Unlock the potential of food with Nutrition Month

According to Interior Health’s Public Health Dietician, Marissa Alexander, it can be hard to navigate the world of diet videos, healthy eating tips, superfoods, meal planning and the latest diet trends. Should people be gluten-free? Is fat good now? What’s a keto?

Marissa Alexander, Registered Dietician

Many Canadians find it difficult to find nutrition advice that fits their lifestyle, budget, and personal preferences. That’s where dietitians come in.

 

March is Nutrition Month, where Interior Health celebrates dietitians across Canada helping people unlock the potential of food to prevent, fuel, heal, discover, and bring us together.

Registered dietitians work in many different places, such as hospitals, private practices, grocery stores, public health offices, and more. They’re trained professionals who specialize in evidence-based practice to provide nutrition and healthy eating advice. This supports healing, healthy growth and development at all stages of life, and the prevention of disease.

Dietitians have unique training and are experts at bringing you the science behind your food. What happens in ketosis? How do snacks affect a person’s blood sugar? Should people fast between meals? Dieticians are trained to understand how eating or avoiding, certain foods will affect bodies, provides individualized information and advice that supports you to make the choices that are right for a person or their family. Healthy eating is not “one size fits all”—everybody is different and finding what works is important.

Eating right can help prevent illness and decrease the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and some cancers. It can help fuel during busy days on the job, help recover from a surgery or injury, and bring a person together with community, friends, and loved ones.

This March, celebrate healthy eating by joining the Nutrition Month Challenge and share photos unlocking the potential of food. Use the hashtag #NutritionMonth and tag Interior Health on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook and explain what healthy eating means for you.

For more information about Nutrition Month, or to find some recipes, visit www.nutritionmonth2019.ca or speak with a Registered Dietitian at HealthLink BC by calling 8-1-1.