March is Nutrition Month — here’s why that matters
March is National Nutrition Month, an annual event where we focus on elements of a balanced diet and encourage healthy eating. This year the theme is, “Celebrate a World of Flavors,” a reminder to venture out and try new foods from your own heritage and from those around the world. If you visit nationalnutritionmonth.org, you can find all sorts of resources. Each culture has something different to add to your diet; explore a little.
What can nutrition help with?
Dietary nutritionists, or dietitians, can help you with any number of issues. If you are experiencing symptoms like fatigue, headaches—or are feeling bloated, gassy, or constipated—a nutrition intervention may help. Nutritionists like myself also work in partnership with medical providers to provide dietary recommendations for patients with ongoing medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses.
Maintaining your ideal weight
One of the most common questions nutritionists get is, “How can diet help with weight loss?”
While we all want to look and feel healthy, the truth is, each body is different. You can be thin and unhealthy; you can also be heavy and perfectly healthy. Social norms about how we should look do not always match what is healthy. It’s important to talk to someone and find out what is healthy for you, because while looking healthy is nice, being healthy is far better.
Here at Mendocino Coast Clinics (MCC), our nutrition team works with patients of all ages. Sometimes people are trying to maximize their health and simply want guidance to begin the process. Other times, people are tired of feeling uncomfortable in their own body and they need support to make some changes.
Especially when we work with children and teens, we make it clear that we are not trying to “fix” anyone. Our goal is to work with patients so their bodies work better for them. We believe that our nonjudgmental approach allows patients
be more accepting of themselves, which helps them move forward in a positive way.
Beware of fad diets As with many things in life, reaching and maintaining an ideal weight takes time and effort. Understandably, some people want to bypass this process with a quick fix, so they turn to the latest diet craze. As you might expect, many of the more aggressive diets you find online aren’t sustainable for most people. The quick weight loss is usually followed by an equally quick weight gain. And some of these diets can be dangerous, depending on an individual’s health history.
For example, in the last several years, the ketogenic (keto) diet has become popular. Keto encourages a low carbohydrate meal plan, which can be helpful for someone trying to improve their blood sugar. However, the keto diet also incorporates high-fat foods that can increase cholesterol and be counterproductive when trying to lose weight if not done properly. So, it’s important to remember that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all when it comes to nutrition.
If you want to reach your ideal weight, it’s best to take small steps to form new habits a little at a time. For most people, the first two actions to consider are cutting down on simple carbs such as refined sugar and white flour products and reducing portion sizes. Here on the Coast Here at MCC, the nutrition team is made up of me and our diabetes educator, Jennifer Salyer, RN. If you are interested in talking to a nutritionist and you are an MCC patient, you can schedule a free, in-person visit or phone consultation. We offer support in both Spanish and English and we would welcome the opportunity to help you improve your health with good nutrition, whether that means seeing us once to have a question answered or coming in routinely for more extensive guidance.
Suzanna Hermosillo-Macias is a registered dietician nutritionist at Mendocino Coast Clinics, a non-profit, federally qualified health center serving as a patient-centered medical home for people on the Mendocino Coast. MCC provides a team-based approach to care, offering medical, dental, behavioral health services, and more. Learn more at mendocinocoastclinics.org.