Nutrition

A Healthy Diet

Eating well is one of the great pleasures of life and has myriad benefits for the health of body and mind. A healthy diet is one that:

• meets national recommendations (e.g.,Canada Food Guide, US Food Pyrimid, etc)
• meets standardized nutrient requirements for age and gender (e.g., Dietary Reference Intakes)
• is personally acceptable (e.g. fits within individual’s cultural, religious, and health needs)

Healthy cooking and reading food labels are important skills, but the costs of healthy eating can be a significant barrier to a good diet.

 

The Mediterranean diet appears more helpful than a low-fat diet in preventing cardiovascular disease (Estruch et al, 2013).

 

 

Nutrients

Macronutrients are important sources of calories (except water) and provide building blocks for many biological processes. Micronutrients are essential substances that facilitate various metabolic activities, and whose deficiencies can produce serious conditions and diseases.

 

Macronutrients carbohydrates lipids proteins water   Electrolytes sodium potassium bicarbonate chloride

Vitamins water-soluble B1 - thiamine B2 - riboflavin B3 - niacin pantothenic acid B6 - pyridoxine vitamin C biotin B9 - folic acid B12 - cobalamin fat-soluble vitamin A vitamin D vitamin E vitamin K

Minerals calcium copper fluoride iodine iron magnesium phosphate sulfur zinc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nutrition and Poor Health

A poor diet will eventually lead to significant health conditions and dieases. Malnutrition is the clinical manifestation of insufficiency in energy or one or more required dietary components.

Specific conditions and diseases in which diet is important include:

obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome diabetes and hypoglycemia heart failure malabsorption, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, GERD, peptic ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, diarrhea, liver cirrhosis and gall stones osteoporosis

headaches and migraines anemia kidney disease HIV/AIDS

 

Total parenteral nurition (TPN) is used when oral feeds are not possible or advisable.

Nutritional Counseling

 

Nutritional counseling and recommendations are best given by dietitians, but there is much that other health care providers have to offer as well. Sound knowledge of the fundamentals of nutrition needs to be accompanied by effective means of taking a dietary history, measuring BMI/WC, and offering behavioural interventions.