For many people, creating and following a balanced diet that is also fun to eat is not easy. One way you can learn to make lasting dietary changes is by enlisting the help of a registered dietitian, who can teach you about nutrition, as well as analyze your personal eating patterns. Below, Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD, CDN, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and a registered dietitian in private practice in New York, talks about how dietitians can help dispel your food myths and make you a more educated eater.
Who needs nutritional advice?
Who needs nutritional advice? Who doesn't need nutritional advice? Unfortunately, a lot of people wait until something is wrong to consult with a registered dietitian. And not that that's too late, but why wait until then? You could prevent a lot of chronic diseases and fatigue and feeling ill by consulting with a registered dietitian.
What can dietitians tell us about our relationship with food?
Some of us need food for comfort, some for energy. Many of my patients are emotional eaters, so they eat for the wrong reasons. You know that expression "I eat to live"? Well, those are people who eat based upon hunger. Other people say that they live to eat, meaning that they love the food: They love the taste of it, the smell of it, the pleasure of cooking, the pleasure of shopping. I think that it's important for us each to find out why we eat the foods that we eat and why we eat in the styles in which we eat. The key is also "What are we eating?" and, very often, seeing a registered dietitian will help you figure that out.
How can you prepare for a visit with a registered dietitian?
It's a good idea to go see your physician and have some basic blood work done: cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, triglycerides. This way, the registered dietitian has more information about you both inside and out, because that would really help him or her to get a better idea about what kinds of program that would be best suited for your particular needs.
You might also want to ask yourself, "Well, what are my eating habits like? Do I stand eating in front of the refrigerator? Am I eating in my car most of the time? Do I eat off my kid's plates? What kind of food am I making for my family? Do I know how to read a label?"
Do you recommend people keep a food journal?
Keeping a food journal that records the date, the time of day, the kind of food you ate and perhaps the amount that you ate is incredibly helpful for the registered dietitian, because what we look for are patterns, such as foods that may be missing and foods that may be in excess. Sometimes, people have a tendency to give you a dietary recall, "Oh, no, I never have any snacks," and, then, you might look at the food diary and see, "Well, what happened here at 10:30 in the morning? What about 3 o'clock in the afternoon? What about at midnight? What about 3 am?"
What would a dietitian want to know about your protein intake?
A registered dietitian might want to know how much protein you are eating during the course of a day, because many people eat much too much protein. The biggest protein misconception is that protein has no calories. Too much protein could cause you to lose calcium from your bones. An excessive amount of protein can also harm your kidneys, because kidneys are the organs that filter protein.
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Still, you need protein because protein repairs our bodies' muscles and tissues. So the other thing is: What are your sources of protein? Lean proteins, such as fish or chicken without the skin that is preferably not breaded and fried, are good choices. Meat is much better when it's grilled or broiled, so that you're not getting the extra fat there. Other healthful sources of protein are cheese, egg whites and beans. Peanut butter, tofu and soy products also have protein, so you don't have to just have meat in your diet to have a good source of protein.
What will a dietitian want to know about your fat intake?
A dietitian might want to know how much fat are you eating, the sources of fat, including the hidden sources of fat. There is fat lurking in many of the foods that you might not think of, like crackers, for example.
Fat is a nutrient in the diet that is very important for the functioning of our body. Fat helps the body absorb fat-soluble vitamins, and it provides energy and is also important for growth and development. The thing about fat is you have to try to eat the right kinds of fats. Unsaturated fats are better than the saturated fats. So a dietitian would also want to know sources of saturated fats, the fats that will stick to your arteries the fastest. They are usually fat that is solid at room temperature, like shortening and butter and the fat that is on meat. So those are the fats that are usually not recommended when you are trying to prevent heart disease and have a healthier diet. The polyunsaturated fats might be in corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil. They are liquid at room temperature. And the monounsaturated fats are in products like olive oil, canola oil; they're in olives, avocado.
What might a dietitian tell you about carbohydrate intake?
I think that low-carb diets or no-carb diets are really doing us a great disservice. The biggest misconception about carbohydrates is that they are really fattening and they are not. Carbohydrates could be fattening if you're eating an excessive amount of them. But if you eat the proper amount for your particular body, for your level of energy, then I think that, not only will you enjoy them, but you'll enjoy the benefits that they bring. We need carbohydrates for energy, because they're the best source of energy that we have. We need carbohydrates for vitamins and minerals. We need carbohydrates for fiber, to help things moving along. The carbohydrates that I like to promote are whole grains, like a whole grain cereal, whole grain breads and pastas.
How might a dietitian help you get your daily servings of fruits and vegetables?
I think that there are many people who feel that the only way to get a vegetable is when you're sitting down at dinner, but that's really not true at all. Baby carrots or sugar snap peas are great to carry around with you. You can add some lettuce and tomatoes to any sandwich. Cutting up fruit in your cereal in the morning is a great way to start your day. And if you don't have time to prepare these foods, you could also make a smoothie, where you put some fruit in the blender with some milk, and that's a great source of calcium and fruits and vegetables.
What is your overall advice about diet?
The most important point is that your diet should be balanced. There is no one food or nutrient that's going to be magical. If you try to think of a concert, if you went to hear just one instrument playing, it's nothing like hearing a whole symphony. So there is a symphony of fruits and vegetables and vitamins and minerals and proteins and carbohydrates and fats out there. The key is trying to learn how to be a good conductor and put them all in your diet so that you know that you're meeting your needs, no matter what age you are.
How can you find a registered dietitian?
If you are a consumer looking for an expert in the field of dietetics, it is very important to find a registered dietitian. Anyone could call him or herself a nutritionist, however, a registered dietitian has to have earned a degree in nutrition or a related field, and they must maintain their professional qualification with continuing education credits. There are also people who have PhDs in nutrition, who may teach on a university level and be involved in research. The best place to find a qualified registered dietitian is to look on the website of the American Dietetic Association website, www.eatright.org.
