What does a dietitian do?
A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) provides Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) and counseling. MNT involves an individual nutrition assessment to help manage or treat chronic conditions through diet and lifestyle change. Nutrition counseling is a process to set nutrition priorities, establish goals, and foster self-care. Nutrition counseling helps individuals to overcome barriers and work within their lifestyle, concerns, culture, and challenges to improve their health outcomes.
How can a dietitian help me?
Nutrition counseling and MNT together have been shown to be effective in wellness, disease prevention, and disease management. Before you meet with your dietitian, think about what your health goals might be. Do you want to lose weight, have more energy, improve your blood sugar or cholesterol numbers, live longer, or prevent the progression of chronic conditions?
An initial visit with your dietitian will take about 45 minutes. They will review your current eating habits and nutritional health, and work with you to set a specific plan to meet your goals. As you continue to work with your dietitian, they can answer specific questions that you may have about diet and nutrition. Your dietitian can work with you to build skills such as reading food labels, healthy grocery shopping on a budget, meal planning, and cooking.
Nutrition counseling is useful in the management of many health conditions, such as:
· Type 1 and type 2 diabetes
· Prediabetes
· High cholesterol
· High blood pressure and other cardiac conditions
· Kidney disease
· Weight loss or weight gain
· Gastrointestinal issues, such as IBS or GERD
· Diverticulosis and diverticulitis
· Celiac disease or other gluten intolerances
· Steatosis or other liver conditions
· Food allergies
· Nutrition during pregnancy
· Undernutrition
· Wound healing
How do I get started?
CHAS Health encourages open communication with all our providers to develop the best plan of care for our patients. Patients may be referred to a dietitian by their provider, or they may self-refer to the dietitian, but they must be under the care of a Primacy Care Provider (PCP) at CHAS Health to be seen by an RDN.
Visit chas.org or call us today at 509.444.8200 to learn more and schedule an appointment.
Pathways to Wellness
In partnership with the YMCA, CHAS Health offers a 10-week health transformation program that promotes pathways to a healthier life. This program works with you on your wellness journey and addresses nutrition, exercise, medication adherence, goal setting, and building sustainable habits. Participation in this program is referral based. Discuss this opportunity with your primary care provider to see if you qualify.
