Nutrient Dense Meals Patient Education Sheet

Nutrient Density can be a more complicated topic to inform a patient/client about during Outpatient MNT counseling or Telehealth MNT appointments. This patient education sheet is available in both English/Spanish and exhibits a combination of educational information: advice about decreasing added sugars in meals and a visual example of a Nutrient Dense meal compared to a non-nutrient dense meal taken from the freely available USDA/HHS 2020-2025 DGA.

The ingredients list, containing portion sizes of each ingredient, from the 2020-2025 DGA picture is in English. While educating Spanish speakers who understand very little English, spend the majority of the Nutrition Education describing the visual differences in the 2020-2025 DGA picture between the Nutrient Dense meal on the left and the non-nutrient dense meal on the right. Make sure to frequently pause during your visual description of Nutrient Density to allow the Translator enough time to convey the concept accurately to the patient/client. The Translator may also have questions to ask you before speaking to the patient; the Translator's goal is to accurately describe the concept and making sure that they themselves understand your official recommendation is an essential step in accurate translation experiences during medical appointments. Make sure to block out sufficient time for this Visual Nutrition Education in your appointment. Remember to ask the patient/client if they have any questions about Nutrient Dense Meals at the end of the education and practice reflective listening with the Translator's responses. Look the patient/client in the eyes when talking to them. Even though the Translator will be interpreting your sentences, Visual Eye-Contact is an important symbol of respect, and it is considered disrespectful to not look a patient/client in the eyes when using a Translator for a medical appointment.

Both PDFs in English/Spanish show the patient/client the web address for the 2020-2025 DGA published by the USDA/HHS.

This patient education sheet can also be used during Telehealth MNT appointments if the Provider has access to a "Share Your Screen" tool on the communications service being used for Telehealth appointments. A Provider can click "Share Your Screen" when they have the PDF of this patient education sheet open on their desktop and do a full Nutrition Education on Nutrient Dense Meals using this sheet as a Nutrition Intervention for hypercholesterolemia, Prediabetes/DM, HTN, CKD, Dyslipidemia, CAD/HD/CVD, Cancer Dx, Sarcopenia Prevention/Dx, NAFLD, & Transaminitis (elevated liver enzymes).

Establishing what Nutrient Density is has become a vital step in MNT that allows the patient to develop the skills needed when creating meals for themselves to reach nutritional self-efficacy. Educating a patient/client about Nutrient Density helps patients/clients avoid accidentally starving themselves after MNT appointments; Nutrient Density is not equivalent to Low-Calorie. Many patients experience decreased anxiety around meal planning after they realize that you can enhance the nutritional quality of the meals that you eat without following a Low-Calorie meal plan.

Thank you for taking the time to view this Patient Education Resource!

Best Regards,

Ms. Samantha Walton, RDN MS Nutrition, Executive Director & Sole Member Founder/Incorporator of The Dietetic Wellness Project, & Sole Creator/Designer of the Official Dietetic Wellness Website for The Dietetic Wellness Project Nonprofit Corporation

_Nutrient Dense Meals Example Dietetary Guidelines English PDF - Published PDF.pdf

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_Nutrient Dense Meals Example Dietetary Guidelines Spanish PDF - Published PDF.pdf

Download PDF • 440KB