Read chapters 8, 9, and 10 before completing this week’s discussion board.

Complete #1, 2, and 3 below for full credit.

1.  Follow the DASH diet for one day this week and then report on your experience answering the questions below.  Some folks shop ahead for the week so be sure to read the section on the DASH diet so you can plan accordingly – pgs 374-6.  Hypertension and the role of sodium are discussed, as are the roles of potassium, magnesium, and calcium for both prevention and treatment of hypertension. 

DASH diet plan… It requires participants to consume 8-10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day along with three servings of dairy (or a calcium source) and whole grains, etc. to get in plenty of magnesium, potassium, and calcium.  This could offer many benefits as well as high blood pressure reduction, but it might prove to be difficult to follow this plan and stick to it.  

Instructions:

a. Compare what you eat in one day to the DASH diet.  Answer the following questions:

How does your current dietary intake compare with the DASH diet?  Be specific.

(comment on all food groups: grains, vegetables, fruits etc.)

With effort and intention, what changes could you make to meet the guidelines?  List at least 3 dietary changes you could make.  

b.  Follow the DASH diet plan for one day and compare what you ate to the plan. 

c.  Answer the following questions :

What did you eat? 

How did you do with your changes and meeting the DASH plan?   

What would you want others to know about following this meal plan based on what you learned?

2.  Choose 3 of the following questions to answer on the discussion board for this #2 prompt. 

a.  How might the trend of using sea salt over fortified salt impact micronutrient status in the US?  

b.  What B vitamin deficiencies might contribute to heart disease (cardiovascular disease) and how? 

c.  Discuss the need for the fortification of nutrients in our food supply.  Is this outdated or does the need to fortify continue? Provide details as to WHY you are answering the way you are.

d.  Taking antioxidant supplements seems like a way to ensure you are protecting your body from aging and chronic disease.  Give your support of food over supplements or supplements over food for getting antioxidants and support your reasoning in your answer.

e.  Discuss why eating frozen vegetables may be a way to improve micronutrient status over fresh or canned vegetables.

f.  What have you learned about the packaging and processing of foods and their impact on the nutrient status of our food supply?  Give at least 2 examples of how nutrients are impacted and what recommendations you would give consumers about maximizing the nutrient quality of the foods chosen at the grocery stores.

e.  Describe the role of the kidney in regulating blood pressure and what dietary habits may impact this regulation.

f.  Dehydration is one of the most common reasons for hospitalizations.  What are considerations nurses and staff need to consider that may be contributing to dehydration?  Research ways to determine the amount of fluid needed to prevent dehydration from your text and compare to outside resources.   Determine your fluid needs using 2 methods and provide the range using the methods you found.  What are your thoughts about this after your research?

g.  Research bottled water and municipal water sources.  What regulations exist for bottled water?  What would you recommend and why?  Be sure and use reliable resources as discussed in chapter one and provided at the end of each chapter for your references. 

h.  Describe at least 2 ways nutrients act as antioxidants (in detail on a cellular level).  

i.  Give 2 examples of how nutrients act together synergistically to perform a function necessary in the body.

j.  Discuss why it important to know the difference between correlation and cause/effect when it comes to dietary and supplement recommendations.  

3.  Read your classmate’s posts and comment on at least one contributing to the discussion adding your insights and learnings to the discussion in the class. 

Due Sunday 11:59 pm