NURSING TOOL BOX SERIES

  EMERGING ISSUES AND TRENDS. Emerging health issues are those that pose either a threat or relief from threat to overall health of the population.   This can be a disease or injury.  Nutrition Trends Some of these trends include: 1. Plant based eating patterns are on rise Most health groups promote diets based on plant foods, for example the dietary patterns endorsed by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) are primarily plant-based. 2.   Food choices are increasingly driven by factors beyond taste, cost and nutrition.   Personal values about food as it relates to a higher cause such as animal welfare, world hunger and the environment are increasingly driving food choices.   Many consumers believe that what they eat is a reflection of who they are. 3.   Sustainability movement broadens and focuses beyond production practices.   Efforts to improve the sustainability of food production practices which originally focused on reducing green house gas emissions, have ex

  MALNUTRITION  Malnutrition Malnutrition includes both under nutrition - acute malnutrition (i.e. wasting and/or nutritional oedema), chronic malnutrition (i.e. stunting), micronutrient malnutrition and inter-uterine growth restriction (i.e. poor nutrition in the womb) -and over nutrition ( overweight and obesity . Acute malnutrition or wasting (and / or oedema) occurs when an individual suffers from current, severe nutritional restrictions, a recent bout of illness, inappropriate childcare practices or, more often, a combination of these factors. It is characterized by extreme weight loss, resulting in low weight for height, and/or bilateral oedema, and, in its severe form, can lead to death. Acute malnutrition reduces resistance to disease and impairs a whole range of bodily functions. Acute malnutrition may affect infants, children and adults. It is more commonly a problem in children under-five and pregnant women, but nonetheless this varies and must be properly assessed

  MINERALS   Outcomes: At the end of this unit, the learner should be able to: ·        List the major minerals and describe their physiologic functions in the body. ·        List the dietary sources of each of the minerals. ·        Outline the factors affecting the absorption and utilization of the minerals. ·        Identify the factors that influence the bioavailability of the minerals from food. ·        Describe the relationship between minerals and other nutrients in the body. ·        Describe the health problems caused by mineral deficiencies, their signs and symptoms and there prevention.   In the previous topic we discussed one of the major micronutrients, vitamins. In this topic we will review the remaining micronutrient, minerals. Like vitamins, they perform important functions in the body. They account for 4% of body weight. They are found in all body fluids and tissues. Unlike the energy nutrients and vitamins, minerals are inorganic elements that ori