We are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of a healthy diet and the part it can play in leading a long, healthy and active life. However, fad diets, often promoted by celebrities or influencers, and mixed messages from the media can lead to a fair amount of confusion on what a healthy diet really is. Some of the quick-fix diets are even deficient in nutrients. Rather than relying on the latest suggestions from social media, it is far better to learn from medical professionals what our diet needs to include and the amount of nutrients we need. While dieticians specialize in this, most people are unlikely to see a dietician until their diet becomes problematic. What most of us need is more day-to-day information on how our diet can best support our health.
Nurses are medical professionals who often work closely with patients, providing continuity of care when they are in the hospital and working with them in the community. As a result, nurses are ideally placed to provide nutrition education. For those who are keen to play a part in improving the nation’s health through measures such as good diet and nutrition, a career in nursing can be an excellent option.
The importance of good nutrition
Good nutrition is vital at every stage of our lives. Beginning in infancy, it can affect how we develop and grow. It can also play a key part in disease prevention. A good diet can help support a healthy immune system, making us less likely to become ill and recover quicker when we do suffer from common illnesses and viruses. It can also help prevent the development of some chronic and life-limiting conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. A healthy diet is also required to help maintain a healthy weight, which supports a healthier cardiovascular system. It also makes it easier to be active.
A good diet should provide the required levels of a variety of nutrients, including vitamins and minerals. Deficiency in these can lead to certain health problems too. A lack of iron in the diet, for example, can lead to anemia, resulting in a loss of energy and breathlessness.
In addition to telling us what we should eat, nutrition education also tells us what we should eat or drink only in moderation. Foods that are high in sugars and fats with little nutritional value, such as cake and candy, are fine as a treat. However, a diet that includes too much of these foods can lead to weight gain and associated health problems. It may also mean that you are too full to eat more nutritious food, leading to a deficiency. Portion size is another issue that good nutrition education should cover. Even the most nutrient-rich food should only be consumed in the appropriate amounts or they too can lead to weight gain.
The link between good diet and good mental health is only now becoming understood, and increasing evidence is showing the link between the two. Studies are ongoing, but there is some evidence to suggest that traditional diets, such as the Japanese or Mediterranean diet that are high in unprocessed grains, vegetables and lean proteins, promote better mental health than the typical Western diet with its processed food, high meat content and sugary treats.
Which nurses can offer nutrition education?
With the links between good diet and nutrient intake with good physical and mental health, all nurses should understand the importance of nutrition and be able to offer dietary advice and support to their patients. Due to circumstances, dietary needs can change over time and nurses are well placed to offer the appropriate advice. Nurses are often holistically trained, considering the entire patient rather than simply a set of symptoms. This means they can offer dietary advice tailored to the unique individual and their circumstances rather than ‘one size fits all’ generic dietary suggestions.
In hospitals, for example, an RN who has worked closely with a patient and understands their condition can offer dietary advice to aid their recovery, while nurses who have specialized in a particular area will become experts in diets that benefit patients with that specific condition.
Nurse practitioners work with a fair degree of autonomy and may have their own patient list that they see regularly. The family nurse practitioner (FNP) can help support good nutrition at all stages of patients’ lives, including the needs of children who are still developing, while nurses who specialize in gerontology can consider the unique dietary needs of old age.
The role played by nutrition and diet is something that is covered when nurses are in training. However, with ongoing research and new discoveries being made all the time, it is important for nurses to keep up to date and continue to learn about diet and nutrition throughout their careers.
Becoming a nurse
There are a number of routes into nursing, and once qualified a range of different career paths can be followed when seeking promotion. A common route into nursing is to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). This program is widely available and includes clinical placements at hospitals and healthcare settings affiliated with the university. Typically taking four years to complete, a BSN will thoroughly prepare you for the nursing licensure exam to become a registered nurse RN.
If you already have a bachelor’s degree in another field, an accelerated program may be a better option. These programs also provide you with the thorough preparation you need to become an RN, but can be completed much quicker, sometimes in as little as 16 months. Options for the accelerated program include an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) or a Master’s Entry in Nursing Practice (MSNP), which takes a little longer and includes additional coursework and preparation for clinical leadership roles. These programs are often available online and include clinical placements in the student’s own locality.
If you are wondering “Are accelerated nursing programs worth it?”, a good place to find out more is from a reputable institution such as Elmhurst University. They offer academically strong and ethically driven ABSN and MSNP programs and will be happy to provide information to help you decide which route into nursing is the best for you.
Once you have begun working as a nurse, there are many career routes into leadership, nurse practitioner positions, specialties and research where you can continue to use your skills to support patients, including providing good nutrition and dietary information.
General dietary advice
General dietary advice can easily be offered by a family nurse practitioner. Their knowledge and experience mean they are familiar with what nutrients and portions are needed at different stages of development, so they can make recommendations based on your lifestyle and age. They will also be familiar with your cultural background, so they can make sure that food advice is suitable. For example, not suggesting a pork-based meal for a Muslim or a beef-based one for a Hindu. If financial problems are getting in the way of being able to afford healthy food, a FNP may be able to make food suggestions that are both cheap and nutritious. They can also verify that the patient is receiving all the financial support they are entitled to.
