Benefits of Working with a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)
These days eating properly can seem like an impossible challenge between what you read online and hear on TV. It can be difficult to sort through what’s fact and what’s fiction if you’re looking to lower your weight or your cholesterol. A lot of the news you hear is not based in science and may even contradict itself. Working with a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) can help you find your way through the confusing maze of nutritional challenges.
What are the benefits of working with an RDN?
The highest level of nutrition counseling. Anyone can claim to be a nutritionist, but only a registered dietitian (RD) or RDN has completed multiple layers of education and training established by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). In addition to holding a bachelor's degree, an RD or RDN must fulfill a specially designed, accredited nutrition curriculum, complete an extensive supervised program of practice at a health care facility, food service organization, or community agency and pass a rigorous registration exam.
Personally tailored advice. When you see an RDN, the last thing you'll get is one-size-fits-all diet advice. In your initial visit expect to do a lot of the talking while the RDN listens. After learning about your health history, favorite foods, eating, and exercise habits, an RDN will help you set goals and prioritize. Follow-up visits will focus on maintenance and monitoring your progress.
Help manage chronic diseases. If you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, or cancer it can be hard to know what to eat. An RDN can review your lab results with you, help you understand your condition, and provide education about the nutrients that affect it. They will then help you create an eating plan that includes the important nutrients that can help you manage your condition.
Guidance navigating food allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances. When you suffer from conditions such as celiac disease, food allergies, or lactose intolerance, it's easy to be overwhelmed by what you think you can't eat. That can translate into a boring diet and may even lead to nutrient deficiencies. An RDN can teach you how to read food labels so you’ll know which ingredients to avoid and help you find substitutions to keep your diet balanced and tasty, too.
A weight loss program that really works. Fad diets may sound like the quick ticket to weight loss, but they rarely work for very long. A registered dietitian or registered dietitian nutritionist will partner with you to develop a safe, effective weight loss plan that you can stick with for the long haul. To guide and motivate you, an RDN will use creative and out-of-the-box strategies to help with meal planning, grocery shopping, food journaling and mindful eating.
If you would like to make an appointment with our dietitian, please contact your primary care provider to request a referral. Once approved by your provider, you will be contacted to schedule an appointment. You can contact your primary care provider through the patient portal.