Nutrition Essentials for Nursing Practice (7th revised edition)

Book Preface

Like air and sleep, nutrition is a basic human need essential for survival. Nutrition provides energy and vitality, helps reduce the risk of chronic disease, and can aid in recovery. It is a dynamic blend of science and art, evolving over time and in response to technological advances and cultural shifts. Nutrition at its most basic level is food—for the mind, body, and soul.

Although considered the realm of the dietitian, nutrition is a vital and integral component of nursing care. Today’s nurses need to know, understand, apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate nutrition throughout the life cycle and along the wellness/illness continuum. They incorporate nutrition into all aspects of nursing care plans, from assessment and nursing diagnoses to implementation and evaluation. By virtue of their close contact with patients and families, nurses are often on the front line in facilitating nutrition. This text seeks to give student nurses a practical and valuable nutrition foundation to better serve themselves and their clients.

NEW TO THIS EDITION

This seventh edition continues the approach of providing the essential information nurses need to know for practice. Building upon this framework, content has been thoroughly updated to refl ect the latest evidence-based practice. Examples of content updates that are new to this edition are as follows:

â–  MyPlate, which replaces MyPyramid as the graphic to illustrate the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
â–  Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for calcium and vitamin D
â–  Inclusion of a validated stand-alone nutrition screening tool for older adults that is appropriate for community settings and in clinical practice
â–  Expanded coverage of bariatric surgery and obesity in general, particularly with regard to the importance of behavioral strategies for navigating our increasingly obesogenic environment
â–  The low-FODMAP (fermental oligo-, di-, and monosaccharides and polyols) diet for irritable bowel syndrome and possibly other gastrointestinal disorders
â–  A shift in focus from single nutrients (e.g., saturated fat) to a food pattern approach (e.g., the DASH diet) for communicating and implementing a heart healthy diet
â–  Updated 2011 nutrition therapy guidelines for patients with chronic kidney disease who are not on dialysis

ORGANIZATION OF THE TEXT

Unit One is devoted to Principles of Nutrition. It begins with Chapter 1, Nutrition in Nursing, which focuses on why and how nutrition is important to nurses in all settings. Chapters devoted to carbohydrates, protein, lipids, vitamins, water and minerals, and energy balance provide a foundation for wellness. The second part of each chapter highlights health promotion topics and demonstrates practical application of essential information, such as how to increase fi ber intake, criteria to consider when buying a vitamin supplement, and the risks and benefi ts of a vegetarian diet.

Unit Two, Nutrition in Health Promotion, begins with Chapter 8, Guidelines for Healthy Eating. This chapter features the Dietary Reference Intakes, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and MyPlate. Other chapters in this unit examine consumer issues and cultural and religious infl uences on food and nutrition. The nutritional needs associated with the life cycle are presented in chapters devoted to pregnant and lactating women, children and adolescents, and older adults.

Unit Three, Nutrition in Clinical Practice, includes nutrition therapy for obesity and eating disorders, enteral and parenteral nutrition, metabolic and respiratory stress, gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, renal disorders, cancer, and HIV/ AIDS. Pathophysiology is tightly focused as it pertains to nutrition.