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Hepatitis C: Nutrition Care
Canadian Guidelines for Health Care Providers
Chapter 8 - Skills for Healthy Eating
Persons infected with HCV may face challenges around healthy eating
that relate to planning, grocery shopping and preparing healthy
meals. This chapter provides some guidance to health care providers
on coping with those challenges.
Ability to Plan, Shop and Cook
Healthy eating requires the knowledge and ability to plan (which
includes budgeting and meal planning), grocery shop and prepare
healthy meals. Many persons infected with HCV face additional challenges
due to a limited budget, limited energy, nausea and food aversions.
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Learning about and practising food selection and meal planning
skills will facilitate long-term compliance to healthy eating.
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People are more likely to prepare nutritious meals if they
have all the ingredients they need.
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The time required to prepare healthy meals can be reduced
by using a shopping list and keeping a well-stocked kitchen.
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Knowing how to cope with symptoms related to the disease or
side effects of medication can help persons with HCV infection
feel better and eat a more healthy diet. (See Chapter 5.)
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Knowing how to prepare simple, healthy meals can help persons
infected with HCV save food dollars and get the nutrients they
need.
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Some Factors That Affect the Foods People Choose
- what foods are available in their area
- the cost of food and how much money they
have to spend
- the amount of time they have to shop
and to prepare meals
- which foods are familiar
- likes and dislikes (their own, and those
of their family)
- cooking skills
- discomforts due to illness
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Tools and resources are available to help persons infected with
HCV:
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The principles of CFGHE can be applied to the selection of
processed and ready-to-eat foods to help people who have less
time or energy for food preparation.
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See Resources for Chapter 8 for information on food budgeting,
shopping, meal planning (including recipes and sample menus),
and reading nutrition labels.
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See Appendix G: Healthy Eating-Planning Tips and Appendix
H: Low-Cost Nutritious Choices.
Additional screening factors such as living environment (e.g. homelessness,
home security, and access to a stove and refrigerator), income and
expenses (e.g. evaluation of money available for food) and functional
status (e.g. ability for self-care and stamina for shopping and
cooking) can be linked to specific interventions that address problems
(e.g. securing housing services, vouchers for food or support services
for shopping or cooking). People at risk for malnutrition based
on psychosocial or economic status should be referred to social
service professionals for more complete evaluation and intervention.
Nutrition Labelling
Nutrition information on food package labels can help people select
foods to meet healthy eating recommendations. Commencing in 2003,
Canada has a new system of nutrition labelling that provides standardized
information that is easier to find, easier to read and on more foods.
The nutrition information on food labels can help persons infected
with HCV make informed food choices. For example, the new labels
help to put the numbers in context by consistently showing what
portion size the information is based on, and what percentage of
the recommended daily intake (% Daily Value) each nutrient represents.
The nutrition information on food labels can help to increase or
decrease intake of a particular nutrient; compare products more
easily; determine the nutritional value of foods; and better manage
special diets. The information includes Nutrition Facts, the
list of ingredients and nutrition claims.
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Almost all prepackaged foods will have Nutrition Facts
by 2006, providing information on Calories and 13 nutrients,
including fat, carbohydrate, protein and sodium (see Appendix
I).
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Some products may also carry nutrition claims such
as "low fat" or "high fibre". Regulations
specify the exact conditions for a food to qualify for these
claims.
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New to some food labels are diet-related health claims. These
types of nutrition claims reinforce the role of healthy eating
as part of a lifestyle that can reduce the risk of developing
a chronic disease, such as heart disease or cancer.
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Most packaged food must have an ingredient list. Ingredients
in the food are listed by weight from most to least.
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Key Messages to Guide Nutrition Labelling Education
- Nutrition Facts: easy to find, easy to
read, and on more foods.
- Use Nutrition Facts, the list of ingredients
and nutrition claims to make informed food choices.
- Nutrition Facts are based on a specific
amount of food-compare this to the amount eaten.
- Use % Daily Value to see if a food has
a lot or a little of a nutrient.
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Source: <www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpfb-dgpsa/onpp-bppn/labelling-etiquetage/key_messages_e.html>
(Nutrition labelling education materials, see Resources for
this chapter.)
Food Safety
Persons infected with HCV need to be careful to avoid food-borne
illness. A key strategy is to store and prepare food at home safely.
One of the best practices is to wash hands often and well when handling
food and cooking. (See Appendix J.)
For more information, consult...
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