Tagged with 'national-nutrition-month'

Today is Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day!! Registered dietitians (RDNs) around the country, including myself, commit ourselves to cultivating wellness in everything we do.  

One of the questions I'm asked a lot is,

"What's the difference between a registered dietitian and a nutritionist?"

For a nutritionist, there aren’t any recognized guidelines that define the role and requirements. Traditionally, the nutritionist title was reserved for individuals who weren’t RDs, but had a master's degree in nutrition, but these days it can describe anyone who works in nutrition.

On the other hand, the dietetics profession is highly regulated and bound by a code of ethics. All registered dietitians hold a minimum of a bachelor's degree, complete an internship and pass an examination. Dietitians must renew their registration annually, and are required to become recertified after five years of practice.

In addition, because nutrition recommendations and beliefs are always changing, RDs are expected to follow pace—they’re required to maintain current knowledge of dietetics by completing continuing education credits each year.

A registered dietitian nutritionist works throughout the community in many different fields, including schools and universities, public health clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, fitness centers, food management, food industry, research, private practice, and web-based companies. 

Helping people shed pounds is one of the most common reasons people seek out an RD, but our expertise is not limited to weight management. Dietitians help people do so much more. They help clients maximize their quality of life, whether the goal is to take control of a health issue such as diabetes or heart disease, battle an eating disorder, train for a marathon, recover from a major illness like cancer, or simply to learn more about food and nutrition. Registered dietitians are there to assist by using experience, science-based knowledge, and proven techniques.

For more information about Registered Dietitian Day, visit the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods

It’s time to celebrate! “Celebrate what?” you ask — National Nutrition Month!

"Savor The Flavor of Eating Right"

This year’s theme is "Savor the Flavor of Eating Right,” and I love this notion because it embodies more than just flavor. The theme also focuses on the importance of enjoying food traditions and appreciating the pleasures, great flavors and social experiences food can add to our lives.

In my experience working with clients, if you only focus on what you’re eating, the plan won’t last long. Surprisingly, that’s not enough. Here’s why…how, when, why and where we eat are just as important as what we eat.

Develop a mindful eating pattern that includes nutritious and flavorful foods – that’s the best way to savor the flavor of eating right!

What Does It Mean To Eat Mindful?

#1) Mindful eating is about using mindfulness to reach a state of full attention to your experiences, cravings and physical cues when eating.

#2) Mindful eating means noticing the smells, colors, textures, flavors and sounds of the food.

#3) It is awareness without judgement, of yourself, or anyone else. What does hunger feel like? What does satisfaction feel like? What does overeating feel like? How does our mood influence our eating? Are we truly eating because of hunger? Are we anxious and eating for stress relief? (It’s called “comfort food” for a reason.)

#4) Mindful eating means not getting distracted, or quickly end the distraction and get back to just eating. Our world is full of distractions. Is the TV on while you’re eating? Are you checking email on your phone, or browsing the web? Is your focus on posting pictures of your food rather than eating it (or responding to comments from your last food photo post)? Notice those distractions, or impulses toward a distraction, let it go, and return to focusing on your food.

Why Is Mindful Eating Important?

#1) It provides an opportunity for a change. With awareness, you can change your relationship with food, for example, using hunger and satisfaction to decide to start and stop eating, rather than the clock or serving size on the plate. You can identify when emotions like stress, or social pressures, trigger you to eat mindlessly.

#2) Research is already showing how mindful eating may help with weight loss. It takes about 20 minutes for the brain to register fullness (satiety); eat too fast, and this signal for fullness may come after overeating has already occurred. Distracted eating, like while driving or typing, may slow down or stop digestion similar to a “flight or fight” response. Mindfulness may help people recognize the difference between physical and emotional hunger, and allow them to make a conscious choice between the urge and eating.

What will you do this week to incorporate mindful eating into your daily life?

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods

References:

The Center for Mindful Eating. March is National Nutrition Month. Megrette Fletcher, M.Ed., RD 

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. National Nutrition Month.

