Food Hygiene and Nutrition - Essay Example

Food Hygiene and Nutrition 1. Introduction Nutritional medicine is the unifying nutrition and medicine to improve health, cure disease, and prevent sickness. Similarly, experts in the field trust that natural healing such as herbal medicine, homeopathy, diet, nutritional supplements, acupressure and other modalities, which are sometimes called ‘complementary’ medicines, can complement and support each other in building good health. For this reason, this paper will critically compare Nutritional Medicine with other modalities such as herbal medicine, nutritional counselling, and aromatherapy. It will also explore the need for integration of these modalities and mainstream medicine in the 21st century. 2. Nutritional Medicine “Nutritional medicine refers to the interdisciplinary knowledge in the fields of human nutrition and medicine for the purpose of diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of disease” (Shikora and Blackburn 1997, p.3). Nutritional medicine is generally perceived as utilizing diet, food, and nutritional supplements to improve health. Nutrition is used to prevent sickness, remedy a particular health problem, and support overall health and well-being. In general, dietitians, dietetic technicians, registered dietitians, nutritionist, nutritional consultants, and nutritional counsellors are regarded as specialist of nutrition that are involved in the promotion of nutrition, healthy eating and lifestyles to promote health (Tierney 1999, p.95). However, holistic nutritionist perceived health as a complex system that includes physiological, emotional, and spiritual issues. They care for the whole person and utilized unorthodox means such as herbal medicine to help clients. This sort of nutritionist explores various variables affecting individual mind and body to see how well our body is absorbing nutrients. They are much diverse from traditional dietitians as they hold a wider view of health and well-being and consider more factors in providing health care (Tierney 1999, p.95). 3. Nutritional Medicine and Herbs The science of ‘herbology’ had been around for centuries and it is considered a common healing method in virtually all cultures of the world. Vegetation and their elements such as roots, leaves, flowers, or berries have clear pharmacological activity in our bodies, ranging from very light to strong effects. The system of pharmaceutical medicine according to Hass (1992, p.273), is based on the familiarity and effects of herbal medicine, where the active components discovered in the plants were collected and manufactured to produce ‘patent medicines’. Modern pharmacology has deep roots in herbal medicine. For instance, the use of the herb mahuang or ephedra can be traced back several thousand of years and its primary ingredients, ephedrine and its synthetic version pseudo ephedrine, is used by pharmaceutical companies today to counter cold and allergy (Zand et. al. 1999, p.9). However, the effects of herbal remedies, used independently or mixed, are more restrained than most drugs thus more practical for minor problems or prevention. Alternatively, nutritional medicine promotes healthy eating and supplementation, and as discussed earlier, a ‘complementary medicine’ comparable to herbal medication. However, herbal medicine alone cannot support people’s nutritional need thus should be taken as a nutritional supplement. Nutritional medicine is all about eating the right food and taking vitamin and mineral supplements thus herbal medicine, a good supplement with proven medicinal value can complement or support nutritional medicine to create better health. 4. Nutritional Medicine and Counselling Nutritional medicine is not just rectification of nutrient disproportions concern with controlling a particular disease process by dietary means (Leddy 2003, p.406). It is generally supporting healthy diet and nutritional supplementation of vitamins and minerals for individuals to meet their nutritional requirements and avoid sickness (Powell 1999, p.262). Nutritional counselling alternatively is a mixture of nutritional expertise and psychological skill that is centred on foods and the value of nutrients they have (Snetselaar 1997, p.3). It is an exceptionally significant element of a cognitive behavioural therapy approach to eating disorder (Gilbert 2005, p.77). It helps people at all levels of health by fortifying their body, mind, and spirit. Nutritional counselling is not exclusively for the sick. Those who are well and healthy can also take advantage of counselling to ensure they are eating the right food, sustain their health, and enhance their energy. Nutritional counselling according to (Tierney 1999, p.96) is harmless and can only benefit a client regardless of their health problem or goal. However, nutritional medicine promotion without nutritional counselling skills is pointless as people particularly those with eating disorders requires more encouragement. They probably would not take nutritional medicine seriously without administering behavioural therapy and appropriate mind-set. Nutritional medicine like herbs and other natural remedies is less effective independently and must be supplemented with other forms of modalities like counselling. 