Tagged with 'registered-dietitian-day'

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

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

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

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