General Biology - NCLEX-PN

A physician is most likely to recommend decreased fluid intake in a patient that has renal disease, particularly if they are in any stage of renal failure. This is because a high fluid intake may put undue strain on the already impaired function of the kidney. Increased fluid intake is generally recommended for all of the other conditions listed.

Offering a treatment plan that includes specific nutrient supplementation and a dietary protocol is a normal part of a nutritional counseling and intervention. Initiating tube feeding is only necessary in cases of anorexia or other forms of malnourishment, but is still within normal procedures. Admonishing patients for their dietary choices, however, would be counterproductive to the nurse's attempt to foster trust and willingness on the part of the patient, and so would be inappropriate in an intervention setting.

Kwashiorkor is a condition of sufficient caloric intake with severe protein malnutrition, often seen in impoverished areas where individuals must survive on carbohydrate-based sources of nutrition. This results in a severe deficiency of albumin, with symptoms such as edema, ascites, fatty liver, and dermal ulceration. Marasmus is a condition not specifically of protein deficiency but of general starvation, which may be due to lack of food security or to intentional fasting or extreme caloric restriction. Pellagra is a condition caused by niacin deficiency, and beriberi is a thiamine deficiency syndrome with neurological, gastrointestinal, and cardiac manifestations.

The most common cause of copper deficiency in the United States is gastric bypass. This is due to malabsorption from food. Copper is fairly ubiquitous in soil and in the average American diet. Wilson's disease is a disorder of excess copper, rather than copper deficiency, resulting in a variety of neurological symptoms.

Hypervitaminosis D, or vitamin D toxicity, has been known to cause calcification in soft tissues due to vitamin D's role in calcium absorption and metabolism. None of the other nutrients are as closely related to calcium metabolism, and do not cause hypercalcification in soft tissues when overconsumed.

Soluble fiber, present in oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, and legumes, delays gastric emptying, increases satiety, and lowers LDL cholesterol by interfering with the absorption of dietary cholesterol. Insoluble fiber passes through the gastrointestinal tract relatively intact, provides bulk for stool, and reduces bowel transit time. Carbohydrates and unsaturated will not lower LDL cholesterol or delay gastric emptying, though they will increase satiety.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, and so will be better absorbed when taken with a meal that contains fat. The other vitamins listed may be better absorbed with food, but do not require fat for transport across intestinal membranes, as they are water-soluble.

Essential amino acids are amino acids that can not be synthesized within the body, but must be consumed through the diet. Tryptophan is the only essential amino acid listed. In all, there are 9 essential amino acids.

Conditionally essential amino acids are those that can be produced by the body under normal circumstances, but may not be able to be produced during certain situations, such as certain disease states or severe catabolic stress. Arginine is the only conditionally essential amino acid listed. Histidine and methionine are both essential amino acids, while aspartic acid is a non-essential amino acid.

Vitamin C is one of the body's most important antioxidants. Antioxidants are reducing agents - that is they themselves get oxidized. Recall: OIL RIG. Thus antioxidants such as vitamin C are electron donors, able to stabilize the free radicals produced by various metabolic processes in tissues and extracellular spaces. Vitamin E (not listed) is another important antioxidant and is actually more potent than vitamin C.

All of the criteria listed and AI (Adequate Intake) (not listed) must be taken into account when establishing a Daily Reference Intake (DRI) except for ADI (Active Daily Intake), which is a fictitious criteria.

The most abundant mineral in the human body is calcium. It is primarily stored in the bones and the teeth, and makes up half of the total weight of the skeleton. In addition, calcium is present in nerves, muscle cells, blood, kidneys, and various other soft tissues of the body.

In standard units, the formula for body mass index is:

Normal BMI is considered to be 18.5 - 24.9. A BMI below that would indicate that the individual is underweight, while a higher value may indicate that the individual is overweight.

The digestion of dietary carbohydrates is initiated by amylase, an enzyme present in saliva. This enzyme breaks down long carbohydrate molecules into shorter units such as disaccharides. Lipase breaks down fats and is not present in the saliva, rather it is secreted by the pancreas into the duodenum. Pepsin is a protease - an enzyme that breaks down proteins. This enzyme is secreted by the chief cells of the stomach in its zymogen form (pepsinogen). It is activated by the product of the parietal cells (hydrochloric acid). Note that amylase is also secreted by the pancreas to complete the chemical digestion of carbohydrates into monosaccharides so that they can be absorbed by the brush border of the small intestine.

Bile is produced exclusively in the liver. It may then be stored in the gall bladder so that it can be released during digestion of a fatty meal. No bile is produced in the stomach, nor the duodenum. The vast majority of bile is cholesterol-derivatives that stick to dietary fiber and are excreted along with the fiber. Thus increasing fiber is (mainly soluble) is an effective way to decrease cholesterol.

Allicin is found primarily in garlic, and has a variety of properties that are beneficial to the health. It is antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic, it can reduce atherosclerosis, decrease blood pressure, and act as a mild antioxidant.

Half an ounce of ground flax seeds provides over 130% of the dietary reference intake (DRI) of omega 3 fatty acids. An equivalent serving of shrimp is able to provide 15% of the DRI. Wheat germ oil and grapeseed oil are both good sources of omega 6 fatty acids but are not significant sources of omega 3 fatty acids.

Capsaicin, found in cayenne peppers and other species of plants in the genus Capsicum, is used in topical analgesic creams to reduce joint and muscular pain. It is thought to work by depletion of substance P in the sensory nerves.