Essay on Nutrition Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease

As with all cardiovascular diseases, Peripheral Arterial Disease can be easily prevented. A good heart healthy diet should be implemented everyday for meals and snacks. A good tip is to include fresh fruits and vegetables everyday. Eating foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fiber can help prevent high blood cholesterol. Limiting salt or sodium in your diet can also lower your blood pressure. (CDC, 2009) Making sure to get at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day can not only help maintain

This article was to examine how the US government uses dietary guidelines for Americans and how the guidelines were supposed to help us eat and stay healthy. Diet and chronic diseases are sometimes connected. For example, it is proven that nutrient deficiency disease like scurvy can be cured by consuming the lost nutrients. However, it is also shown that some nutrient exposure can cause chronic illness such as energy, fats, sodium dietary fiber, and food exposures, etc. making it difficult to set dietary guidelines. In addition to some nutrient causing chronic diseases, nondietary factors such as stress, lack of exercise, smoking and other environmental factors are linked to causing chronic illnesses (Slavin, 2012).

Highlighting from the research publication, “A Prospective Study of Dietary Fiber Intake and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Among Women” from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers developed a food-frequency questionnaire assessing 39,876 female health professionals with no previous history of CVD or cancer to support the concept. Women were followed for an average of six years for incidence of various CVD or death confirmed by medical records or death certificates. Evidence from epidemiological studies suggests a strong inverse association between dietary fiber and coronary disease, high intakes of fiber and 20% to 40% in reductions to risk, as well as increased intake of fiber and reduction of plasma cholesterol. The data generally support current dietary recommendations to increase the consumption of fiber-rich whole grains and vegetables as a primary preventive measure against Cardio vascular disease.

The importance of knowing your culture and where you come from can help you understand other people’s culture. This can also aid in improving how you work and what you can do. Being aware of what you are will also help prevent chaos between the patient and healthcare staffs. Being aware and mind sufficient will help one to open one’s eyes to see things in a different perspective such area where nutrition is at a high-risk. Researching the different cultural problems and identifying solutions will assist the writer to comprehend their way of life and lifestyles.

According to Donald D. Hensrud of the Mayo Clinic on Healthy Weight, “Eating well – choosing a plant-based diet, which emphasizes vegetables, fruits and whole grains – also will reduce your risks of some of our nation’s biggest killers and related conditions. Many cancers, heart disease and high blood pressure, among other conditions, are linked to diet, most notably to diets high in fat and saturated fat. Even without weight loss, adopting a healthier eating style can be beneficial. (Hensrud 49)”

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends eating a variety of foods to have good nutritional health. Dark green, yellow and orange vegetables and fruit should also be included in a good diet each day. They also suggest eating lean, low-fat meats and poultry, increase amounts of seafood, and healthy fats such as olive oil and omega-3 fatty oils but advise against eating trans and saturated fats, added sugars, and sodium. The USDA also recommends that at least half of the grains eaten should come from whole grains and not refined grains. (U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).

Dairy should not be a primary food group on the dietary guidelines set by the government because of its many negative effects on human health (given that people care about their health and the health of those around them). Dairy and other animal products are the only food sources which contain cholesterol. Arguments have been made saying that humans need to consume cholesterol in order to have a healthy balance of fats; these arguments fail to acknowledge that our bodies naturally produce all the cholesterol that it needs. And many studies have been conducted to support the theory that consumption of dietary cholesterol overloads arteries and can cause heart disease, artery disease, as well as sudden heart attacks. The Department of Community Health and Preventative Medicine at Northwestern University Medical School worked to interpret an international study based on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization. The overall conclusion was that “…dietary cholesterol levels are consistently related to CHD (coronary heart disease) mortality rates” (Stamler). A study conducted by Lena Ohlsson at the Laboratory of Gastroenterology and Nutrition within the prestigious Lund University in Sweden also linked dietary cholesterol and milk fat with artery disease and other metabolic disorders. In short, the abstract of her lab report said that low-density lipoprotein (LDL)—“bad” cholesterol—was found to be directly associated with coronary artery

