Popular Health Trends: Keto Diet, Intermittent Fasting, Blue Zones, Animal-Based Diets

What you'll learn

Course overview

Patients arrive informed. They have read about ketogenic diets, intermittent fasting, Blue Zone longevity research, and carnivore approaches, often before their provider has. This two-hour continuing education course is designed to close the gap between what patients are doing and what clinicians know about the evidence behind it. Covering four of the most widely practiced dietary trends, the course builds a working clinical framework for evaluating nutrition claims, counseling patients on benefits and risks, identifying contraindications, managing medication interactions, and applying shared decision-making when a patient asks which diet is right for them. Many U.S. adults actively attempt dietary changes each year, with nearly half reporting that beginning a new diet is part of their New Year's resolutions (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine [PCRM], 2024). Despite this public interest, formal nutrition training remains limited across most health professions, leaving frontline providers under-equipped to evaluate patient-initiated dietary changes, identify clinical risks, or offer evidence-grounded guidance. Patients are making significant dietary decisions, sometimes while taking medications that interact directly with those diets, without informed clinical input. This course addresses that gap by equipping providers with the evidence literacy, clinical safety knowledge, and counseling tools needed to engage these conversations effectively.