Basic Concepts of Nutrition

Nutrition strongly impact our patient’s health especially if they are dealing illness or injury anything that
concerns patient’s health concerns us health care providers.

Food is that which nourishes the body. Food may also be defined as anything eaten or drunk, which
meets the needs for energy, building, regulation and protection of the body.

Nutrition has been defined as food at work in the body. Nutrition includes everything that happens to
food from the time it is eaten until it is used for various functions in the body.

Nutrients are components of that are needed by the body in adequate amounts in order to grow, report
to grow, reproduce and lead a normal, healthy life.

Adequate, optimum and good nutrition are expressions used to indicate that the supply of essential
nutrients is correct in amount and proportion.

Health as the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity -World Health Organization

Malnutrition can be primarily be due to insufficient / excessive supply of one or more essential
nutrients; or it can be secondary which means it results from an error in metabolism, interaction
between nutrients and drugs used in treatment.

Diet refers to whatever you eat and drink each day. May also be modified and used for ill persons as
part of their therapy.

Nutritional care is the use of nutritional knowledge in planning meals and the preparation of these
meals in an acceptable and attractive manner to feed people.

Nutritional Status is the state of our body as a result of the foods consumed and their use by the body
 Concepts of Nutrition
Judith Brown – Nutrition across lifespan

1. Food is a basic need of humans

2. Foods provide energy (calories), nutrients, and other substances needed for growth and health

3. Health problems related to nutrition originate within cells

4. Poor nutrition can result from both inadequate and excessive levels of nutrient intake.

5. Humans have adaptive mechanism for managing fluctuations in food intake.

6. Malnutrition can result from poor diets and from disease states, genetic factors, or
combinations of these causes.

7. Some groups of people are at higher risk of becoming inadequately nourished than others.

8. Poor nutrition can influence the developments of certain chronic diseases.

9. Adequacy, variety, and balance are key characteristics of a healthy diet.

10. There are no good or bad food.

1. Food is a basic need of humans
 Humans need enough food to live and right assortment of foods for optimal health.

 Food security experienced by people who have enough food to meet their needs at
all times. They are able to acquire food in socially acceptable ways.

 Food insecurity exists when the availability of safe nutritious foods, or the ability to
acquire them in socially acceptable ways, is limited or uncertain.

 59,000,000 Filipinos are food insecure (2017 – 2019) this is based on United Nation
Food and Agriculture Organization. Most in southeast Asia.

2. Foods provide energy (calories), nutrients, and other substances needed for growth and
health
 Nutrients chemical substances in foods that are used by the body for growth and
health.

 Calorie A unit of measure of the amount of energy supplied by food. Also known as
the kilocalorie (kcal), or the large calorie.

6 Categories of Nutrients

Carbohydrates are chemical substances in foods that consists of single or multiple sugar
molecule in various form. Common sources are fruit, vegetable, and whole grain products.

Proteins

 Common sources are animal products and dried beans

Fats (lipids)

 Commons sources are oil, butter and avocado

Vitamins

 Common sources are vegetable, fruits and grains

 Minerals

 15 elements found in food

 Common source milk, dark leafy vegetable and meat

Water

 Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats are energy wielding

 Vitamins, Minerals, and Water does not provide energy

3. Health problems related to nutrition originate within cells

 Normal cell health and functions are maintained when a nutritional and
environmental utopia exists within and around cell.

 Cell is the basic unit of life.

 Folate is a B vitamin is required for protein synthesis within cells so when there are
little folate cells produce proteins with abnormal shapes and functions.

 Disruptions in the availability of nutrients, or the presence of harmful substances in

the cell’s environment, initiate diseases and disorders that eventually affect tissues,
organs and systems.

4. Poor nutrition can result from both inadequate and excessive levels of nutrient intake

 Each nutrient has a range of intake levels that corresponds to optimum functioning
of that nutrient. Intake levels below and above this range associated with impaired
function.

 Inadequate intake of an essential nutrient, if prolonged, results in obvious deficiency

diseases.
  Marginally deficiency diets produce subtle changes in behavior or physical
condition.

 If the optimal intake range is exceeded (usually of supplements), mild to severe

changes in mental and physical functions occur, depending the amount of excess
and the nutrient involved.

 Too much intake of Vitamin C what will happen is you will have diarrhea to get rid of
excess vitamin C

 Nutrient deficiencies are usually multiple

Story of Scurvy

 2,000,000 is the number of sailors who died between the time of Columbus’s
transatlantic voyage and the rise of steam engines in the mid-19 th century.

Stephen Bown, a historian, quotes a survival story written by an unknown surgeon on a 16 th-
century English voyage that reveals.

It rotted all my gums, which gave out a black and the horror of the disease: putrid (rotten)
blood. My thighs and lower legs were black and gangrenous, and I was forced to use my
knife each day to cut into the flesh in order to release this black and foul blood. I also used
my knife on my gums, which were livid and growing over my teeth. When I had cut away
this flesh and caused much black blood to flow, I rinsed my mouth and teeth with my urine,
rubbing them very hard. And the unfortunate thing was that I could not eat, desiring more
to swallow than to chew. Many of our people died of it every day, and we saw dead bodies
thrown into the sea constantly, three or four at a time.

A story of vitamin deficiency. Scurvy means vitamin c deficiency.

 5. Humans have adaptive mechanism for managing fluctuations in food intake

 Healthy humans have adaptive mechanisms that partially protect the body from
poor health due to fluctuations in nutrient intake.

