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Essay / Diabetes: How to Eat Healthy and Maintain Good Levels
Table of ContentsPatient BackgroundPatient Learning NeedConclusionReferencesDiabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder in which the ability of the pancreas to produce or respond to insulin is diminished. A long-term, multisystem disease related to irregular insulin production, impaired insulin use, or both, leading to abnormal carbohydrate metabolism and increased blood and urine glucose levels. There are two categories of diabetes mellitus, type 1 and type 2. Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes that has no age limit and can occur with certain lifestyle choices. Such as poor eating habits, lack of exercise and obesity. While type 1 is also called juvenile or insulin-dependent diabetes, which is the inability of the pancreas to produce insulin; usually beginning at an early age. This chronic disease affects more than 29.1 million people worldwide. Diabetes is considered one of the leading causes of death, it is also one of the contributing causes of adult blindness, neuropathy, end-stage renal disease, peripheral vascular disease and non-existent amputations. traumatic injuries of the lower limbs (Lewis, Bucher, Heitkemper & Harding, 2017, p.1120). Diabetes mellitus is significantly more prevalent in African American, Native American, and Hispanic populations, and is more common in men (Holman, Williams, Johnson, Ball, Wheless, Leehy, & Lemon, 2018, p. 527). Diabetes is a chronic disease that can be maintained through a balanced diet, physical exercise and daily medication. With a proper diet, a person's blood sugar levels can be controlled and managed well. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Patient History The patient is a 52-year-old African-American male with a history of hypertension and migraines. He arrived at the emergency room with a blood sugar of 439, temperature of 98.6, respirations of 19, pulse oximetry of 97, and blood pressure of 159/86. His daughter noticed he was drinking more water than usual and had to stop and go to the bathroom four times to shop at Target. She became concerned when he was driving home and he yelled that he couldn't see the lines on the road clearly. He has been a widower for two years and lives alone with his dog. He works as a Septa bus driver and can work up to 16 hours a day. His wife cooked, so he now usually eats frozen meals from the market. Her two daughters and one son are all in college or living on their own. They visit him quite often, usually bringing home-cooked meals with them. One girl is a newly qualified nurse and noticed the signs of diabetes mellitus and brought her to the hospital. The patient was admitted and placed on an insulin drip. The diabetes team has informed him that he has type 2 diabetes. Patient's learning needs The patient has completed high school and trade studies. He said he learns best by reading and mastering the material. Using the healthy eating pamphlet along with the step-by-step instructions for the blood sugar test would be appropriate. He puts his finger in, checks his blood sugar for two days without missing a step and notes the values in his notebook. The patient states that he can prepare meals, but he just doesn't know what to cook; later, it is easier to reheat a frozen meal in the microwave and eat it. As studied by Sumlin and Brown (2017), aTraditional diabetes education, which includes information about recommended dietary changes, has been attempted in African American communities, but with little success (p. 566). The patient will need a thorough analysis of the types of dietary changes they will need to make. After reviewing the assessments documented in their chart, the patient is willing and ready to learn how and what to eat for a balanced meal and appropriate snacks to maintain acceptable blood sugar levels. A dietitian was contacted regarding explanation of meal preparation and healthy eating. At the end of the teaching, the patient will be able to relearn good food choices for diabetics and appropriate meal portions. Additionally, the patient will be able to explain how to read nutritional values on food and drink packages and be careful about the amount of sugar and carbohydrates in each intake. Finally, the patient will be able to find simple and healthy foods to prepare before discharge. Knowledge gap related to lack of awareness of the diabetic disease process and ineffective health education, as evidenced by unhealthy food choices and sedentary lifestyle. Short term – Reduce your sugar intake by planning your meals for the day and keeping a diary to track the amount of carbohydrates and sugar consumed. Long term – Being able to maintain normal blood sugar levels by eating healthier food choices. To use the diabetes brochure demonstrate good food choices and proper portioning of foods. Give examples of food groups that will control blood sugar levels. The brochure will guide him to be able to select the appropriate food choices. Explain to the patient the importance of the daily food diary in order to effectively monitor their sugar consumption. Although counting grams of sugar in a food is a good thing, the best way to control blood sugar is to count carbohydrates. “Although the amount of other nutrients in the diet can affect blood sugar levels to some extent, the amount of carbohydrates consumed has the most significant effect” (Bussel, 2016, p.26). By documenting meals and snacks consumed throughout the day; the diary will be a good tool to allow him to monitor his food choices and consumption. At the end of the conversation, the patient was able to fully learn. Explain the benefits of a healthy diet change incorporating portion size and carbohydrate counting. Topics such as how to continue eating the meals he loved in moderation, rather than complete dietary restriction, were discussed. Capehorn (2017) stated that it is best to make small changes to a person's diet to achieve the best overall results, rather than trying to completely change the foods they eat; this gives the best adherence to monitoring a person's blood sugar (p. 94). He was able to make a list of all the snacks and meals he enjoys and found that there were many foods he could continue to eat, in moderation. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.Get a Custom EssayConclusionOverall, the teaching was beneficial and the patient seemed to understand that this new diagnosis will be based on self-discipline regarding dietary modifications. Vanstone, Rewegan, Brundisini, Giacomini, Kandasamy, and DeJean (2017) assert that self-discipline can be facilitated by portion control, allowing people to consume small amounts of,/10.1177/1742395316675024