If a patient needs to lose weight, a FNP will be able to tailor their advice to this. This will allow the patient to lose weight in a sensible way that encourages healthier long-term practices, rather than with the quick-fix diets a patient might have seen online which might result in temporary weight loss, but can lead to rebound weight gain.
If a patient looks like they might be at risk of developing a condition due to their diet, encouraging a healthier diet may help improve their overall health.
Chronic and long-term conditions
Diet can play a part in the management of many chronic conditions and nurses can provide valuable advice on how to manage these. In the first instance, this advice might be delivered by the doctors and nurses in a hospital where the condition is first diagnosed. As part of their follow-up care, an FNP can continue to provide advice. Through monitoring the diet, they can make suggestions and tweak it as necessary.
Some conditions might require trial and error to determine what causes problems. Inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis need careful management with the exact diet being tailored to the individual to help avoid flare-ups. Patients can be encouraged to add elements such as fiber to their diet slowly to test how their body reacts. Diabetes, arthritis, kidney disease, heart disease, COPD and some cancers are long-term conditions where the right diet can play an important role. This can also provide a mental boost for patients who may feel helpless in the face of a long-term illness. By controlling their diet, they can maintain some control over their condition.
Allergies are another condition that requires careful management. Anyone recently diagnosed with an allergy should consider discussing it with their primary care provider. This is particularly important if an allergy or intolerance is to a major food group, such as gluten or dairy, as this can make a diet harder to manage. An FNP can provide information on alternatives that allow the patient to continue to enjoy their favorite meals while minimizing danger and discomfort.
Pregnancy
Good nutrition is important in pregnancy for both the mother and the baby. However, there are also many warnings about foods that pregnant women should not eat, not all of which are true. A nurse midwife is a medical professional who will be able to provide expectant mothers with reliable, up to date information on what foods they should avoid in pregnancy. In addition to making sure they do not eat anything harmful, this can also reduce stress which the uncertainty can bring, particularly if they ate something that is warned against before they knew they were pregnant.
Throughout pregnancy, the expectant mother may have routine tests that can detect any deficiencies, with anemia being a common one. This is something that can worsen after the blood loss of the birth. If tests show a deficiency in iron, the nurse midwife can make suggestions for how to address this.
Good nutrition remains essential into the postpartum period, particularly if the mother is breastfeeding. A nurse midwife, neonatal nurse or FNP can continue to offer the appropriate advice to support the mother. Once the baby is old enough to be weaned, an FNP is a good person to talk to if there are any uncertainties on the best foods to offer a baby and for ongoing advice on how to nutritionally support the growing child. Generally speaking, children do not need overly restrictive diets and a healthy diet with occasional treats of less healthy food alongside an active lifestyle should help them grow into a healthy adult.
Recovery
Nutritious food can aid the recovery of those suffering from illness or injury and nurses must consider the role food can play during a recovery period.
When recovering from surgery or an injury, the body needs additional protein, zinc and vitamins to help heal bones and skin. While in the hospital, staff can provide the most nutritious diet to aid recovery. However, upon discharge, it is usually a good idea to continue it. Hospital nurses can help prepare patients for discharge by educating them and their families regarding an appropriate diet. They may also be able to suggest websites or provide meal plans so patients know which foods are the best to eat during their recovery.
Although not a need for hospital treatment, a diet high in lean protein is a good idea when exercising as it helps repair and build muscle. If you are considering a new intensive exercise routine, perhaps training to run a marathon, a chat with your FNP is a good idea and can give you tips on a fitness diet, as well as suggestions on how to avoid injury.
Ethical diets
Whether for animal welfare or ecological reasons, many people today are choosing vegetarian or vegan diets. While these diets are generally healthy, there may be a risk of lack of nutrients, particularly if you had previously relied on meat as your main source of protein. Additionally, vegan diets can be short on calcium, which can impact bone and teeth health.
There is plenty of information online on these types of diets, but it is often tricky to see which advice is good. Anyone can write advice online, and it does not mean that the person has any qualifications or expertise in this area. If you are concerned, your primary care provider can point you in the direction of good advice. They can also order tests if there is any suspicion you are lacking in any nutrients and can make suggestions on supplements or diet adjustments that can help resolve them.
Different advice for specific diets
While this list of various dietary needs is very far from exhaustive, it does illustrate why a ‘one size fits all’ approach to diet and nutrition will not work. Different ages, conditions and cultural backgrounds all need to be considered when offering advice.
Nurses are particularly skilled at considering the needs of the entire patient rather than simply seeing them as a set of symptoms. As a result of this, they are particularly well placed to give dietary advice tailored to the unique individual. This is particularly true of family nurse practitioners and adult and gerontology nurse practitioners who work in the community and often see the same patients over a long period of time. As nurses are aware of the patient’s health and cultural and socioeconomic background, they can provide nutritional advice that will fit with their lifestyle and belief system.
They may also work on a larger scale. By understanding the communities where they work, they may identify a need that affects a large part of the community and can support initiatives and programs that will benefit the health of the entire community. Prevention is better than a cure, so by encouraging a healthy diet from childhood onwards, many serious and long-term health conditions may be avoided.
If nursing is a career that interests you, there is no better time to consider your training options. If you already have a bachelor’s degree, qualifying as a nurse may take less time than you expect. For those who wish to make a difference in the overall health of individuals, families and communities, helping patients with nutritional and dietary information is just one of the ways nurses can do so.