Today is Registered Dietitian Day!! Registered dietitians (RDs) around the country, including myself, commit ourselves to improving the health of our clients and communities.  

One of the questions I'm asked a lot is, "What's the difference between a dietitian and a nutritionist?"

The answer is, there aren’t any recognized guidelines that define the role and requirements for a nutritionist. Traditionally, the nutritionist title was reserved for individuals who weren’t RDs, but had a master's degree in nutrition, but these days it can describe anyone who works in nutrition.

On the other hand, the dietetics profession is highly regulated and bound by a code of ethics. All dietitians hold a minimum of a bachelor's degree, complete an internship and pass an examination. Dietitians must renew their registration annually, and are required to become recertified after five years of practice. In addition, because nutrition recommendations and beliefs are always changing, RDs are expected to follow pace—they’re required to maintain current knowledge of dietetics by completing continuing education credits each year.

A registered dietitians works throughout the community in many different fields, including schools and universities, public health clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, fitness centers, food management, food industry, research, private practice, and for web-based companies. 

Helping people shed pounds is one of the most common reasons people seek out an RD, but our expertise is not limited to weight management. Dietitians help people do so much more. They help clients maximize their quality of life, whether the goal is to take control of a health issue such as diabetes or heart disease, battle an eating disorder, train for a marathon, recover from a major illness like cancer, or simply to learn more about food and nutrition. Registered dietitians are there to assist by using experience, science-based knowledge, and proven techniques.

For more information about National Nutrition Month and Registered Dietitian Day, visit the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods

News Bite: "Bite into a Healthy Lifestyle" is the theme for National Nutrition Month 2015. RDNs around the world celebrate Registered Dietitian Day on March 11th and National Nutrition Month throughout March. This year's theme encourages everyone to adopt eating and physical activity plans that focus on making informed food choices, consuming fewer calories, and getting daily exercise in order to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

The theme is fairly general, so let's see if I can extract some strategies for each topic.

Make Informed Food Choices: To me, this means Understanding What's In Your Food! A food’s nutrition facts label doesn’t begin to describe what’s actually in the food. You MUST read the ingredients!!

I have a list of ingredients I always suggest avoiding, and if I see it in a food product, I choose a food without it: Hydrogenated Oil, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sodium Nitrate/Nitrite, Enriched Flour, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), Artificial Color, and Soy. Although there are many other weird ingredients in food, if a person avoids these biggies they’re off to a good start. 

Consume Fewer Calories: There are several effective strategies for going about this.

First, eat less sugar. It's high in calories, not to mentioned linked to all kinds of chronic health problems. But how does one go about eating les sugar? Don't buy it! Don't keep it in your house because if it's not accessible and available, it's a huge effort to go to the store to get it. 

Second, at every meal, fill half your plate with a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables. Essentially, the healthy, lower calorie fruits and vegetables take the place of higher calorie, less nutritious foods. 

Third, Choose healthy protein sources, such as lean meats and poultry, seafood, beans and peas, eggs, nuts and seeds.

Get Daily Exercise: The combo of making good food choices and including physical activity as part of our daily routine is crucial in so many ways--maintaining weight, losing weight, reducing your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and even some types of cancer.

Exercise Recs for Adults: at least 30 minutes every day.

Exercise Recs for Children: at least 60 minutes of moderate physical activity every day.

Find activities you enjoy to make this less of a burden and more of a fun hobby.

Making the right food and nutrition choices is a necessary part of biting into a healthy lifestyle.

What strategy will you focus on this month to bite into a healthier lifestyle?  

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods

March is National Nutrition Month, and 2015’s theme is “Bite into a Healthy Lifestyle!” This premise is fairly broad, but I like that because it leaves room for a lot of different topic possibilities.

March's blog themes will primarily focus on: achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, reducing the risk of chronic disease, and promoting overall health. There are a ton of nutrition factors that go into achieving these goals, so my blogs will focus on simple strategies you can implement into your daily life.  

