Therapeutic Diets Flashcards
What is a therapeutic diet?
Modifications made to the normal diet that are used to improve specific health conditions of a patient
What is a therapeutic diet modified for?
Nutrients
Texture
Food allergies or intolerances
What are some reasons why therapeutic diets would be ordered?
- Maintain, restore or correct nutritional status
- Increase/decrease calories for weight control
- Control of diabetes
- Alter amount of nutrient(s)
- Exclude food due to allergies/intolerances
- Texture modifications for problems with chewing/swallowing
What is a clear liquids diet? When is it ordered?
Patient ingests fluids that are see through. Used as first step to restart oral feeding after surgery, for bowel prep before surgery, replace fluids lost by vomiting / diarrhea. Insufficient in calories and nutrients so should be short term only.
Full Liquids Diet
- What is it?
- When is it ordered?
- All liquids permitted
- Used as second step to restart oral feeding once clear liquids are tolerated, for patients with limited chewing ability, should not be used for extended time.
Low Sodium Diet
- What is limited in this diet?
- For whom is this diet ordered?
- Foods with high sodium
- Patients with edema, hypertension, first stages of kidney disease
Low Fat Low Cholesterol Diet
- Why is this used?
- For whom is this ordered?
- Reduce fat levels and/or treat medical conditions that interfere with how the body uses fat
- Hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerosis, gallbladder disease
Carbohydrate Controlled Diet
- Why would this be ordered?
To control calories from carbohydrates to control blood sugar in diabetics
What is the renal diet?
Restrictions on sodium, potassium, fluid and protein with closely followed labwork for patients with CKD or renal failure
Why would a puree diet be ordered?
Purees all foods into smooth liquid consistency due to inability to chew/swallow solid foods
- What is a mechanical soft diet?
- Why would this diet be ordered?
- Includes soft-textured or ground foods that are easily masticated and swallowed.
- Same reasons as puree diet but just less severe, patient can tolerate slighty more texture than puree diet. Also used when the person has poor dental conditions/missing teeth.
What is enteral nutrition?
Why would this be used?
- Providing a liquid diet directly to the stomach or intestine thorugh a nasogastric tube or through the wall of the GI tract
- For patients that are undernourished or for those who have inadequate or unsafe oral intake and a functional / accessible GI tract
What is parenteral nutrition?
Who would be administered this diet?
- IV administration of nutrition (protein, carbs, fats, vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, etc.)
- For patients whose GI tract is not accessible
