Health Headlines: Unpeeled

Fad diets, health trends, wellness tips and more — these hot topics are addressed in headlines everywhere, every day. But are they too good to be true? What’s fact and what’s fiction? Today’s health solution can lead to tomorrow’s confusion as contradictory and everchanging information swirls on social media and news outlets. Faculty and graduate students in the Department of Nutritional Sciences of Oklahoma State University’s College of Education and Human Sciences are working to combat this through Health Headlines: Unpeeled, a podcast tackling some of nutrition’s tastiest topics.

“I can’t slow down or control the overwhelming nature of today’s information world, so I came up with a different solution: Join them and be a voice of clarity and effective translation of science into user-friendly messages,” said Dr. Jill Joyce, assistant professor of nutritional sciences and the podcast’s co-host.

Her daily calls home to her mom, who is also a scientist and loves discussing the latest health headlines, prompted Joyce to launch the podcast. The two often discuss what’s logical and what’s probably exaggerated.

“We have this conversation at least every other day,” Joyce said. “Nutrition is always on TV, social media and news websites. It can be very overwhelming for people, and not everyone has the media-savvy mind that my mom has. The spark started there.”

Joining Joyce on the podcast is Dr. Stephen Clarke, head of the Department of Nutritional Sciences, who sees it as an opportunity to contribute to the university’s land-grant mission, especially as it relates to extension and outreach.

“We are actively engaged in educating our listeners so that they have a better understanding of the role that nutrition plays in promoting optimal health and reducing chronic disease risk,” Clarke said. “Our ‘why’ is to empower others to make informed nutrition and health decisions so that they can lead a satisfying and productive life. We believe strongly in the power of nutrition to change and improve lives.”

The podcast, which began over the summer, now includes nearly 10 episodes addressing recent health-related claims. Joined by special guests, including nutritional sciences graduate students, Joyce and Clarke discuss a range of topics, including whether or not obesity is more deadly than smoking, if protein bolsters recovery from COVID-19, if childhood diets have a lasting impact and if specific eating habits raise the risk of death.

“We take nutrition headlines that our family, friends, students and colleagues share with us and break them down, teach health information and critical thinking, and leave listeners with an evidence-based, actionable message to take home,” Joyce said.

Graduate student involvement, both in front of the mic and behind the scenes, has been key to the success of the project. Several podcast episodes have featured OSU dietetic research master’s students who are completing their internship to become registered dietitians. They’ve joined the discussion, helping to debunk exaggerated headline claims by comparing them with the actual research studies referenced and checking for accuracy.

“I think this podcast makes it easier to understand the information out there and where it comes from so that you, as the reader or listener, can come to your own conclusion,” said Kennedy Robinson, dietetic research master’s student.

“Now, I know where to find information, how it can be applied in the real world and that I’m fully capable of having these conversations.”

Participating in the podcast has also given Robinson and others important real-world experience that will benefit them in their future careers.

“My favorite part of this project is being able to digest scientific findings and present them in a way that’s understandable to a lay audience,” said Katherine Bode, a dietetic research master’s student. “It’s really important for me to learn to communicate in a way that my future patients and clients will understand.”

The mentoring opportunity the podcast provides reflects the program’s mission to develop poised professionals.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to see how the communication skills of our students have progressed in just a few episodes,” Clarke said. “They exhibit more confidence and are more relaxed in just being who they are and communicating the science behind the headlines.”

And all involved really want the podcast’s vital messages to resonate with listeners.

“I hope this podcast changes some worlds, through sound nutrition and health messages, and that our passion for it is contagious,” Joyce said.

Two buildings on Oklahoma State University’s Stillwater campus have been renamed to honor civil rights pioneer Nancy Randolph Davis, the first African American student to attend then-Oklahoma A&M College in 1949. The Human Sciences and Human Sciences West buildings were renamed Nancy Randolph Davis and Nancy Randolph Davis West during the October 2020 OSU/A&M Board of Regents meeting in Stillwater.

“This historically profound action by OSU and the A&M Board of Regents reflects and represents far more than the name of Mrs. Davis being physically attached and permanently assigned to one of the primary buildings for this academic college. It memorializes the willingness and desire of OSU to provide a sense of hope, as well as a level of expectation, on every member of the OSU community and family, that we can, must, and will continue engaging in meaningful efforts to transform ourselves and this university into a place that provides the fulfillment of educational goals and ideals in alignment with our land-grant mission,” said Dr. Jason F. Kirksey, vice president for institutional diversity and OSU’s chief diversity officer.

“This tangible action further elevates OSU’s stature as a national leader and a role model for our commitment to social justice, equity and inclusion. While there is certainly more work to do, it is important to recognize and have a sense of pride in the momentous and transformative actions that continue occurring at the university.”

Davis earned a bachelor’s degree from Langston University in 1948 and a master’s degree in what was then called home economics, from A&M in 1952 before teaching home economics in Oklahoma high schools for more than 40 years. She died in 2015.

OSU has honored Davis multiple times. In 1999, she received the OSU Distinguished Alumni Award, and OSU’s residential Davis Hall was named in her honor in 2001. Each February, the university celebrates “Nancy Randolph Davis Day.” In 2009, she received the OSU College of Human Sciences’ Enhancing Human Lives Award. She was inducted into OSU’s Greek Hall of Fame in 2012 and OSU’s Hall of Fame in 2018. Last year, a bronze sculpture in her likeness was unveiled in the courtyard of the then-Human Sciences building. She was also recognized by the state in 2018 with a threemile stretch of Interstate 35 west of Stillwater named the Nancy Randolph Davis Memorial Highway.