 The body only absorbs exact amount of iron and calcium and vitamins and water.
Body has lower storage for these nutrients.

 These mechanisms act to conserve nutrients when dietary supply is low and to
eliminate them when excessively high amounts are present.

6. Malnutrition can result from poor diets and from disease states, genetic factors, or
combinations of these causes

 Malnutrition means poor nutrition and results form either inadequate or excessive availability of
energy and nutrients.

 Malnutrition can result from poor diets as well as from diseases that interfere with the body’s
availability to use the nutrients consume.

 Primary malnutrition results when a poor nutritional state is dietary in origin.

Examples are niacin toxicity, iron deficiency anemia, and obesity.

 Secondary malnutrition, on the other hand, is precipitated by a disease state, surgical

procedure, or medication.

Examples are diarrhea, alcoholism, AIDS and GI Tract bleeding.

 7. Some groups of people are at higher risk of becoming inadequately nourished than others

 Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, infants, children, people who are ill, and frail elderly
persons have a greater need for nutrients than healthy adults and elderly people. As a result,
they are at higher risk of becoming inadequately nourished than others.

 Within these groups, those at highest risk of nutritional insults are the poor.

8. Poor nutrition can influence the developments of certain chronic diseases

 Western type diets high in saturated and trans fats, and low in vegetables, fruits,
and whole grain products, are linked to the development of heart diseases.

 Trans fats are from pastries, cake or desserts.

 Six types of cancer, including colon, pancreatic, and breast cancer, are related to
obesity, habitually low intakes of vegetables and fruits, and high levels of intake of
processed meats.
Disorder linked to diet

Heart Diseases Excessive body fat, high intakes of trans fat, added sugar and salt; low
vegetable, fruit, fish, nuts, whole grain intakes.

Cancer Low vegetable and fruit intakes; excessive body fat and alcohol intake; regular
consumption of processed meats.

Stroke Low vegetable and fruit intake; excessive alcohol intake; high animal fats diet

Cirrhosis of the liver Excessive alcohol consumption; poor overall diet.

Hypertension Excessive sodium and low potassium intake, excess alcohol intake; low
vegetable and fruit intake, excessive levels of body fat.
9. Adequacy, variety, and balance are key characteristics of a healthy diet

 Healthy dietary patterns are characterized by the regular consumption of moderate

portions of a variety of foods from each of the basin food groups. No specific food or
food preparation techniques are excluded in a healthy dietary pattern.

 Healthy dietary patterns are plant-food based an include the regular consumption of
vegetables, fruits, dried beans, fish and seafood, low-fat dairy products, poultry and
lean meats, nuts, and seeds, and whole grains.

 Dietary patterns that include large or frequent servings of food containing high
amounts of trans fat, added sugars, salt, or alcohol miss the healthy dietary pattern
mark.

 Healthy dietary patterns supply needed nutrients and beneficial phytochemicals

through food rather than through supplements or special dietary products

 Phytochemicals are found in vegetables with color. It has associated to low cancer
risk

Energy and Nutrient Density

Energy dense foods have relatively high-calorie values per unit weight of the food.
Sometimes referred to as empty-calorie foods

Nutrient dense foods or foods with high levels of nutrients and relatively low-calorie value
10. There are no good or bad food

 Some people who only eat what they consider to be good food, like vegetables, fruits,
whole grains, and tofu, may still mis the healthful diet mark due to inadequate
consumption of essential fatty acids and certain vitamins and minerals.

 All foods can fit into a healthful diet as long nutrients needs are met at calorie-intake
levels that maintain a healthy body weight.

Responsibility for Nutrition Care

Physician
 Prescribe diet orders (also called nutrition prescriptions).

 Referrals for nutrition assessment and dietary counselling.

 Registered Dietitian.

 Conduct nutrition and dietary assessments.

 Diagnose nutrition problems.

 Develop, implement, and evaluate nutrition care.

 Plan and approve menus.

 Provide dietary counseling and nutrition education services.

 Manage food and cafeteria services in health care institution.

Registered Dietetic Technicians

Registered dietetic technicians often work in partnership with registered dietitians and assist in
the implementation and monitoring of nutrition services.

Work as part and work for dietitians.

Depending on their background and experience, they may screen patients for nutrition
problems, develop menus and recipes, ensure appropriate meal delivery, monitor patient’s food
choices and intakes, and provide patient education and counseling.

Dietetic technicians sometimes supervise food service operations and may have roles in
purchasing, inventory, quality control, sanitation or safety.

Other Health Care Professionals

Include pharmacists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, nursing

assistants, home health care aides, and social workers.

These individuals can be instrumental in alerting dietitians or nurses to nutrition problems or

may share relevant information about a patient’s health status or personal needs.
Role of the Nursing Department in the Nutrition Therapy of the Client

 They often serve as liaison between the dietitian and physician as well as with other
members of the health-care team.

 Nurses interact closely with patients and thus are in ideal position to identify people
who would benefit from nutrition services

 Nurses often screen patients for nutrition problems and may participate in nutrition
and dietary assessments

 Nurses also provide direct nutrition care, such as encouraging patients to eat,
finding practical solutions to food-related problems, recording a patient’s food
intake, and answering questions about special diets.

 As members of nutrition support teams, nurses are responsible for administering

tube and intravenous feedings

 Nurses may reinforce nutrition counseling provided by the dietitian and may be
responsible for basic nutrition education in hospitalized clients with low to mild
nutritional risk