Health promotion involves encouraging individuals to make healthy changes in their lifestyle and strive toward physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual health. The health promotion movement sees health as a multidimensional entity and aims to empower individuals to take control of their own well-being. Vitamins and minerals are a significant part of physical health, and incorporating these into your health promotion activities can vary, depending on the topic and the audience.
Step 1
Determine what population you will be educating for each project you have. If you are doing a health promotion presentation for a group of healthy adults, vitamin and mineral information may be different than if you are speaking with a group of patients with a chronic illness. Each health promotion program will be different, depending on the target audience. The nutritional needs of children, adolescents, adults and elderly individuals all vary, and it is necessary to adjust vitamin and mineral information accordingly.
Step 2
Research the nutritional needs of the specific population to whom you are speaking and the implications that vitamins and minerals can have on these patients and their diseases. Find reputable and accurate sources, such as peer-reviewed journals from PubMed.gov and various hospital and medical school websites, or speak with a professional who works in nutrition or the area of medicine or health that your program targets. Then you will know the actions and importance of each supplement and how it aids in wellness.
Step 3
Learn about the vitamins and minerals so you can incorporate them into your health promotion program. Go to the Centers for Disease Control and Health Promotion Advocates sites concerning vitamins and minerals, and read about the benefits, dosages, side effects and deficiency risks of each one, so you can provide detailed and accurate information to your patients.
Tips and Warnings
- Encourage patients to obtain many of their vitamins and minerals through their diets and not just through supplements. If a patient has an unhealthy diet, a multivitamin will not solve any nutritional problems. A balanced diet of grains, fruits, vegetables and lean meats can provide many of the vitamins and minerals necessary for health.
- Do not encourage patients to take supplements without first talking with their health care providers. Although vitamins and minerals are necessary for health, individuals with certain medical conditions may need to follow other guidelines regarding dosage or may need to take extra precautions when consuming supplements.
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