5. Nutritional Medicine and Aromatherapy Aromatherapy according to Keville and Green (1995, p.9) can reduce stress, improve sleep, and give us more energy. Aromatherapy uses the aroma essential oils from plants and flowers to influence a person’s disposition and emotion, and produce favourable physical effects such as lowered blood pressure. However, how it is possible is still ambiguous but some researchers articulate that scents affect feelings as our nasal passage opens directly onto the part of the brain that controls emotion and memory. Psychic healers believe that fragrances work on subtle, still undiscovered energies in the body. Others trust that aroma compounds interact with receptor sites in the central nervous systems. Conversely, regardless of their belief and assumption, it is far more pragmatic to accept that aromatherapy acclimatized the mind and body through fragrances instead of nutrition and supplements. Similar to herbs and other complementary medicine, aromatherapy cannot stand on its own to support health. Aromatherapy needs nutrition in order to support good health consistently as conditioning the mind and body through some kind of hypnotic abstraction produced by fragrances in plants is just temporary relief and possess no nutritional value. “Often, just changing one’s dietary habits immediately promotes better health” (Barney 1998, p. 14). Apparently, people need to eat to maintain good health because through a healthy diet, people can prevent sickness and treat specific health problems. Nutritional medicine combines healthy food and supplements thus aromatherapy, as a supplement, can be use to condition a person’s mind and body of a person to adopt a healthy lifestyle. 6. The Need for Integration Holistic medicine’s adoption of numerous healing modalities is gaining considerable public attention and approval (Floyd and St. John. 1998, p.140). This is because natural medicines are harmless, pure, effective, and cheaper than traditional medical treatments (Weil 2004, p.9). Evidenced by various multidisciplinary clinics in the United States where medical practitioners such as naturopathic physician, acupuncturist, nutritionist, homeopaths, chiropractors, and counsellors are working together in an integrated manner, treating the patient as a whole person, complementary medicines is undeniably accepted as an effective form of treatment. In addition, natural healing systems are much more widely used as the World Health Organization reports that 80% of the world’s population relies on natural healing as their primary form of health care. Increasingly, medical doctors are recognizing the safety and effectiveness of natural medicines and there are physicians who recommend herbal medicines, homeopathic remedies, and dietary changes for their patients. Already, a clear link has been established between diet and health. For instance, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society have all published dietary guidelines to promote health. Conventional and complementary health-care practitioners alike stressed the role of nutrition as essential to the healing process (Zand et. al. 1999, p.8). 7. Conclusion Nutrition undeniably promotes good health, prevent illness, and treat specific health problems. Similarly, natural medicines such as herbs and other modalities are safe and effective, and a more economical way to treat illness. Nutritional medicine promotes healthy eating and supplementation thus complete and more effective in promoting good health. Supplementing healthy diet with the healing powers of natural medicines definitely has its advantage over conventional medical treatment. The need for integration of these modalities and mainstream medicine in our time is clearly unavoidable since good health depends on the combination of healthy diet and natural medicines. More importantly, natural medicines are safe and effective, and cheaper than standard medical treatments. 8. Reference List Barney Paul, 1998, Doctor's Guide to Natural Medicine: The Complete and Easy-To-Use Natural Health Reference from a Medical Doctor's Perspective, Published by Woodland Publishing, USA Floyd Robbie and St. John Gloria, 1998, From Doctor to Healer: The Transformative Journey, Published by Rutgers University Press, USA Gilbert Sara, 2005, Counseling for Eating Disorders, Published by SAGE, Great Britain Haas Elson M., 1992, Staying Healthy with Nutrition: The Complete Guide to Diet and Nutritional Medicine, Published by Celestial Arts, USA Keville Kathi and Green Mindy, 1995, Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art, Published by The Crossing Press, USA Leddy Susan, 2003, Integrative Health Promotion: Conceptual Bases for Nursing Practice, Published by Jones & Bartlett Publishers, USA Powell Suzanne, 1999, Advanced Case Management: Outcomes and Beyond, Published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, USA Shikora Scott and Blackburn George, 1997, Nutrition Support: Theory and Therapeutics, Published by Jones & Bartlett Publishers, USA Snetselaar Linda, 1997, Nutrition Counseling Skills for Medical Nutrition Therapy, Published by Jones & Bartlett Publishers, USA Tierney Gillian, 1999, Opportunities in Holistic Health Care Careers, Published by McGraw-Hill Professional, USA Weil Andrew, 2004, Natural Health, Natural Medicine: The Complete Guide to Wellness and Self-care for Optimum Health, Published by Mariner Books, USA Zand Janet, Spreen Allan N., and LaValle James B., 1999, Smart Medicine for Healthier Living: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Natural and Conventional Treatments for Adults, Published by Avery, USA Read More