Benefits of working with a Nutritionist

March 30, 2021

As National Nutrition Month comes to a close, there is no better time to talk about nutritionists and what they do for their patients than right now. Nutritionists are medical professionals who have studied and become experts in food and nutrition. A lot of people think that seeing a nutritionist is just another doctor to keep track of but Nutritionists actually work with patients one-on-one to find the best foods for their body type, age, and health conditions. They can help explain the right types of foods to eat, how different foods impact your body, and tell you what foods to stay away from. 

How do you benefit from seeing a Nutritionist?

Nutritionists work with a patient to determine what factors in their lives might be challenges to eating healthy and find ways to overcome those barriers. Here are just a few more ways that a nutritionist can benefit your daily life. 

• They can tailor menus directly for their patients based on nutritional needs. Meal planning can also help cut down on grocery bills. When you go shopping with a specific list for designated meals, it cuts down on the extra foods you might purchase, as well as the temptation to get junk food.
• Proper nutrition can help manage chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease as well as many other chronic issues in combination with treatment from your primary care doctor or specialist.
• A nutritionist can also act as a motivator when you might be struggling to keep up with a healthy lifestyle. 
• People who suffer from food allergies benefit from learning about foods that could possibly cause an allergic reaction. This can be especially helpful to individuals who have bene diagnosed with mild to severe gluten allergies that require a complete diet change. 
• When you eat healthier, your body doesn’t work as hard and as a result, you have more energy and feel better. 
• Each patient receives a different plan and recommendations based on their current health and lifestyle. A fifty year old in good health might have very different recommendations on what they should be eating than a fifty year old who has underlying health conditions. 

Now that you’ve seen a few of the benefits, we have asked our Nutritionist, Samuel Smith, to give us a little input on dieting. 

“When thinking about dieting, we have all heard terms like “Keto diet”, “low carb diet”, “high protein diet” and “no sugar diet” among many other types of diets. Rarely is there a discussion on the fat content of our diet. As a medical clinician, it is important to know that heart disease is the number one killer of both men nd women. Some of these deaths can be avoided if we would consider the fat content in the food that we eat.

As we age, we can see that we usually get heavier due to a more sedentary lifestyle for one reason or another. However, we don’t see the changes that happen on the inside. Our bodies can’t process the fat that it used to when we were younger.

The American Heart Association recommends a diet that is less than 30% of total calories as fat. This means that 1 McDonald’s Big Mac is 550 calories and it contains 30 grams of fat. This equates to 49% of your total calories for this product alone. When this gets added in with French Fries, you can see you have a high fat meal. Most people think the calories are coming from carbohydrates and sugar. Did you know that carbohydrates or sugars will supply 4 calories per gram while fat will supply 9 calories per gram?

The calories add up as we age. We need to reduce our caloric intake as our sedentary life comes upon us. So what can you do? Read food labels and look at the fat content and be conscious of what you are eating.

If you have more questions, contact a nutritionist! Samuel Smith is available at StayWell is any existing patients. Ask your primary care doctor about it today!

The StayWell Health Center Team