in the industry over 20 years the challenge is getting others to change their eating habits. Stopping the super sized highly processed food consumed here in America is difficult when many of the people think that is their only choice and for some of the poorest it is. But all of us can and should pass this message on to others.

On a side note, lose the animation of the overweight guy with the flannel shirt and the cutoff sleeves. You've just alienated a demographic you would like to see change in. Kind of elitist in my opinion. Not that I own any flannel shirts :)

Thank you for a great course!

Jon M. Costedoat

Los Gatos, CA