Maryland Nurse - April 2021

Page 20 • The Maryland Nurse Journal April, May, June 2021
clinical practice
Pharmacy or Farmacy? continued from page 19
several participants lowered their cholesterol by
as much as 59 points within a 21-day period, while
others lost weight and reported an improvement in
energy and sleep. (Evans, 2015).
In talking with nurses around the country, there
seem to be many reasons nurses do not share
information about PBN. Some of the primary
reasons reported include nurses feel they did not
know enough and were worried they could not
answer the patient’s questions; they thought it was
too difficult; did not know whom to refer patients
to; thought it may be too expensive to adhere to a
PBN diet; and thought patients may not be interested
(Evans, 2020).
When I spoke with nurses around the U.S., they
shared that this form of nutritional information was
not presented to them in nursing schools. All the
nurses who interviewed for my book, Cultivating
Seeds of Health with Plant-Based Nutrition, Nurses
Share Educational Approaches to Prevent and
Reverse Chronic Disease (Evans, 2020), learned
about PBN after graduation from their nursing
programs. Some learned about it after their own
illness and others when a family member became
ill. Several nurses saw their patients taking the
recommended medications, and they were still not
getting well. Others recognized that “everything
in moderation” was not working. Another group
of nurses read the China Study (2006) or saw the
movie Forks Over Knives, both of which convinced
them that PBN was the way to treat many chronic
diseases (Evans, 2020).
Once nurses become knowledgeable about
PBN, they have many opportunities to share this
information, including:
- Talking with colleagues about plant-based
nutrition
- Having plant-based food at all meetings and
conferences
- Hosting monthly potlucks or lunches with
colleagues and community groups
- Showing movies on PBN and discuss the
information provided
- Asking more detailed questions about nutrition
on intakes with patients, including:
• How many fruits did you eat in the past 24-
48 hours?
• How many vegetables did you eat in the past
24-48 hours?
• How many portions of dairy food did you
eat in the past 24-48 hours?
• How many portions of meat did you eat in
the past 24-48 hours?
• Have them complete a nutritional
assessment - http://4leafsurvey.com
- Having discharge and care plans include plantbased
nutrition
- Requesting PBN guest speakers in educational
settings for undergraduate and graduate level
nursing programs
- Incorporating PBN into all discussions about
chronic diseases
- Collaborating with other health care providers
interested in plant-based nutrition
- Encouraging hospitals to have plant-based
foods at all meals
- Hosting a free online 10-day plant-based
program https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/
education/free-mcdougall-program/ or hosting
a free 21-day (PCRM) online plant-based
program – including menus, recipes, cooking
classes, and additional Information - https://
kickstart.pcrm.org/en
There are several groups available for nurses
interested in learning more about plant-based
nutrition. PCRM hosts the Nurses Nutrition
Network, which provides educational programs
for nurses (https://www.pcrm.org/good-nutrition/
nutrition-for-clinicians/nurses-nutrition-network).
The American College of Lifestyle Medicine
has a nurse support group and provides educational
presentations open to all nurses. https://
lifestylemedicine.org/What-is-Lifestyle-Medicine.
Our patients need to have a choice on how they
will resolve their chronic health issues, and nurses
are well-positioned to educate patients on nutritional
options to help prevent and possibly reverse many
chronic diseases. Patients should be given all the
options to make an educated decision about their
health. Sometimes it starts with medications while
they are making nutrition and lifestyle changes.
Eventually, it may be the nutritional changes that
reverse the chronic disease process. Let 2021 be the
year of change!
Resources
Some examples of breakfast might be the
following:
• Cold cereal – with soymilk or rice milk with
peaches, berries or another fruit
• Whole grain toast with jam and fruit
• Oatmeal with non-dairy milk with cinnamon
and raisins
• Blueberry buckwheat pancakes and meat-free
bacon
For lunch, you might consider:
• Veggie burger with whole grain bun and salad
• Bean burrito, fruit
• Soy yogurt, fruit, vegetable soup, whole wheat
bread
• Hummus wrap with whole wheat pita,
shredded carrots, cucumber, tomato
Some options for dinner might include:
• Black bean chili with cornbread, salad, greens
• Whole grain pasta marinara with mixed
vegetables, salad
• Fajitas with peppers, onions, tomatoes, beans,
broccoli
• Beans and rice with salsa, corn, salad
Resources for learning about plant-based
nutrition are the following:
• Davis, B., & Vesanto, M. (2013). Becoming
vegan, express edition: The everyday guide to
plant-based nutrition. Book Publishing Co.
• Campbell, T. C., & Campbell, T. (2004). The
China study: Startling implications for diet,
weight loss and long-term health. BenBella
Books.
• Greger, M., & Stone, G. (2015). How not
to diet: Discover the foods scientifically to
prevent and reverse disease. Flatiron Books.
• Greger, M. (2019). How not to diet. Flatiron
Books.
• McDougall, J. (2013). The starch solution.
Rodale Books.
• Barnard, N. (2018). The vegan starter kit:
Everything you need to know about plantbased
eating. Grand Central Publishing.