Nutrition Plan for an African American Woman for High Cholesterol

Topic: African American Words: 579 Pages: 2

Overview and recommendations

Persons with health conditions that require close monitoring should adopt strict lifestyles that would promote good health. In the management of high cholesterol, nutritional plans must be carefully designed with a concise understanding of how excess fats lead to weight gain. It is also important for the patient in this case study to know the importance of exercise and the impact of many types of food on an individual’s cholesterol levels and blood sugars (Bernstein & Luggen, 2011). In the case study, Ms. Ellie is elderly and has a history of diabetes. Her job allows her a minimal physical activity level of about ten hours a week. Her lifestyle is complicated with age because she is significantly inactive despite her knowledge of the role of physical activity and fitness. A strong diet plan coupled with an apt physical exercise program leads to better health outcomes for individuals with histories of diabetes, or her old age tinged with high cholesterol levels.

Making considerations on many types of food, Ms. Ellie should be concerned with whether or not she is consuming the right diet that is recommended for her age and cholesterol content. When guiding an elderly individual in dietary needs, it is important to focus on the consumption of food low in the glycemic index because they break sugars very slowly (Committee on Nutrition Services for Medicare Beneficiaries Food and Nutrition Board, 2013). Low GI food is an optimal nutritional requirement for this aged woman because other than assisting in maintaining constancy in blood sugar levels, they facilitate the management of cholesterol levels. Thus, body fats and body weight are controlled within normal limits (Bernhardt & Kasko, 2008). Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that low GI food is included in every meal consumed by Ms. Ellie for the restoration of her health and wellbeing (Strallhofer, 2010). With her vacation and the associated physical activities, such as hiking, as well as the joining of a fitness endeavor, it would be recommended that Ms. Ellie adopts the nutrition plan presented below.

A nutritional plan

	Breakfast	Lunch	Supper
Sunday	Wholegrain cereal served with low-fat milk or Soy Milk	Doongara clever rice served with Pearl barley, and an egg pasta	Lots of red, yellow, orange or green vegetables
Monday	High fiber crackers served with sliced low-fat cheese and tomato	Toss served together with together cooked cous cous, cucumber or spring onions, and olive oil	A cup of Macaroni and kidney bean salad
Tuesday	Low fat, and low sugar yogurt served with a fresh fruit	Mahatma served with French beans or roast beef or with lean cuts	Lots of mixed colored salad vegetables with crushed garlic and balsamic vinegar dressing
Wednesday	A traditionally-rolled oats and/or low GI cereals based on bran, barley and oats	Brown onions, served together with garlic and stir through a selection of vegetables such as broccoli, capsicum, runner beans.	Salmon/tuna (in brine or water)
Thursday	Either plain yogurts or diet flavored yogurts served with homemade Custard, low-fat ice cream.	Cassava is served with asparagus, which is either fresh or canned.	Two oat bran crusts served with fat cheese. Add salad vegetables if hungry.
Friday	Be Natural – porridge and muesli	Stir fry lean strips of meat with red onion, capsicum and spicy salsa.	Fish Tacos served with vegetarian Burrito
Saturday	Low-fat milk served with Vitaweats or Ryvitas with seeds or snack Right Fruit Slice She may consider Carman’s Classic Fruitorounds	Carisma White Potato (Coles)	Pumpkin pie smoothie

References

Bernhardt, ‎E., & Kasko, M. (2008). Nutrition for the Middle-Aged and Elderly. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Bernstein, ‎M., & Luggen, A. (2011). Nutrition for the Older Adult. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Committee on Nutrition Services for Medicare Beneficiaries Food and Nutrition Board. (2013). The Role of Nutrition in Maintaining Health in the Nation’s Elderly: Evaluating Coverage of Nutrition Services for the Medicare Population. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Strallhofer, G. (2010). Aspects of Community Nutrition for Elderly Patients. Hoboken, NJ: Blackwell.