Nutrition, Symptom Management & Prevention
When we talk about chronic illness, there seems to be minimal discussion about how nutrition can play a role in helping to alleviate symptoms. I’ve been having conversations with my clients who have been asking about certain foods and whether or not they were appropriate to have with their illness. I have been encouraging my clients to talk with their medical providers about a possible referral to a dietician or nutritionist that they can consult with address their dietary concerns as it relates to their disease process. When asking clients about whether or not they had an opportunity to speak with a dietician during their hospital stay it seems as though it’s very brief and involves pages of materials for them to read.
Medical providers need to offer more than a brief visit with a nutritionist or dietician, their role is an integral part of the collaborative efforts to help people adjust to life-changing illness. Similar to the role of medication, often there is trial and error period. Usually, physicians find themselves adjusting or discontinuing a particular medication. This is done to determine what works and what doesn’t, in response to the illness that is being treated. There may be specific labs and diagnostic exams to help individuals determine if they are on the right path for what is needed to manage their symptoms. It’s great to have literature to read but what if English isn’t your first language this form of education can be problematic. Also with many different commitments and limited availability, someone may not have the time to read through pages of documents to determine what foods they should avoid vs those they can have. The ability to have one on one dialogue with a nutritionist can likely increase positive outcomes when we are attempting to combat life-changing illness.
Many people who deal with chronic illness have to be mindful of the food and beverages they consume as they can have a detrimental effect on their health status. So then why is it that coverage for nutritional therapy under Medicare is so limited? A prerequisite for coverage of nutritional therapy is diabetes or a kidney transplant within the past 36 months. As we get older your risk for illness increases and there are many diseases where nutrition plays an integral role in managing symptoms, which are exacerbated within communities of color. In order to address racial disparities in health care, we have to encourage accessibility to a dietician or nutritionist to be very involved in an individual’s treatment plan.
People would likely be more transparent about their struggles if they identified with the dietician or nutritionist they are working with. Let’s encourage more diverse faces in the nutrition field, this can help to combat high rates of preventative diseases within communities of color. Can we get health insurance companies to cover nutritional therapy as a preventative measure and for those struggling with illnesses outside of diabetes and kidney failure?
Since we are talking about nutrition I want to highlight an amazing group of folks I’ve connected with since pandemic hit. We are a mutual aid group that formed in response to the pandemic to shop and deliver groceries for FREE. We are a volunteer group that is dependent on fundraising. Since we started we’ve raised collectively across various platforms, including our go fund me page over $30,000. We are grateful for our donors that have supported us so far. Help us continue our efforts, by donating. You can also help us out tremendously by spreading the word. Check us out on IG to see the work we’ve done since we started in April.