A literature review of nurse – guided patient –centered heart failure education programs reveal that several studies have recommended strategies to promote improved outcomes for heart failure patients by placing emphasis on education focused on promoting patient self-care management in regards to diet, exercise, weight monitoring, and medication adherence (Baptiste, Mark, Groff-Paris, & Taylor, 2014, p. 53). Heart failure self-care refers to all of the practices in which patients engage to maintain their own health and the decisions that they make about managing signs and symptoms. Hospital initiatives working to improve heart failure readmission rates should implement a patient education program that focuses on self-care. To make it easier to manage the heart failure population at any given time, all patients presenting with heart failure should be admitted to a specific inpatient ward, and daily nursing huddles should be utilized in order to identify heart failure patients. All heart failure patients should be educated by the nursing staff throughout their stay by specialty nurse educators who are themselves educated on heart failure treatments and protocols. The research concluded that implementing standardized patient education programs that focus on self-care management

People with high cholesterol are at greater risk of developing heart disease, according to the American Heart Association. People with diets high in saturated fats---like those in meat, dairy and eggs---are more likely to have high cholesterol levels. To reduce cholesterol, the American Heart Association recommends limiting the intake of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol, and eating more plant-based foods.

A decrease of candy bars for snack and changing it to eating fruits instead as the fiber from the fruit benefits to reduce LDL levels

The reduction of the amount of saturated fats from one’s diet improves health greatly for cardiovascular health. According to nursingdegree.com, ”Eating nuts and whole grains, while eliminating dairy products and meat, will improve… cardiovascular health.” When eliminating food that comes from animals doing so eliminates all dietary cholesterol from one’s diet. Vegan diets go to extreme lengths to prevent heart attack and stroke. Plant-based foods are high in fiber and according to nursingdegree.net, “A diet high in fiber…leads to healthier bowel movements.” While obtaining nutrition from vegan diets also prevent disease at the same time. For example, it is stated in nursingdegree.com,” Eating a diet consisting of whole grains, along with fresh fruits and vegetables, can greatly reduce…chances of colon cancer.”

However, there are also different types of foods and drinks that can raise your LDL levels which are fatty meats such as beef or pork, poultry skin, butterfat such as whole milk, ice cream, cheese, and tropical oils like coconut and palm oils (Healthwise). Other foods such as junk food that contain high levels of saturated fat and trans fat can raise cholesterol levels, so it is very important to consume vegetables, food high in fiber, whole grains, and fruits. It is also very essential for an individual to exercise on a daily basis to help lower cholesterol

On this day, I presented my education presentation Nutrition for High Blood Pressure at Shepherd’s Clinics to patients and clients at the wellness center. I chose this topic due to the high number of patients that report to the clinic with a diagnosis of hypertension. For example, since beginning my practicum at the site, I took a tally of those with high blood pressure. More than half the patients being seen by a provider each day had high blood pressure. In addition to the patients seen at the clinic, in the United States the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 75 million Americans have high blood pressure (High Blood Pressure Fact Sheet, 2016). Given these facts I wanted to address one big factor in reducing the risks of high blood pressure and reducing the risk of developing heart disease and other health risk. This factor is nutrition, as food plays a major role in managing diseases like blood pressure and diabetes.

We all know someone who has suffered from heart disease. Whether it was from a heart attack, congestive heart failure, or stroke, some type of cardiovascular disease has taken the life of someone we loved way too soon. This epidemic of heart disease must be stopped through the collaboration of physicians, nurses, law makers, and concerned citizens. The purpose of this paper is to examine cardiovascular disease, the risks associated with heart disease and obesity per Milo’s framework, comparison of obesity and Healthy People 2020 national goals, and finally the long-term and short-term goals and interventions selected for this paper.

Due to long working hours, sedentary activity levels, and other personal responsibilities the nurse may assess some community members display a nutrition imbalance related to excessive caloric intake in comparison to expenditure of calories, evidenced by, weight gain of more than 20% over ideal for height and frame. Interventions provided by the community nurse may include education of a balanced healthy dietary regimen that include foods frequently eaten but prepared with less fat and calories for the targeted population. The nurse will weigh each