| Canossa
Hospital (Caritas)
Wellness Letter
Medical Nutrition Therapy
Medical nutrition therapy (MNT) may be new to the general public
in Hong Kong, but it is widely used as an integral component of
medical treatment in the western world. Nutrition therapy may
lead you to think of the traditional Chinese medicine where various
foods or herbal supplements are used to treat a certain disease
or medical condition. The concept of MNT is quite different indeed.
MNT is specialized individual dietary instruction based upon a
comprehensive nutrition assessment. Nutrition assessment includes
a review and analysis of medical and diet histories, brief physical
examination, laboratory test results, i.e. blood, urine tests,
and anthropometric measurements. It is important to include drug-nutrient
interaction assessment to identify potential food-drug interaction
that may affect the therapeutic outcome of the drug therapy; and
the utilization of a review of any complementary and alternative
medicine therapy is crucial to evaluate potential interactions
with both MNT and drug regiments.
In many western countries, MNT is proved to be a medically necessary
and cost effective way of treating and controlling many diseases
and their symptoms. It may complement and/or enhance the therapeutic
effectiveness of drug treatment alone, and in many cases could
reduce drug dosage and/or the need for multiple medications. The
actual therapy can include the following, based upon individual
needs: 1) diet modification and menu planning, 2) diet education
and counseling 3) food shopping and cooking techniques 4) administration
of specialized therapies such as medical foods, intravenous or
tube feedings.
List of diseases
and medical conditions that could benefit from MNT services:
| Type
1 Diabetes Mellitus |
Type
2 Diabetes Mellitus |
Gestational
Diabetes |
| Heart
Disease |
High
Cholesterol |
High
Triglycerides (Blood lipid) |
| High
Blood Pressure |
Kidney
Disease (Pre and post dialysis) |
Eating
Disorders (Anorexia, Bulimia,Compulsive Overeating) |
| Malnutrition/
Underweight |
Overweight/
Obesity |
Liver
Disease, Gall Stone/ Kidney Stone |
| Diverticulosis/
Diverticulitis |
Celiac
Disease |
Chronic
Constipation/ Diarrhea |
| Gastric
Reflux Disease |
Pressure
Ulcers |
Chronic
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease |
| HIV+/AIDS |
Cancers |
High
Risk Pregnancy |
| Gout |
Swallowing
difficulties |
Stroke/
Neurologic Disease |
| Tube
Feeding/IV Feeding |
Food
Allergy |
Developmental
Disorders/ Cerebral Palsy |
If you or
your loved ones has any of the above diseases or medical condition,
you should consider MNT in accord with the current treatment plan.
MNT must only be provided by a Registered Dietitian (RD). Hong
Kong does not have registration credential system now, hence all
current practicing RDs obtained their credentials from the United
States, the United Kingdom, Canada or Australia. You may find
outpatient MNT services at most hospitals or some multidisciplinary
medical clinics in Hong Kong.
Written by Winsy Leung, MS, RD, Consultant Dietitian of Canossa
Hospital (Caritas)
Reference: the American Dietetic Association, Ohio Dietetic Association
CT/No.42(4-2005)
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