Food is Medicine

Question 1

How does food service differ between a health care setting and a restaurant setting?

Answer 1

health care: specialty & therapeutic diets, focus is on avoiding malnourishment + budget
restaurant: flavourful & moderate nutrition, focus is on profit

Question 2

What is meant by “food as medicine”?

Answer 2

innovative framework utilizing collaborative and interdisciplinary impacts that view food/foodservice as an essential part of patient care/disease treatment

Question 3

What are the levels of the Food is Medicine pyramind?

Answer 3

top/treatment: medically tailored meal programs
medically tailored food packages
produce prescription programs
government nutrition security programs
bottom/prevention: populations-level food policies and programs

Question 4

What types of malnutrition are there?

Answer 4

Malnourished = undernutrition
- obese malnourished: excess fat stores but micro/macronutrients are malnourished
- functional change: sustained inadequate intake leads to muscle loss/weakness, immune function/recovery
- household malnutrition: more prevalent in sub-groups (immigrants, FN, seniors), often (61%) result due to income struggles

Question 5

What is the prevalence of malnutrition at admission in Canadian acute care hospitals?

Answer 5

45% well nourished
34% moderate malnutrition
11% severe malnutrition

Question 6

What contributes to malnutrition of patients while staying at hospitals?

Answer 6

contribution: dietitians see <25% of patients, barriers to food intake (cutting food, self feeding/help with eating, reaching food, lack of time to eat, unwrapping food), poor food intake (<50% of tray), lack of foods familiar to them/foods they enjoy

Question 7

What are the top contributing factors for malnutrition as a result of:
- illness effects
- eating difficulties
- organizational factors

Answer 7

illness: poor appetite
eating: difficulty opening packages/unwrapping food
organizational: if meal is missed, staff does not bring them food

Question 8

What are the consequences of malnutrition occurring in hospitals?

Answer 8

longer stay/healing time = increased costs for hospital, increased morality/suffering

Question 9

What are the top 3 most common therapeutic diets?

Answer 9

1. diabetes-related
2. cardiac related
3. renal-related

Question 10

Describe the AHS Time to Eat Program?

Answer 10

aims to support optimal nutritional status in patients by reducing barriers to eating by having staff assist patients at meal times - requires collaboration between many to ensure patients are ready to eat and assisted as needed

Question 11

Eating for Health vs. Healthy Eating

Answer 11

EfH: for people at risk for malnutrition, food is fuel for their healing
HE: for the general population that promotes and advises intake in moderation