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day is also celebrated this month—March 11^th, so I’ll be paying homage to all my amazing RD friends and colleagues for their commitment to helping people enjoy healthy lives.

Stay tuned for National Nutrition Month themed blogs!

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods

The month of March is National Nutrition Month, and today is Registered Dietitian Day! Here's a little story about myself and a few cool nutrition tid bits I've learned along the way.

I was instantly hooked on nutrition when I took a Nutrition 201 class my sophomore year in college at University of Idaho. Once my interest in nutrition was sparked, I attended a “Nutrition Club” meeting held in the university’s nutrition department. At this particular meeting, there were numerous RD’s with different specialties in attendance, and one of them was a Sports Nutritionist. When I heard her describe her job, I knew right then and there I wanted to do that. Even though I have practiced in numerous different areas of nutrition, sports nutrition is by far my favorite.

Here are the Three Very Cool Tid Bits I’ve learned over the years as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist:

1. Garlic is a great source of organosulfur compounds, which have potential to prevent and treat diseases. Here’s the catch, to receive these health effects of garlic, after you crush or chop the garlic, allow it to “stand” for at least 10 minutes before cooking.  This ensures time for all the enzyme reactions, responsible for the health benefits, to take place. Who would have thought so much was going on inside something so small and seemingly insignificant!

2. I have to throw in a sports nutrition tid bit. One of my favorites has to do with the importance of eating for recovery. It’s important to eat carbohydrate-containing foods or fluid within 15-30 minutes after strenuous exercise. This window of time is important because it’s when your muscles are most receptive to replacing glycogen (storage form of carbohydrates). Waiting longer than two hours to eat after exercising results in 50% less glycogen stored in your muscles. This means, the next day, your legs feel like tree trunks, you feel more fatigued and out of breath than usual, your performance isn’t up to par, and it’s more difficult to exercise as long or as intense.  

3. A food’s nutrition facts label doesn’t begin to describe what’s actually in the food. You MUST read the ingredients!! I started a list of ingredients to stay away from, which makes choosing foods so much easier. Here’s my personal list of ingredients I avoid as much as possible: Hydrogenated Oil, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Enriched/Bleached/Refined Flour, Sodium Nitrate, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), Artificial Color, and Soy. Although there are many other weird ingredients in food, if a person avoids these biggies they’re off to a good start. Usually I am able to find the same product in a healthier version.

What are your favorite nutrition tid bits?

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods

March is National Nutrition Month, and this year’s theme is “Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right!”

Eating right not only feels good emotionally, but your body will certainly thank you. Topics for March’s health buzz will focus on using nutrition to support our auditory (hearing) system and nervous system, and our eye and bone health.

Stay tuned for these interesting blogs!

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods

Every March for the past 41 years, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has celebrated National Nutrition Month®. This year’s theme is "Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right.” This yearly campaign reinforces the importance of nutrition as a key component of good health, along with physical activity.

It is a little known fact that taste is the primary reason many people make certain food choices. Well, I squeamishly admit I used to make food choices because they were “healthy,” even if it tasted like cardboard. It certainly wasn’t enjoyable, and I don’t do that anymore! Don’t get me wrong, eating healthy, high-quality food remains very important to me, but now I know, not only can eating healthy taste amazing, but you should enjoy the foods you eat.

I love the idea of including “superfoods” for meals and snacking. They offer a ton of flavor with an abundance of benefits. Here are some of my most favorite tastes; simple and mouthwatering.

Brazil nuts: They’re so flavorful and filling in almost a “meaty” kind of way. They contain selenium which helps to protect the body against certain cancers, Alzheimer's disease and depression. Brazil nuts help to reduce our risk of heart disease and can help to control our appetites.

Blueberries: Great texture, great flavor, packed with antioxidants and phytochemicals, and also high in potassium and vitamin C. Not only can blueberries lower your risk of heart disease and cancer, they’re also anti-inflammatory.

