Dietitian/Sports Nutrition

The Importance of Nutrition

The food we eat has a direct effect on our over all health and wellbeing. Good nutrition habits can help us maintain our energy levels, weight and muscle mass and can lower our risk of certain diseases. Research shows that those who eat lots of fruits and vegetables may lower their risk of colon cancer, people consuming fatty fish and more oils have decreased risk of heart disease and lower markers of inflammation. Higher unsaturated fat (oil and fish) content in the diet directly relates to the composition present in the brain, thus can affect mental health status. A balanced gut bacteria level is important to help with reducing inflammation, can benefit our mental health, and can possibly even help with weight loss and may decrease risk of triggering or severity of autoimmune diseases. Not only that, nutrition can be used to help us heal from a surgery (knee replacement for example), injury or just help us perform the best at our sport.

What is the Difference Between Dietitian and Nutritionist?

In Ontario, anyone can call themselves a nutritionist regardless of their education background. Therefore, that individual may not have the depth of knowledge or practical experience to help you manage disease states or provide up to date, evidence-based dietary advice. As a registered dietitian, it is guaranteed that we have completed a 4 year bachelor degree from an accredited university, plus either an accredited dietetic practicum program or masters practicum combined program working under various dietitians to gain practical experience and lastly are required to pass a regulatory exam. Registered Dietitians are a regulated health professional which means like your chiropractors, physiotherapists, physicians etc, we are held to the highest standards set by our governing collages to ensure public safety. As such, we are required to conduct yearly self directed learning goals to make sure we are learning and growing in our practice to better help our clients.

How Many Sessions Should I Need?

I often recommend having at least 2 sessions with me, remembering we can’t change everything in 1 session. The first session is an information gathering session where I ask about your overall health and your typical diet intake. From there I will do some diet education and goal setting at the end of the first session, based on what your needs are. The second session is good to follow up and discuss any barriers you faced, and is an opportunity for me to discuss any other changes we can make and provide calorie and macronutrient goals if this is what you need.

Continued follow-ups are recommended for athletes as their training demands and goals will change throughout the year.

If weight loss is what you are looking for, I do tend to find people have better results if they have someone to be accountable for and provide support. The number of sessions you may need will depend on how independent you are, and how much support you need to continue with the changes.