Originally it was referred to as Dietetics all measures for healing and maintaining health, today the term includes the advice or care of people with regard to their nutrition, whereby certain diseases are to be cured.
What is the diet?
The term dietetics encompasses all nutritional therapeutic measures that aim to prevent or treat diseases. Dietetics is mainly concerned with the right nutrition for various diseases such as anorexia, diabetes mellitus or obesity, but also with nutrition in special life situations such as during pregnancy.
The term dietetics can be traced back to the Hippocratic tradition, where a regular life and sufficient physical activity were required in addition to a healthy diet. In the Roman Empire, Galen took up this approach again. He summarized six things that were particularly important:
- Stimulation of the mind
- Excretions and secretions
- Sleep and wake
- Rest and work
- Food and drink
- Air and light
Treatments & therapies
Even at the time of the Renaissance, many guides appeared that dealt with a healthy lifestyle. This teaching then experienced another high at the beginning of the 19th century, when, for example, Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland or Bernhard Christoph Faust dealt intensively with questions of nutrition. In the 20th century, completely new concepts emerged, such as the Bircher-Benner diet from Maximillian Oskar Bircher-Benner or the whole food diet from Werner Kollath.
Different illnesses require adherence to a special nutrition plan. Depending on the illness, dietitians or dieticians then put together a specific diet that is precisely tailored to the needs of the patient. Eating behavior should be changed with the help of dietetics or nutritional therapy. Ingredients can either be left out or increased.
For example, a higher intake of fruit and vegetables is often necessary, whereas certain foods may not be consumed in the case of allergies. The nutrition therapist deals with the patients and their diseases individually and takes nutritional behavior and their personal situation into account. Dietetics is used for the following diseases:
- Gastrointestinal diseases
- Malnutrition
- rheumatism
- gout
- Liver and kidney disease
- Food intolerances and allergies
- osteoporosis
- high blood pressure
- Lipid metabolism disorders
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
- Eating disorders such as bulimia or anorexia
- Underweight or overweight
For example, people who suffer from high blood pressure can lower their blood pressure by losing weight. If you have gout, a low-purine diet can help, while increased fiber intake lowers the risk of colon cancer. A special diet is also recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding; the same applies to athletes and the elderly. To prevent or cure diseases, patients can choose from a range of nutritional teachings:
- Whole food nutrition (especially untreated and fresh foods are preferred)
- Vegetarianism (only plant foods and foods from live animals are consumed)
- Veganism (renounces all food of animal origin)
- Raw food (mainly unheated and fresh foods are consumed)
- Macrobiotics (a lifestyle designed to lead to a long and healthy life)
- Food combining (foods containing carbohydrates and proteins are preferred)
- Chinese dietetics (food is classified according to temperature behavior and flavors)
- Ayurveda (special dietary recommendations for individual Dosha types)
Diagnosis & examination methods
Dietetics or nutritional therapy is offered either on an outpatient or inpatient basis. There are special practices in which the relevant experts work, but it is also used in hospitals as a therapeutic measure. Nutritional therapy always begins with the patient's medical history, whereby a distinction is made between a cognitive counseling approach and a client-centered approach. The cognitive approach has long been considered the method of choice.
He assumed that it would be sufficient to educate patients about the possible negative consequences of malnutrition in order to raise awareness for a healthier way of life. In this context, content was mainly conveyed in the form of a lecture, but hardly any attention was paid to the affective and sensorimotor levels. Ultimately, however, there was a change to the so-called client-centered counseling approach, in which the therapist primarily also addresses the patient's wishes. In addition to advice, the focus here is also on practical exercises, which means that clients also have the opportunity, for example, to weigh food or prepare menus.
No solution is given, but the main part of the conversation is done by the patient. It is also important to record the patient's nutritional history, which reflects his or her eating habits. This makes it possible to precisely formulate the problem or the goal. With the help of the therapist, various proposed solutions can then be worked out, but the patient ultimately has to decide on a path.
As a result, the client is not pushed in one direction, but his concerns can be addressed individually. The corresponding diets pursue the goal of curing the disease or delaying the onset of diseases. Especially with chronic diseases, a healthy diet can support the body's self-healing powers. Special diets are absolutely necessary for diseases that can be influenced by diet, including, for example, high cholesterol or diabetes.
