Nicole Stone/Asst. News Director
Nicholas Gonzalez, a Hispanic man, never knew he would be a minority in FIU.
Now a junior, Gonzalez started his academic career at the University as a biology student in the fall semester of 2015, before a class called Principles of Nutrition captured his attention and prompted his transfer into the dietetics and nutrition major.
Nutrition and Dietetics is a female dominated major, where, according to a study by Georgetown University based on the 2009 census, only 11 percent of the student population is male.
“Those statistics sound right. I just saw it as another science major. I had no idea,” Gonzalez said.
Regardless, Nicholas was captured by Principles of Nutrition as it revealed to him the applicable nature of nutrition.
“I learned a lot. It’s one of those classes where it’s not just a science that you’re learning – it’s something that applies to you directly,” he said. “It felt like more than just taking a class. I was actually learning for myself. That was the beginning of it all.”
While Gonzalez recognizes the disparity in male participation, he said it doesn’t bother him.
“It’s been addressed within our classes, but in terms of my peers, nobody really seems to think anything of it… We’re all a really tight community, because there aren’t a lot of students on campus who are studying nutrition,” he said. “We all really care about each other.”
Having the majority of his classmates be women has allowed for the inclusion of different perspectives, according to Gonzalez, and is something he finds valuable. One example he gave in particular was a class he took: Life Cycle Nutrition. The class covered nutritional considerations for women pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and after pregnancy.
“I found it very interesting. None of the men in the class said there was anything wrong with it. My girlfriend’s sister just recently got pregnant and I am interested. I want to put what I learned to the test,” Gonzalez said.
Some of Gonzalez’s closest male friends are studying engineering, business, physical therapy, and international relations.
Gonzalez is a part of the Student Dietetic Association, with which he said he got the opportunity to teach something he loves at Pinecrest Baptist hospital: cooking. According to Gonzalez, Baptist hospital has a program that educates patients in making meals that satisfy their nutritional needs. One session may cover cooking for people with diabetes, whereas another may be directed at cooking for people with high cholesterol, Gonzalez explained.
“A lot of these diseases not only come from what we eat, but how we prepare our food,” he said.
Gonzalez hopes to work to dissolve some of the common misconceptions surrounding food through science.
“I hope to make changes around the world and country on what foods are available to the public, how we can make them better and provide more accurate information because we [nutritionists and dieticians] are the way that people around the country learn what to eat and what is healthy,” he said.
He was inspired to pursue the betterment of people’s understanding of food after reading a book his girlfriend got for him called “In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan. Pollan, according to Gonzalez, explores the space for misinformation between government and major industry and the average consumer’s health.
Butter and fat are often associated with negative health effects and so many people seek to eliminate them completely, Gonzalez said.
“For a long time, people would stray away from fats because of the misinformation and a ‘low fat campaign’ so a lot of companies replace fats with oils,” He said. “That’s why you have so many low or no-fat products, including oil based butters.”
Gonzalez explained that this is problematic, given that the “right fats,” such as monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and omega 3 and 6 fats, are crucial for vitamin absorption, cholesterol maintenance and even brain function.
Cholesterol, he added, is equally misunderstood.
“My mom’s doctor told her not to eat shrimp or eggs because they have a lot of cholesterol, but that is dietary cholesterol. People build up cholesterol in their arteries because of excessive saturated fat intake – not because of dietary cholesterol.” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez is considering remaining at the University for graduate school.
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