When your body doesn't receive sufficient amounts of necessary nutrients, you may suffer from malnutrition. Starvation is one form of malnutrition, although you may have the condition if your body is lacking even one essential vitamin. Complications with your digestive system or a problem with absorption can lead to malnutrition. Symptoms vary, ranging from mild fatigue and dizziness to weight loss and permanent organ damage. Treatment typically involves replacing missing nutrients as well as treating the underlying cause of the condition.
Appetite
Replacing the missing nutrients typically can reverse malnutrition, reports MedlinePlus. The key to a complete reversal is to identify underlying issues that led to the nutritional deficiencies in the first place. To prevent further episodes of malnutrition, you must consider related issues, such as lack of appetite that could be due to dental problems or digestive disorders, problems swallowing or a reaction to certain medications. According to the Mayo Clinic, loss of appetite in seniors is a common side effect of depression.
Income
Insufficient income or resources to get the proper nutrition is a social complication that exacerbates malnutrition both in the United States and abroad. Older Americans may be embarrassed by their lack of funds and refuse to seek help from the many food agencies that provide meals to indigent seniors. According to the World Health Organization, malnutrition in developing countries is rooted in poverty. The inability to maintain a healthy diet leads to infirmaries that cause other health problems, creating a cycle of poverty that is difficult for a family to overcome. Relief funding and referrals to food agencies can reverse much of the malnutrition in the world.
Education
Education plays a major role in reversing malnutrition both globally and in your own family, according to the World Health Organization. Teaching children proper nutrition is a role many schools undertake as educators realize the impact of poor diet on learning. Understanding the need for various food groups in a healthy, balanced diet is tantamount to preventing and reversing the condition. Medical professionals should be engaged to include nutritional education in their regular treatment plans, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Treatment
How your malnutrition is treated depends on the initial cause of the condition. Increasing calorie consumption usually is the first line of therapy. You can do that by eating larger meals or by adding snacks and additional feeding times in your day. Nutritional shakes may help you get in more of the nutrients you need without having to force down additional food. Vitamin and mineral supplements may help build up your store of the essential nutrients. You should follow the orders of your doctor about how many supplements and what kinds of vitamins you need to prevent complications while reversing the malnutrition.
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