It's National Dieticians Week, and this year's theme is Dietitians Do Prevention, highlighting the fantastic work that all dietitians do to prevent illness or optimise health, be that in primary care or acute settings, industry or education.
In our healthwatching June 2017 report, we focused on the topic of Brain Food, looking at food that benefits your mental health. The Brain Food trend fits into two of our food and drink trends for 2017-18: Wellness Your Way, and Health is the New Wealth.
This aligns well with the first day of Dieticians Week - Mental Health and Recovery. Each day carries a different focus, looking at a different aspect of prevention.
Mental Health and Recovery: Diet and nutrition can play a key role in both preventing and managing mental ill health. Good nutrition and hydration can also help aid recovery and prevent relapse.
Rehab and Reablement: Dietitians provide rehabilitation to people who have been unwell (such as after an operation or having a stroke). Support from a dietitian can provide symptom relief, reduce risks of further illness and prevent admissions to hospital.
Public Health and Primary Prevention: Good nutrition and hydration is fundamental to good health. Dietitians help the public at large to stay healthy which helps prevent illness and diet related conditions such as malnutrition or obesity.
Optimising Health and Secondary Prevention: For people who have a health condition, like diabetes or dementia, support from a dietitian can provide symptom relief, prevent complications and optimise quality of life.
Healthy Conversations and Making Every Contact Count: Dietitians don't just discuss diet and nutrition when they do prevention, they discuss related issues that impact on health like exercise, smoking and social factors. Dietitians can then signpost people to where they can access further help for these non-dietary issues.
Find out more about our report on Brain Food over on our trendhub.