respond to discussion post 100 words eachs include citation
1. Disease Prevention vs. Management: Disease prevention is for people who have risk factors for a disease, and are treated in order to prevent the disease from happening. Treatments for this would generally start before the disease happens or before symptoms start to show (Rural Health Information Hub, 2024). Starting disease prevention through lifestyle modifications such as vaccinations, following dietary guidelines, can help prevent some diseases from arising. Versus disease management where experts suggest that food and targeted diets use these to manage diseases, and give the patient a sense of control over their conditions (Venkatesan, 2024). Disease management is set up after the patient has been diagnosed. This usually consists of adjusting to a new diet plan in order to manage symptoms, medication regimens, and or therapeutic interventions.
Role of Food in Prevention and Management:
When it comes to the role food plays in prevention and management, I always think about the famous saying, “food is medicine.” Hence, the food that people consume is crucial for prevention and management. It’s no secret that if someone who has a poor diet full of processed foods, sugar, is linked to heart diseases, weight gain, obesity, and many more health risks. Specific diets such as the Mediterranean diet, a low carb whole-food diet, paleo, and vegan diets have been proven to help manage disease and prevent diseases. For example, the Mediterranean diet has been proven efficacious for heart disease because it includes nutrient dense food such as plenty of vegetables, fruits, fish, poultry, whole grains, legumes, dairy products, and extra virgin olive oil, (Gunnars, 2019). The vegan diet is linked to a number of health benefits, including weight loss, improved heart health, and better blood sugar control (Gunnars, 2019).
Medicine in Prevention and Management: Medication can also help tremendously with managing all types of diseases, such as vaccinations. Another good example of the role of medication, would be my grandmother who suffers from high blood pressure and has to take medication daily to help manage it. Sometimes relying solely on a specific diet is not enough and medical intervention is needed to help. Pharmaceuticals are used for killing, controlling, or delaying the spread of a virus/disease. But relying only on medication to fix the issue doesn’t help the case either, that’s when reflecting on your diet and health style habits would also need to be considered.
Critical Thinking and Conclusion: To conclude my discussion, I truly do believe food is medicine, and in order to be healthy and prevent chronic diseases we need to do a better job of living a healthier lifestyle, and eating nutrient dense foods. I also love the idea of a holistic approach to better your health, because it combines many factors such as physical, emotional, social/spiritual well being as a whole (What is a holistic approach, 2020). Lifestyle changes can help figure out the root problem of a disease/illness, or even prevent them. Which is exactly what we want when trying to treat someone’s health. Just as medicine can help treat diseases/illness it is important to be mindful that your diet alone might not be enough (pending your genetics), and medication might be needed. Ityou should be eating enough, make sure you are eating the right kinds of foods, and maintain a consistent physical activity.
2. Disease Prevention vs. Management:
Rural Health Information Hub defines disease prevention as, “specific efforts aimed at reducing the development and severity of chronic diseases and other morbidities (2024).” The American Heart Association describes disease management as a strategy of care and treatment for people who already have chronic diseases (Faxon et al., 2004). Simply put, disease prevention is proactive while management is reactive.
Food and medicine are two tools that can be used to help achieve the goals of either prevention or management. While their specific applications depend on the patient, choosing the right foods generally means providing your body with the necessary resources to prevent or manage diseases. While most medications are reactive, most people aren’t taking medications for a disease until the disease has presented itself. Some can still be used as a management tool for a disease to prevent another, worse, disease or condition.
Role of Food in Prevention and Management
As Kip laid out in our class this week, it has been well documented how the health of US citizens has slid from moderately healthy to pretty unhealthy. In her article on how dietary patterns affect chronic disease, Dr. Marian Neuhouser states, “many chronic diseases are preventable through life long practices of adhering to healthy dietary patterns, engaging in physical activity and maintaining acceptable weight (2019).” As we have been learning in our class, food is the fuel which our body uses to live day in and day out. Throughout her article, Dr. Neuhouser (2019) points out that a return to whole foods, foods that are nutrient-packed, will help curtail many of the chronic diseases that ail our population. Staying away from the hyper-processed foods that are so prevalent today and replacing them with fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and the like will not only serve to satiate our hunger but help the body operate more effectively.
Role of Medicine in Prevention and Management
Medications can also play a role in disease prevention or management. Pharmaceuticals have the ability to target specific aspects of our biology and health in order to, hopefully, provide a desired outcome. As a personal example, I was diagnosed with sport-induced asthma when I was 14-years old. Due to my asthma, I have two types of inhalers, a daily preventative inhaler and an emergency inhaler. While improving my nutrition will help bring down my weight which helps with my ease of breathing, particularly during exercise, my inhalers serve as critical support as well. The emergency inhaler allows me to resolve acute incidences of asthma exacerbation. The daily helps counteract and prevent further damage to my airway. My nutrition serves me holistically while the inhalers address specific issues.
Critical Thinking and Conclusion
As with almost everything in the medical field, there is often not enough time or people to help implement good practices. Dr. Hensrud, in an article published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, highlights two issues with our approach to disease prevention and management (2000). First is the lack of time to disseminate the ever-updating information on health and nutrition that is coming down the pipeline. Second is the inherent focus on caring for acute conditions over a holistic view of medical treatment (Hensrud, 2000).
With nursing in mind, we as future nurses can adopt a more holistic view of medicine and help pass that along to our patients. The main shortcoming identified by both Drs. Hensrud (2000) and Neuhouser (2019) is education. Today, we are gifted with the information and the ability to disseminate information quickly and effectively.
