New eModule for Healthcare Professionals on Effective Dietary Counseling

Healthy for Good eModule: Learn how to better educate your patients on the six core elements needed for a healthy diet.

Good nutrition is key for minimizing the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) as well as its risk factors.¹ After a thorough review of evidence supporting the benefits of a healthy diet, the 2020 US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee identified six core elements for a healthy dietary pattern: vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, proteins, and fats.² Effectively communicating this information to patients is of crucial importance and there is a demand for more dietary counseling for patients with risk factors for ASCVD or who have ASCVD.

Healthcare professionals have stated that a lack of nutrition education impedes their ability to deliver effective dietary counseling to their patients.³ As a result, the American Heart Association launched the Healthy for Good™ eModule on effective dietary counseling. “Busy frontline healthcare professionals need evidence-based tools that help them provide the best care to their patients within the challenging time constraints of an average clinic appointment. Access to user-friendly tools like the Healthy for Good™ eModule not only provide evidence-based nutrition education, but also help clinicians navigate the most challenging barriers to implementing diet-based behavior change in their patients through effective dietary counseling, including the six core elements of a healthy diet,” says Erin P. Ferranti, PhD, MPH, RN, FAHA, and Science Advisory Panel Chair for the development of the Healthy for Good™ eModule.

The course is accredited for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, dieticians, and is free to AHA members. Other healthcare professionals involved in dietary counseling may also take the course and receive a certificate of completion. Help your patients make better food choices.

Arnett DK, Blumenthal RS, Albert MA, et al. 2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/ American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Circulation. 2019 Sep 10;140(11):e596-e646. doi: 10.1161/ CIR.0000000000000678. Epub 2019 Mar 17. Erratum in: Circulation. 2019 Sep 10;140(11):e649-e650. Erratum in: Circulation. 2020 Jan 28;141(4):e60. Erratum in: Circulation. 2020 Apr 21;141(16):e774. PMID: 30879355; PMCID: PMC7734661.

Tsao CW, Aday AW, Almarzooq ZI, et al.; American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2023 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2023 Jan 25. doi: 10.1161/ CIR.0000000000001123. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36695182.

Aspry KE, Van Horn L, Carson JAS, et al.; American Heart Association Nutrition Committee of the Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention; and Stroke Council. Medical Nutrition Education, Training, and Competencies to Advance Guideline-Based Diet Counseling by Physicians: A Science Advisory From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2018 Jun 5;137(23):e821-e841. doi: 10.1161/ CIR.0000000000000563. Epub 2018 Apr 30. PMID: 29712711.