This blog post was written by Emmye Conway
Bamboo Nutrition is a group practice of dietitians and therapists here to help all clients achieve health and confidence in food and life decisions.
Nutrition as an Essential part of Healthcare: Why Working with a Registered Dietitian is Worth it
What were you taught in school about nutrition growing up? Did it even come up? Personally, I can remember sitting in health class freshman year of high school for our lesson on nutrition and the focus being counting calories. Now at 15 years old I thought, am I really supposed to track everything I eat and calculate the calories? The message that I took away at the end of the lesson was that as long as you didn’t eat too much, you were doing okay. Unfortunately, this ignores how important it is to, first of all, eat enough food and secondly, how to use nutrition to support your health and wellbeing, which extends far past how many calories you have consumed.
These lessons unfortunately supported my idea that “healthy” had more to do with how my body looked than the things my body did for me, or how I felt throughout the day. And nothing against this teacher; her problem was that she, like so many others, was entirely misguided in her idea of nutrition and how it relates to health. It can be difficult to know where to begin when seeking education about nutrition. The internet is overrun with misinformation. This is why working with a Registered Dietitian can be extremely beneficial.
“It takes someone understanding the complicated to provide the simple.”
While essential for people with metabolic diseases or eating disorders, dietitians can support everyone. Additionally, visiting your primary care physician is wonderful, but it is important to note that nutrition is not a physician’s specialty. In my experience, physicians are great at pointing out a problem, yet, not so great at providing practical, feasible solutions. Likewise, physicians are usually treating fairly broad conditions and provide solutions that may not be applicable to you. Registered dietitians are able to dive deep into you as a whole, individual person. You may be someone dealing with food insensitivity or fatigue during the day, but there is so much more to you and your lifestyle!
Nutrition is simultaneously very simple and very complicated. However, it really takes someone understanding the complicated to provide the simple. For most though, nutrition is largely unknown. Nutrition is not an isolate; you cannot solve problems with nutrition alone. Why? We are not robots. We cannot perfectly follow meal plans and live perfect lives that allow for perfect routine. Nor should we. We all have too many amazing things in our lives to let food drive everything we do. However, I am sure many of us can relate to feeling like food has a significant grip on our lives, adding stress instead of supporting us.
Bamboo Nutrition works with their clients to ensure that they learn what it feels like to experience peace with food. If you are not feeling at peace with food, then you're likely feeling stressed, overwhelmed, annoyed with little decisions, or perhaps you feel self-loathing about your nutrition decisions. Our dietitians use counseling and individualized nutrition interventions to provide you with peace physically and emotionally.
At Bamboo Nutrition, there is at least one dietitian who specializes in one or more of the following:
· Eating Disorders: such as anorexia, binge eating disorder, and avoidant-restrictive food disorder
· GI conditions: from constipation/diarrhea to Crohn’s Disease
· Hormonal concerns: such as PCOS, or Pregnancy/Postpartum
If you do not feel you fit into one of these categories, do not disregard your own needs if you feel you aren’t “sick enough” or your need is not “great enough.” While the severity of these conditions may vary, it does not take away from the fact that you deserve to be comfortable and satisfied in your life in every area. Even if you are healthy on paper, you may still feel that something is missing from your routine.
Dietitians can support whatever journey you’re on. Food is a really significant part of life, culture, our social lives; everything. Even small discomforts add up in daily life because food is vital. The aim of working with a dietitian is to maximize and enhance your experience with food. Food should not be a stressor, but unfortunately it is for many people. Although diets try to provide a “rule book” for how to eat, there is no rulebook for how to feel your best.
Case Scenario
Having a dietitian to assist in navigating grocery shopping, meal prepping, and eating take out, can make a world of difference. An example of a typical client who works with one of our dietitians at Bamboo Nutrition suffers from constant urgency and GI discomfort but cannot seem to figure out which foods trigger these reactions. Our dietitians may help him solve the problem by first identifying several “safe foods” that allow him to feel good and still get enough nutrition day-to-day. Next, we would try to implement variety, this way the client is not eating the same foods every night for dinner. A dietitian can help discover what in these foods is causing adverse reactions. Additionally, a dietitian can assist in meal prepping foods that you enjoy and also support how you want to feel. Likewise, dietitians can coach you on ordering foods in restaurants, and overall increase your confidence in making food decisions in and outside of the home.
Dietitians are here to be your expert on nutrition and your partner in health!
Dietitians have the benefit of a wealth of knowledge on many various nutrition conditions. However, receiving your care at a group practice with dietitians who are all specialized is even better! The aim is not strict meal plans or diets; the aim is to help you enjoy life by taking away the stress that comes with the unknowns of nutrition.
Bamboo Nutrition is located in Columbia, MO and Rochester, MN. We have online and in person appointments to easily meet the demands of your schedule! Learn more about our rates and accepted insurances!