Maryland Nurse - April 2021
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<strong>April</strong>, May, June <strong>2021</strong> The <strong>Maryland</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong> Journal • Page 19<br />
clinical practice<br />
Will Your Next Prescription be for the Pharmacy or the Farmacy?<br />
Joanne Evans MEd, RN, PMHCNS-BC<br />
Adapted from the Indiana <strong>Nurse</strong> Association Bulletin<br />
Almost 2500 years ago, Hippocrates said, “Let food be thy medicine and<br />
medicine be thy food” (Smith, 2004). These words are still relevant today.<br />
The leading causes of death in the United States from disease are heart<br />
disease, followed by cancer, chronic lung disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, diabetes,<br />
and chronic kidney disease. (National Center of Health Statistics, <strong>2021</strong>).<br />
Diabetes is increasing at a rapid rate in the U.S. (Diabetes Research Institute,<br />
2020). According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), over 20,000<br />
prescription drug products are approved for marketing (U.S. Food and Drug<br />
Administration, 2018). The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey<br />
in 2015–2016 shows 45.8% of the U.S. population uses prescription drugs<br />
(Martin, et al., 2019). Nearly 40% of older adults take five or more prescription<br />
drugs. All medications, whether over-the-counter or prescription medications,<br />
may have side effects, including nausea, fever, chills, headaches, itching,<br />
wheezing, tightness in the chest, vomiting, red and irritated eyes, and the list<br />
goes on. Pharmaceutical companies are the ones that benefit the most from<br />
people being sick.<br />
Is it possible that some chronic diseases could be prevented or reversed<br />
through nutrition? There has been extensive research for well over 40 years<br />
showing how food can be used to treat and sometimes reverse many chronic<br />
diseases. Campbell and Campbell (2006), Esselstyn (2008), McDougall (2013),<br />
Greger (2015), and Barnard (2020) have all discussed this in their publications.<br />
Their research shows that plant-based nutrition prevents and reverses heart<br />
disease, diabetes, and some cancers, decrease cholesterol, and reduces blood<br />
sugar levels. Plant-based nutrition also decreases obesity and complications<br />
from being overweight and improves mood, sleep, energy, depression, and<br />
anxiety; reverses many chronic diseases and increases work productivity.<br />
In a research study conducted at ten corporate locations in the U.S., those<br />
participants practicing plant-based nutrition (PBN) showed improvement in<br />
body weight, blood sugar levels, and emotional state, including depression<br />
and anxiety (Agarwal et al., 2015). In another study, diets that were higher<br />
in plant foods and lower in animal foods were associated with a lower risk of<br />
cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in a general population, and the longer<br />
the participants adhered to a healthy plant-based diet, the lower their risk of<br />
cardiovascular disease (Esselstyn et al., 2014). Research shows that obese<br />
patients who followed a plant-based diet had more weight loss compared to<br />
those who followed a vegetarian and non-vegetarian diet that included dairy,<br />
eggs, fish, or meat at two-month and six-month intervals (Turner-McGrievy et<br />
al., 2015).<br />
What specifically is plant-based nutrition (PBN)? What does it include?<br />
• Vegetables – dark greens, dark yellows and orange, sweet potato, etc.<br />
• Whole Grains – pasta, rice, corn, whole grain bread, tortilla, etc.<br />
• Fruit – whole fruit which is better than juice due to fiber<br />
• Legumes – beans, peas, lentils, tofu, soymilk, chickpeas, etc.<br />
• Nuts and seeds<br />
• Limited processed foods<br />
• Avoiding oil, flour, and sugar<br />
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (<strong>2021</strong>), there<br />
are over three million nurses, therefore it seems we could make a dramatic<br />
change in health care for people in the U.S. if we shared information about<br />
plant-based nutrition. <strong>Nurse</strong>s work in a wide variety of settings including<br />
hospitals (state, local and private), ambulatory clinics, outpatient offices, home<br />
healthcare, regulatory agencies, organizations, schools, residential care, and<br />
more.<br />
I have conducted several 21-day plant-based programs utilizing the<br />
free, online Kickstart Program published by the Physicians Committee for<br />
Responsible Medicine (<strong>2021</strong>). The results were published in the American<br />
Journal of Nursing (Evans et al., 2017) and the Holistic Nursing Association<br />
Journal (2015). Laboratory data was collected and analyzed, and it found that<br />
Pharmacy or Farmacy? continued on page 20