Dr. Alisha Shirole
Clinical nutrition focus on the prevention, diagnosis, and management of nutritional changes in patients linked to chronic diseases and conditions. Clinical nutrition applies nutritional principles to treat and prevent diseases by addressing nutritional deficiencies, excesses, or imbalances.
It involves designing personalized diets and providing nutritional support, including oral, enteral, or parenteral feeding methods, to meet individual needs. Clinical in this sense refers to the management of patients, including not only outpatients at clinics and in private practice, but also inpatients in hospitals. It incorporates primarily the scientific fields of nutrition and dietetics. Furthermore, clinical nutrition aims to maintain a healthy energy balance, while also providing sufficient amounts of nutrients such as protein, vitamins, and minerals to patients.
Purpose of Clinical Diet:
The following are the main purposes of therapeutic diet
- To maintain good nutrition
- To rectify any deficiencies that may have occurred
- To boost the metabolism
- To help you maintain a healthy weight.
Application of Nutritional Principles:
Clinical nutrition uses knowledge of energy, macronutrient (fat, protein, carbohydrates), and micronutrient (vitamins, minerals) requirements to address nutritional needs.
Disease Management:
It plays a crucial role in managing conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and kidney disease, by adjusting dietary intake of specific nutrients.
Personalized Approach:
Dietary plans are customized based on factors like age, gender, medical history, and individual needs.
Nutritional Support:
This includes providing artificial nutrients through oral, enteral (nasogastric feeding), or parenteral (intravenous) routes.
Types of Therapeutic Clinical Diet
A therapeutic diet, also known as a clinical diet, refers to a special diet plan that manages the intake of certain nutrients or foods. It is usually an alteration of one’s regular diet. Some common clinical diet examples include: These are meal plans prescribed by a doctor and planned by a dietitian to manage specific health conditions.
- Gluten-free diet – includes legumes, lentils and beans, grains like millet, quinoa, carrots, berries, and apricots
- Semi liquid diet – fruits juices, cooked cereal and pudding, ice cream and frozen yoghurt, sherbet; soup, broth, and syrups
- Renal Diet – Low electrolytes, low protein diet
Examples of Therapeutic Diets:
- Cardiac Diet – Low in fat and salt. Whole grains, vegetables and fruits; dairy and meat products; legumes and beans; sweet potatoes, egg whites, and mushrooms.
- Clear Liquid Diet – Consists of liquids at room temperature. Includes plain, flavoured, or carbonated water; fruit juices excluding the pulp (apple juice or grape juice); fruit-flavoured beverages like lemonade.
- Diabetic Diet / High Fiber Diet – Varies in calorie level and fat content based on individual needs; healthy fats that come from fish oils, olive oil, nuts, flaxseeds, and avocados; high-fibre carbs made from whole grains; fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Low Sodium Diet – Limits salt intake to 2 grams or 2000 mg per day.
- Lactose-Free Diet – Eliminates milk and milk products.
- Low Protein Diet – Restricts protein intake from meat, milk, and sugary foods.
- Mechanical Soft (Low Residue) Diet – For individuals with chewing or swallowing difficulties.
Benefits of Clinical Nutrition
Clinical diets are prepared to optimize the nutritional requirements of an individual in order to treat a range of ailments or to improve one’s overall health. The diet prescribed by a physician is a part of the treatment plan for a clinical concern or a disease to eliminate, increase, or decrease specific nutritional needs and to maintain or minimize the risk of injuries. Dieticians recommend making lifestyle changes to improve the patient’s health, prevent disease, and maintain a healthful lifestyle. For example, many patients undergoing dialysis are on diets that are therapeutic to their care so that they observe maximum improvement in conditions from the dialysis.