Diet Resources

In the UK, millions of people are not meeting their requirements for essential nutrients. The new report, Dietary deficits and future health and wellness fallouts, published by the Health and Food Supplements Information Service (HSIS, 2026; www.hsis. org), highlights a nation struggling with what experts describe as a ‘honeycomb’ of vitamin and mineral deficiencies – with potentially severe consequences for physical and mental wellbeing.

Patients with cancer face widespread myths about ‘anti-cancer’ diets, while being at high risk of malnutrition and skeletal muscle loss, issues that affect survival, treatment tolerance and quality of life. This article reviews what is known about nutrition in the context of cancer, highlights evidence-based dietary strategies, and offers practical guidance to help community nurses confidently support patients across the cancer trajectory.

Most previous guidance on the management of chronic constipation has focused on the use of medication. However, new guidance funded by the British Dietetic Association, and produced by a team of UK-based clinicians (Dimidi et al, 2025), gives the first comprehensive evidencebased dietary guidelines for the management of chronic constipation in adults. As well as the effect on the bowel, chronic constipation is prospectively associated with an increased risk of urgency and hesitancy among parous middle-aged women (Alhababi et al, 2021).

As the UK population ages, the number of people with multiple long-term conditions and multimorbidity will increase. Hospitalbased staff tend to specialise and will usually provide care for a single condition such as heart failure. This focus is not helpful for people with multimorbidity, as their conditions interact and medication prescribed to treat one condition may worsen another. People with multimorbidity require skilful holistic care to enable them to have the best possible quality of life. Nurses working in primary care are in a unique position to provide this care. This article examines how reduced fluid intake caused by dysphagia can affect renal function and offers advice on holistic management and treatment of both conditions.

This article explores the research behind diverticular disease and its dietary management, with a focus on dietary fibre. Diverticula, sac- like protrusions in the colonic wall, are extremely prevalent in older people living in Western countries and range from asymptomatic (diverticulosis) to moderately symptomatic (diverticular disease) to severely symptomatic (diverticulitis). Diet and lifestyle are implicated in the development of these conditions, as demonstrated by the vast increase in prevalence as countries become more industrialised and follow a Western dietary pattern. Dietary fibre is a particular nutrient of interest. Contrary to prior dogma, research suggests that individuals with diverticular disease should actually strive for a high fibre diet to reduce the risk of developing further diverticula and prevent progression to diverticulitis. The dietary management of the symptoms of diverticular disease is not well understood. Vigorous physical activity may reduce the risk of diverticulitis. Community nurses can help their patients to avoid harmful and unnecessary dietary restrictions by using the information in this article.

This article provides an update on the dietary management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) for community nurses. Dietary change can greatly modify the trajectory of T2DM. Weight changes are a key factor, as significant weight loss can put the condition into remission, and even less dramatic weight loss can have positive effects on glycaemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in individuals with T2DM. Protein intake supports various aspects of glycaemic management and is an especially important nutrient for older adults, who are more prone to T2DM. Carbohydrate restriction is widely advised in clinical practice, although current guidelines do not support this as the sole dietary management strategy for T2DM; it is simply one of various potentially effective measures. Carbohydrate quality is important and high fibre carbohydrates are the preferred source. Excessive alcohol intake can exacerbate T2DM via its damaging effects on the liver. Knowledge of the dietary management of T2DM is vital for community nurses, as it allows them to offer advanced and comprehensive care to their patients.

The Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) is one that has been followed by certain populations from warmer climates for thousands of years. Many of these people seem to live in good health to an advanced age. Is this due to where they live and maybe a more laid-back
lifestyle, or is their diet also responsible for this rude health? More recently, the popularity and publicity of the MedDiet seems to have grown exponentially. Will it end up being just another diet craze or is there something behind it so that we can be confident  about advising patients to adapt their diet to being more Med like? This article explores what this diet actually is and whether there is any scientific proof for the claims made about it. From the research presented, it certainly seems that the MedDiet can offset many ‘socalled’ Western diseases. This paper also looks at which elements of the diet are likely to have this effect.

Malnutrition continues to be a problem, which is estimated to cost £13 billion per annum (British Association of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition [BAPEN], 2010). The majority of those at risk of malnutrition are living in the community. When resources are limited, it is important to identify who is most at risk so that they can receive appropriate support. This article explains the malnutrition carousel, where malnutrition leads to poor health that then further increases the risk of malnutrition. It discusses the need for balanced diets to help maintain an adequate nutritional state, highlighting which disease states are likely to cause further problems — in particular, those with swallowing problems where texture-modified diets are required. Suggested solutions are also provided to help treat suspected poor nutritional intake.

In each issue we investigate a hot topic currently affecting you and your community practice. Here, we ask Can Community nurses take on obesity?

One in ten older people in the UK are suffering from, or at risk of malnutrition. This relatively unknown, yet significant issue, costs the NHS £19.6 billion per year (Elia, 2015). Often overshadowed by obesity as a public health issue, malnutrition impacts a person’s wellbeing; leading to further problems, such as an increase in hospital admissions, increased dependency and increased risk to life.