Treating Chronic Disease With Medical Nutrition Therapy

Making appropriate dietary changes plays an important role in combating various chronic diseases. Medical nutrition therapy, also called nutrition counseling, is a comprehensive, individualized treatment approach that can help patients better manage chronic diseases.

At PharmXHealthOne, with locations in Wellington, Boynton Beach, and Port Saint Lucie, Florida, our team is devoted to helping patients improve their health. Medical nutrition therapy takes the guesswork out of your diet. We use an evidence-based approach to create a plan that addresses nutritional needs in relation to chronic diseases, all with the goal of helping you live as well as possible.

Which conditions can medical nutrition therapy combat?

The foods you regularly eat can have a powerful impact on your health. Your diet can either help or harm your overall health. Nutrition therapy — when guided by a health care professional — can help you manage your condition better and improve your quality of life. Medical nutrition therapy can help you manage a number of conditions, including the following:

• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Obesity
• Heart disease
• Stroke-related issues
• Osteoporosis

You may be hesitant to change your diet, and even if you're ready, it can be difficult to make changes on your own. With medical nutrition therapy, you have licensed health care providers on your side to provide guidance and support.

How does medical nutrition therapy work?

Medical nutrition therapy starts with a nutritional assessment. Your provider takes your medical history and health status into consideration to determine the best nutritional approach to help you manage your condition.

You can expect to work together with your provider to outline dietary goals. For example, if you have hypertension, maintaining a target blood pressure will be one of the main goals. Most patients with chronic disease will have more than one goal.

For another example, many people with Type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. In this case, dietary goals may include controlling carbohydrate intake and reducing overall calories to promote weight loss. If you're carrying extra weight, losing even a modest amount of weight may improve how well your body manages your blood sugar.

During your therapy, you'll attend regular follow-up visits. This will give your provider the opportunity to monitor your progress, order necessary lab tests, and evaluate the effectiveness of any medications.

Benefits of medical nutrition therapy

Medical nutrition therapy is very beneficial in helping manage certain chronic diseases. Here are some of the benefits.

Slow and possibly reverse chronic disease

Medical nutrition therapy can help slow, and, in some cases, reverse chronic disease. Targeted nutrition can not only help you reach health targets for things like blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar, but good nutrition can also improve your energy, mental health, and fitness.

Help prevent the development of additional diseases

Unfortunately, having one chronic disease increases your risk of developing another. That's because the same lifestyle factors that can contribute to the development of a chronic disease, if left unchanged, can eventually lead to the development of additional chronic diseases.

For example, if you regularly consume too much sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar, you may first become overweight. However, if your diet doesn't change, you may then go on to develop hypertension, high cholesterol, prediabetes, and, eventually, Type 2 diabetes.

By addressing your nutritional issues, you may lower the likelihood of developing additional chronic diseases. And, as an added bonus, just eating a balanced diet often results in weight loss in people who need to lose weight.

Diet is a modifiable risk factor. This means you can take control and make the necessary dietary changes to help prevent and manage chronic diseases, and we can help. To learn more, book an appointment online or over the phone with PharmXhealthOne today.