Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Add topic to email alerts Receive an email when new articles are posted on Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on . ” data-action=subscribe> Subscribe We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com. Back to Healio Key takeaways: An HHS\/CMS initiative asks hospitals to commit to serving more nutritious meals. The voluntary pledge calls for limiting processed meats, emphasizing fruit and vegetables, and choosing healthier cooking methods. HHS and CMS today launched a nationwide initiative that invites hospitals to commit to serving more nutritious meals. The voluntary Make Hospital Food Heathier Pledge encourages hospitals to take multiple actions to ensure the food they offer aligns with current Dietary Guidelines for Americans when feasible and clinically appropriate. \u201cOur entire health care system \u2014 not just hospitals \u2014 tends to focus on medications and symptom management. We haven\u2019t thought as much about prevention or the role food and lifestyle decisions play in the development of chronic diseases like obesity, heart disease and diabetes,\u201d Anna Herby, DHSc, RD, CDCES, a nutrition education specialist with Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, told Healio. \u201cIf we can change the way we approach health care, it could be very impactful. This initiative to incentivize improving hospital food brings the issue to the forefront of people\u2019s minds and it is a step in the right direction.\u201d The Make Hospital Food Healthier Pledge encourages hospitals to implement several practices that reinforce the importance of nutrition in patients\u2019 health, recovery and long-term wellness. These actions include: limiting ultra-processed foods, processed meats and sugar-sweetened beverages; emphasizing fruits and vegetables, legumes, seafood, nuts, seeds and healthy fats; prioritizing minimally processed proteins, including plant-based options; emphasizing whole grains instead of refined grains; using baked, broiled, grilled, roasted or stir-fried preparation methods rather than deep frying foods; and limiting use of foods high in added sugars, sodium and artificial additives. \u201cPatients recovering from serious medical conditions deserve better than ultra-processed and deep-fried junk foods,\u201d HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an agency-issued press release. \u201cWe\u2019re challenging hospitals across the country to lead by example by serving nutritious, minimally processed meals that help patients heal, reduce chronic disease and help make America healthy again.\u201d The time and effort required to implement each objective likely will vary, according to Herby, whose organization promotes preventive medicine and the need for higher standards in research. \u201cHospitals want to provide healthy food \u2014 and they are providing some \u2014 but each one faces different challenges and taking it to that next step might be a challenge,\u201d Herby said. \u201cOne of the main barriers is how hospital kitchens are set up. Some may have a lot of the food shipped in that they can simply heat, like instant mashed potatoes. Some may not have enough staff to chop fresh vegetables or the refrigerator space to store them. There also is a lot of staff turnover within food service at hospitals. A lot of reeducating and retraining needs to be done, and that takes time. Hopefully funding, resources or other support can be provided to help make all of this happen.\u201d CMS announced its intention to launch the Make Hospital Food Healthier Pledge in April. At that time, Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, issued a statement saying the organization supports the administration\u2019s focus on meeting patients’ nutritional needs to promote recovery, healing and overall health. \u201cHospitals across the country work closely with registered dietitians and clinical staff to provide patients with highquality, nutritious meals that embrace the notion that \u2018food is medicine,\u2019\u201d Pollack said in the statement. \u201cWe are committed to helping hospitals \u2014 as clinically appropriate and feasible \u2014 ensure that patients have access to nourishing meals, including by sharing this voluntary pledge with the hospital field and encouraging them to review it and give it serious consideration.\u201d The U.S. spends approximately $5 trillion annually on health care, according to CMS. About 90% of the expenditures are allocated to people with chronic disease. The Make Hospital Food Heathier Pledge is an important step in delivering \u201cprevention-first, whole-person care,\u201d according to CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD. \u201cWhen it comes to managing chronic disease, reducing comorbidities like obesity and shortening recovery times, a healthy diet can make all the difference,\u201d Oz said in the release. \u201cHospitals should nourish patients with the same commitment they bring to every other aspect of care.\u201d An HHS webpage that provides an overview of the initiative lists four \u201cfoundational pillars\u201d for the effort. One underscores the importance of nutrition education so patients have the knowledge and resources to maintain healthy eating habits after they are discharged. Another emphasizes the need for nutrition initiatives to be extended beyond the hospital to support healthier communities. \u201cI don\u2019t think you can do one without the other,\u201d Herby said. \u201cMany patients are scared when they are in the hospital. They want to know what they can do to avoid getting into a situation where they need to be hospitalized again. It is a real turning point for people and we need to take advantage of that moment. \u201cProviding them with healthy food while they are in the hospital \u2014 and educating them while they are motivated \u2014 can help ensure they keep that change going once they leave,\u201d she added. \u201cOutpatient programs, cooking classes, referrals to dietitians and general community support can then keep this going. That is what it will take to help people make long-term changes.\u201d Dietitians can speak with patients in the hospital and offer handouts with tips or easy-to-make healthy recipes. Nurses can support that effort to reach more patients. However, members of the clinical community who practice outside of a hospital setting also play an important role, Herby said. Earlier this year, the Trump administration launched its Nutrition Education Pledge, encouraging medical schools to commit to incorporate 40 hours of nutritional education or its competency equivalent into<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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