Garlic: Who doesn’t love the taste and smell of garlic?! I was once told, if you want your house to smell like you’re cooking something delicious simply sauté garlic, even if it isn’t in your meal, just for the aroma. To make it even better, garlic contains flavonoids that stimulate the production of glutathione, the liver’s most potent antioxidant. Because glutathione enhances elimination of toxins and carcinogens, garlic is one food that can help prevent cancer. One tip: when crushing or chopping garlic, to better preserve and retain the beneficial compounds, allow it to “stand” for at least 10 minutes prior to cooking. 

Cacao: Since we’re talking about flavor, I must include raw cacao—oh, so delicious! Even better, it contains compounds that boost endorphins and serotonin, two of the best-known chemicals responsible for making us happy. Cacao is high in flavonoids, a potent antioxidant that may help fight a wide array of conditions, including diabetes, strokes, and heart disease. Here’s more information about benefits of cacao.

Green Tea: Not only does it taste good, but it’s cheap, doesn’t have calories, is available everywhere, and is associated with relaxing and feeling good. Another reason to drink it—green tea contains ECGC, a powerful antioxidant. Researchers in Spain and the United Kingdom have shown ECGC can inhibit the growth of cancer cells. 

Turmeric: This awesome spice is what gives curry its distinctive taste, and it’s so easy to boost the flavor of chicken, potatoes, or quinoa. A compound in turmeric called curcumin is responsible for its ability as an antioxidant, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory. Studies suggest curcumin may protect against cancer and Alzheimer's and also improve circulation, prevent blood clotting and tame a variety of pains. Here’s more information about turmeric.

Olive Oil: Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat that helps to lower cholesterol. It contains antioxidants which help fight the signs of aging and protect us from damage caused by free radicals like smoking and pollution. The best way to use olive oil is as a finishing oil because it has a low smoke point. Overheating olive oil, or any type of oil for that matter, changes the flavor and nutritional value, and also generates chemical changes in the oil that aren't healthy.

Kale: This is my current favorite, and the different varieties of kale to choose from are fun to experiment with! I’m obsessed with a kale and purple cabbage salad I make. It’s not only delicious, but bursting with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. One cup of chopped kale contains 33 calories and 9% of the daily value of calcium, 206% of vitamin A, 134% of vitamin C, and a whopping 684% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. Kale is rich in the eye-health promoting lutein and zeaxanthin. Your body is your temple, so choose organic kale.

It’s never too late to incorporate simple, delicious superfoods into your diet. To learn more about National Nutrition Month, visit here.

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods

Is it March already? Wow, yes it is! It's NATIONAL NUTRITION MONTH! 

This year's theme is EAT RIGHT, YOUR WAY, EVERY DAY

The theme encourages personalized healthy eating styles and recognizes that food preferences, lifestyle, health concerns, and cultural and ethnic traditions all impact individual food choices. 

Today, in particular, marks Registered Dietitian Day! 

RD's play a critical role in helping people eat right, their way, every day. I enjoy real, unprocessed, fresh food and apart from my every day eating routine,

here are a few of my favorite Healthy Good products...

1. Seeking Health Probiota 12--I take this probiotic every night, after dinner. I love the boost it gives my immune system--I am never sick!

2. Seeking Health Calcium Magnesium plus Vitamin D3 chewable--As a busy mom, I don't always have time to eat all the Calcium my body needs. I take Cal Mag to fill in any missing Calcium I don't get from my food. It is assuring to know I'm taking high quality, absorbable Calcium. Plus, they're easy to chew and taste pretty good.

3. Vanilla Protein powder--This is a great way to add protein to my diet, along with some yummy flavor. For breakfast or a snack, I add the protein powder to the blender with oranges and organic milk to make an "orange julius." It takes like dessert! I also add a scoop to my oatmeal to boost the protein content.

What is your eating style?  What are your favorite Healthy Good products?

For more information about National Nutrition Month and Registered Dietitian Day, visit the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RD

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods