Eating and drinking a balanced diet can help your body cope with treatment side effects and heal faster.
CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD)
Reduced food intake is common, and energy and protein needs are often increased making eating enough difficult. You can better your nutrition to prevent malnutrition
These infographics low risk, medium risk, high risk from UK’s Malnutrition Pathway (2020) give nutrition advice based on malnutrition risk level
CANCER
Malnutrition is one of the most common side effects of cancer and treatment side effects and can affect up to 80% of patients depending on tumor type and stage, according to NCI.
The Consumer Guide for Cancer Patients-Caring for your Nutrition from the American Society on Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) (2021) helps you spot the signs and can help you focus on ways to better your nutrition
DIABETES
Diabetic complications like gastroparesis (food moves slowly through gut) and ketoacidosis (very high blood sugar and ketones in blood) can lead to a poor appetite and increased risk of malnutrition. A 2018 study found 16.5% of older adults with diabetes on Medicare had protein-energy malnutrition and they had a 69% increased risk of dying as compared to older adult diabetics on Medicare without malnutrition.
This High protein, high energy eating and diabetes from the Australian Diabetes Association (2017) gives tips for diabetic high protein, high calorie meals when you have a poor appetite. Look here for more tips on preventing unintentional weight loss in diabetes.
ORAL NUTRITION SUPPLEMENTS
Oral Nutrition Supplements from Dietitian Connection (2020) explains how oral nutritional supplements (ONS) can help malnutrition and offers examples of ONS products for malnourished adults.