Client’s Risk of the Health Condition Based on Lack of Good Nutritional Access
The client has diabetes which necessitates a specific diet. However, the client belongs to the low-income group and runs the risk of diabetic complications related to her lack of good nutritional access. Low-income diet usually consists of a lot of carbohydrates which are split into monosaccharides. The formed glucose is actively absorbed into the bloodstream and affects the overall sugar level. High sugar can damage nerve fibers, and blood vessel walls, and negatively affect the tissues of the heart, kidneys, and other internal organs.
Another danger of a low-income diet is the high level of all varieties of white bread, pasta, and rice the client consumes. Doctors do not advise patients with diabetes to eat bread and flour products made of refined flour, as they increase blood glucose levels. The restrictions also apply to other products made from wheat. Observations have shown that the use of gluten-free pasta causes an increase in blood sugar. The highest glucose levels are caused by rice-based varieties (Bacchetti et al). Another independent study found that eating white bread with a high carbohydrate content causes a decrease in brain activity and mental disorders in patients with type II diabetes mellitus (Greenwood et al.).
Moreover, the client consumes a large amount of cheap packed snacks that contain a huge amount of rapidly digested carbohydrates without any valuable nutrients. After eating, these foods cause spikes in blood sugar levels. The danger of packaged snacks is that the amount of carbohydrates in the package is significantly reduced. The study of the conformity of the composition of the products and the information on the label showed that the actual amount of carbohydrates is almost 8% higher than stated (Jumpertz et al.). As a snack between meals, it is better to eat nuts, low-calorie cheese, or vegetables unavailable to the client due to the low income.
Malnutrition as a Social Determinant of Health
Malnutrition is a rather common problem among low-income groups. The danger of malnutrition lies in the fact that people consume a lot of harmful substances with cheap food that negatively affect their health. Often cheap food contains a high amount of cholesterol, which clogs blood and over time can cause a number of problems with the heart and blood vessels. These problems comprise diabetes and hemorrhage, which lead to strokes and heart attacks. Moreover, with repeated use of vegetable oil, carcinogens, and toxic substances are released from it into food.
Systematic malnutrition leads to a malfunction of the body’s systems at all levels of regulation, starting from biochemical processes at the cellular level and ending with organ disorders. Excessive consumption of fats and fast carbohydrates leads to the development of metabolic disorders, obesity, and diabetes. As a result of obesity, the load on the cardiovascular and urinary systems increases. The heart, as the main contractile tissue in the human body, is forced to pump more blood, and the kidneys are forced to filter more urine. Moreover, malnutrition is associated with multiple poor health outcomes, including increased length of stay, readmission, frailty, and disability (Arensberg et al, para. 7).
The weakening of the body’s immune defense is a direct consequence of malnutrition. By depriving their bodies of extremely important nutrients, people provoke the beginning of a whole chain of diseases, starting with viruses and ending with all kinds of inflammations. In addition, an unbalanced diet can lead to heart problems – in particular, arrhythmia. Large consumption of additives and harmful substances with cheap food leads to disorders of the digestive system that may result in gastritis, ulcers, hemorrhoids, kidney diseases, and more.
Diabetes: Etiology, Clinical Course, Treatment, Recovery and Outcomes, Prevention Measures, and Prevalence in Different Populations
Diabetes mellitus is one of the most acute problems of world health. The main role in the development of pathology is played by insulin – the protein-peptide hormone of the pancreas. It is responsible for maintaining a normal level of glucose in the blood, ensuring its entry into tissue cells for their nutrition (Plows et al.). In diabetes mellitus, metabolic processes fail. Depending on the type of disease, either the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or the body loses its susceptibility to it. As a result, glucose does not reach the cells but accumulates in the blood. Tissues are experiencing energy starvation.
Both types of the disease are characterized by frequent attacks of hunger, a constant feeling of thirst, and frequent urination. All these are signs of hyperglycemia. This means that there is a lot of sugar in the patient’s blood. Diabetes mellitus can also accompanied by the following symptoms:
- visual impairment;
- numbness of the limbs;
- increased sweating;
- muscle weakness;
- and long wound healing.
Treatment methods depend on the type of disease. Although it is impossible to completely recover from diabetes mellitus, it is quite possible to alleviate the symptoms and prevent complications. For patients with type I diabetes, receiving insulin is vital, while patients with type II diabetes rarely need insulin. Their treatment is reduced to taking medications that reduce blood sugar levels and lifestyle correction. To help prevent diabetes and its complications, people should maintain optimal body weight, be physically active, stick to a healthy diet reduce the intake of carbohydrates and saturated fats, and monitor blood glucose levels. Statistics show that women are 2 times more likely to suffer from diabetes than men. This situation is associated with the intense work of the female hormonal system, complicated by the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause (Plows et al.).
Most often, women are diagnosed with an insulin-independent type of diabetes, which is explained by a large amount of adipose tissue, which has low sensitivity to insulin, and a smaller amount of muscle tissue compared to men. Moreover, people over the age of 50 run higher risks of diabetes development.
References
Arensberg MB, Saal-Ridpath K, Kerr K, Phillips W. Opportunities to Improve Quality Outcomes: Integrating Nutrition Care Into Medicare Advantage to Address Malnutrition and Support Social Determinants of Health. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing. 2022;59.
Bacchetti, T et al. “The postprandial glucose response to some varieties of commercially available gluten-free pasta: a comparison between healthy and celiac subjects.” Food & function vol. 5, no. 11, 2014, 3014-7.
Greenwood, Carol E et al. “Carbohydrate-induced memory impairment in adults with type 2 diabetes.” Diabetes care vol. 26, no. 7, 2017, 1961-6.
Jumpertz, Reiner et al. “Food label accuracy of common snack foods.” Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) vol. 21,1 (2013): 164-9.
Plows, Jasmine F., et al. “The pathophysiology of gestational diabetes mellitus.” International journal of molecular sciences vol.19, no. 11, 2018, pp. 3342. Web.