The Building Blocks of Life: A Nutrition Foundation for Healthcare Professionals

The UK's mainstream healthcare practitioners receive little or no nutrition education, leading to a limited understanding of nutrition and a focus on energy consumption and obesity. The Building Blocks of Life: A Nutrition Foundation for Healthcare Professionals aims to redress this balance by providing an informative narrative on how nutrition is the basis for good health, discussing UK-specific issues with regards to diet and intakes of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and other micronutrients, and raising concerns about the potential negative health implications of the poor UK diet. The book challenges current public health myths and suggests ways that healthcare practitioners can support patients in improving their long-term health outlook.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 286 pages
Publication date: 28 March 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Within the United Kingdom (UK), most mainstream healthcare practitioners receive little or no nutrition education during their years of training. As a consequence, the understanding of nutrition amongst primary care practitioners such as general practitioners, pharmacists, midwives, and practice nurses is limited and is largely focused on energy consumption and obesity. There is little knowledge of the wealth of micronutrients that underpin health, nor of the ticking timebomb of insufficient intakes of those micronutrients amongst a significant proportion of the population in the UK. The Building Blocks of Life: A Nutrition Foundation for Healthcare Professionals is a step towards redressing that balance. It sets out an informative and engaging narrative on how and why nutrition is the basis for good health. It discusses UK-specific issues with regards to diet and intakes of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and other micronutrients. It also raises concerns about the potential negative health implications of the generally poor UK diet and suggests ways that healthcare practitioners can support patients in improving their long-term health outlook. Nutrition policy in the UK needs to be dragged into the 21st century, and this book sets out evidence-based arguments that challenge current public health myths such as the idea that 10 micrograms of vitamin D is all anyone needs or the messaging around the consumption of saturated fat vs highly processed seed oils or that everyone can get all the nutrients they need from a varied and balanced diet. Although The Building Blocks of Life: A Nutrition Foundation for Healthcare Professionals focuses on concerns around poor diet and the consequent micronutrient inadequacies in the UK, the nutritional detail is relevant to practitioners in other countries as well. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the nutritional requirements of the human body and the importance of a balanced diet. It also discusses the role of micronutrients in maintaining health and the potential consequences of deficiencies in these nutrients. Overall, The Building Blocks of Life: A Nutrition Foundation for Healthcare Professionals is an essential resource for healthcare practitioners who want to improve their understanding of nutrition and its role in promoting good health. It provides a comprehensive and evidence-based approach to nutrition that is easy to read and understand. By incorporating this book into their practice, healthcare practitioners can help their patients make informed decisions about their diet and lifestyle, which can have a positive impact on their long-term health outcomes.

Weight: 508g
Dimension: 234 x 156 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032271118