Let food be thy medicine ...

Abstract

Food is not medicine. However, nutrition is essential to recover from acutemetabolic stress. Metabolic stress induced by critical illness markedly changesthe metabolism of patients and interacts with nutrition therapy. Therefore,feeding patients during metabolic stress and convalescence cannot easily becompared with the anabolic-catabolic changes observed in health. Optimaltiming and dosing of macronutrients and micronutrients is paramount to do noharm, enhance recovery and achieve the maximum functional performance andquality of life for patients after acute metabolic stress. Personalised, tailorednutrition strategies throughout the patient journey are essential to improveoutcomes