At a time when the world is getting more conscious about healthy living and alternative medicines, the Department of Home Science of Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed College for Women organised a presentation on the pursuit of higher education in Nutrition and Dietetics, on Friday.
They invited Sudha Raj and Tanya M Horacek from Syracuse University, New York to talk about career options in the field.
Syracuse University offers graduate programmes not just in Nutrition and Dietetics but also other genres. Sudha Raj, instructor, Department of Public Health, Food Studies and Nutrition introduced students to traditional ways of treatment like ayurveda, unani and homeopathy. She hailed ayurveda as the mother of all alternative medicines and said that it can be complementary to Allopathy medicine. “ayurveda is a 5,000-year-old tradition which is why people still believe in it. A lot of people have grown up with it. This method works in some cases and does not work in some,” she said.
Raj spoke to the gathering about safety concerns and told the students that treatments like ayurveda need time to work. “It is like eating vegetable and fruits; you can’t eat it for a day and expect results. You need to eat for a considerable period,” she said.
Tanya Horacek talked about the graduate programme in Syracuse University and what the students need to do if they are interested in applying for the programme. “You can design your own course depending on your interests,” she said. “There have been Indian students earlier in the programme and they are all doing very well.”
Tanya encouraged the students to study the course and take up research. Students listened enthusiastically and clarified their doubts.