Handbook of Nutritional Assessment. Principles and Practice in Primary Care

Description

This is a handbook on nutritional assessment for those working in primary care. It is presented in two main parts: the first deals with important concepts in nutrition and nutrition assessment, and the second deals with the individual essential nutrients, using a set format for each chapter. Emphasis is on the clinical recognition and management of common problems of undernutrition and overnutrition as seen in the primary care setting.

It would be easy to imagine that information on the prevalence and importance of undernutrition and overnutrition in the United Kingdom is already widely available. It is not. Doctors receive little training in nutrition and they do not usually have the time to make a detailed nutritional assessment of their patients. But around 40% of UK adults take nutritional supplements. So how can primary care workers know what is required, and can recent press stories of adverse effects be believed? How could something that is natural possibly be harmful? The practitioner cannot rely upon manufacturers to provide impartial information about the indications and the contraindications.

Nutrition needs to return to being part of standard practice by a wide range of health practitioners involved in primary care. Nutritional assessment is the first step in determining whether an individual’s health is influenced by their diet and nutritional state. This Handbook of Nutritional Assessment will provide doctors, nutritional therapists and all concerned primary health care staff with the tools to better recognise nutritional deficiencies and excesses.

Contents:

1. The Science of Nutrition and Nutritional Assessment/2. Defining the Essential Nutrients/ 3. Determining the Requirements for Essential Nutrients/ 4. Nutrient Management/The Processes of Digestion, Absorption, Metabolism, Storage and Excretion/5.How Nutritional Deficiencies Develop/ 6.Why Nutritional Deficiencies Develop/7. Assessing Nutrient Intake/8.Clinical Features of Nutritional Deficiency/9.Tests of Nutritional State/10. Nutritional Surveys of the United Kingdom/11.Identifying those at risk of Nutritional Deficiency /12. Nutrient Excess and Adverse Nutrient Reactions.

KEY SELLING POINTS

*Basic Concepts about Nutrition
*Chapters that introduce to the reader the basic principles of nutrition and nutritional assessment