WHAT'S SPECIAL

Nutrition is a crucial part of cancer treatment and prevention.  Eating the right foods during and after cancer treatment will help you feel better and become stronger.  Cancer and cancer treatments can affect the way your body utilizes nutrients and your ability to tolerate certain foods.  We help you optimize your nutritional status by focusing on important nutrients in the correct proportions.

Nutrition plays an important role in blood pressure regulation.  Salt is not the only mineral that affects your blood pressure. Other nutrients, foods and dietary patterns can also affect your blood pressure.  You will learn how to integrate crucial foods into your diet to optimize the right nutrients and minimize the harmful ones that can increase blood pressure.

Cholesterol and triglyceride levels are also affected by your overall diet and the foods you eat, especially the type and amount of fat, carbohydrate, and protein consumed.  We focus on foods to increase your "good" cholesterol and lower your "bad" cholesterol and triglycerides to protect against cardiovascular disease.

*Alex is a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE).

Prediabetes

Before you are diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, you will most likely be diagnosed with prediabetes, which means that your blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetes.  For some people with prediabetes, early treatment by changing your diet can prevent the progression to diabetes.  You can prevent diabetes by losing weight, exercising, and choosing the proper foods and nutrients.

Type 2 Diabetes 

Our goal is to help you learn how to control your blood sugars through your diet and by losing weight.  Choosing the right foods in the right portions and in the right combinations can help prevent the need for insulin.

Type 1 Diabetes

Well controlled Type 1 Diabetes requires carbohydrate counting and using the correct carbohydrate ratio and correction factor throughout the day.  We teach you how to better manage your insulin regimen and control your blood sugars.  We make needed adjustments in your regimen to optimize your control and prevent future complications.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes is diabetes that is diagnosed during pregnancy.  Modifying your diet is the first step to controlling blood sugars and maintaining the health of your baby.  We will take into account your nutritional needs to determine the amount, type and distribution of carbohydrates that should be consumed throughout the day.  We will discuss foods and nutrients that optimize health for you and your baby.

Nutrition plays a crucial role in PCOS, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and metabolic syndrome.  We will focus on specific foods and changing the portion size and balance of your meals.  Important nutrients must be optimized in your diet and weight management should be considered.  Changing your diet can also protect against development of related conditions and diseases.

Food allergies occur when your immune system reacts to a substance in a food.  A food intolerance occurs when you cannot digest a certain component of a food.  Whether you have a food allergy, celiac disease (an intolerance to gluten), a sensitivity to gluten, or an intolerance to another food, navigating menu items and nutrition labels can be very challenging. We educate you to simplify this process.  We help you identify intolerances, minimize symptoms and ensure you are meeting your nutritional requirements when you eliminate these foods.

Proper nutrition for your gastrointestinal health is crucial to minimizie symptoms, promote healing and optimize your nutritional status.  Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) affects the large intestine and contributes to symptoms, such as abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhea, bloating and gassiness.  Certain types of foods and the quantity in which you consume them can trigger these symptoms.  There are different strategies, such as the low FODMAP diet, that we can implement to help you control symptoms.  Colitis and Crohn's are inflammatory conditions of the digestive tract.  You will learn which foods and dietary patterns cause flare-ups of symptoms and how to promote healing of the gastrointestinal tract.  Diet also plays a role in triggering GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) symptoms and affects your risk for diverticulitis.

Kidney Disease

There is no single eating plan that works for everyone with kidney disease.  What you can and cannot eat will change over time and depends on your level of kidney function.  We can teach you which minerals and foods to include and which to exclude in your diet to optimize your health and prolong and improve your kidney function.

Kidney Stones  

Certain foods, minerals and fluids promote kidney stone formation, especially in susceptible individuals.  What you can eat depends on the type of stone you have.  We help you prevent kidney stone formation by changing your diet and helping you lose weight when necessary.

Arthritis 

Arthritis causes inflammation in your joints and can be very painful.  We can focus on the most nutrient-dense foods that contain antioxidants and are anti-inflammatory to help relieve joint pain and decrease inflammation.  Achieving a healthy weight is also important to consider with arthritis.

Osteoporosis

Adequate nutrition plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.  We focus on the important micronutrients to consume and when it is important to consider supplementation.

Nutrition plays a crucial role in fertility and the health of you and your baby throughout pregnancy and nursing.  Certain nutrients are important to obtain for the health of your baby.  We help you maintain a healthy diet and recommend certain important nutrients to consume before you become pregnant.  We help you choose the right foods during pregnancy without gaining too much weight, which can be dangerous for the baby and difficult to shed after delivery.  While nursing, we can ensure you consume the right nutrients for your baby while promoting a healthy weight loss.    

Nutrition can affect both your inner and outer health and beauty.  We help you try to prevent wrinkles, skin damage from sunlight, skin thinning and acne.  New research is examining the role of nutrition on acne and has found that many foods and certain dietary patterns can exacerbate acne.  Your weight can also affect your skin health and the aging process.

Nutrition therapy is a crucial component of eating disorder management.  A nonjudgemental, supportive environment is key for success.  Counseling techniques will be used to treat the underlying cause of the eating disorder.  We develop individualized meal plans for you and employ techniques to reduce eating disorder symptoms.  We help you become more in tune with your hunger and satiety cues and decrease your anxiety about food.  Achieving a healthy weight is also a focus in treatment.