If you’ve ever had doubts about your eating habits or were recently diagnosed with high cholesterol or diabetes, you may want to consider nutrition counseling. Registered dietitians work with you to identify eating habits that need to change and help you enforce those changes.
What is Nutrition Counseling?
Nutrition counseling assesses a patient’s eating habits and overall health to identify nutritional deficits and goals and provide education to ensure they reach those goals. Most medical professionals consider nutrition counseling the first line of defense when managing and preventing a number of chronic diseases. Some of the chronic health issues that can affect and be affected by digestion and food absorption are cancer, kidney disease, and diabetes.
The nutritional assessment, past medical history, and patient goals will determine the frequency of monitoring. Consistent nutritional counseling is recommended for malnutrition in older adults and has been proven effective in managing diabetes.
How Important are Good Eating Habits?
Our eating habits are repetitive behaviors that lead us to choose and consume diets shaped by social and cultural influences. Unhealthy eating habits can lead to health issues, both mentally and physically. Here are a few common unhealthy eating habits that most people tend to suffer from:
- Skipping breakfast
- Mindless snacking
- Eating late at night
- Emotional eating
- Not eating enough
- Overindulging in junk food
Nutrition counseling can help identify unhealthy eating behaviors and create a plan to build nutritional success. When we have healthy eating habits, we’re more likely to pass them on to our children, giving them the best chance at a long and happy life.
Healthy Eating Habits for Kids
In addition to preventing disease, the benefits of healthy eating habits in kids include the following:
- Strong bones and teeth
- Sustained energy levels
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Improved mental health
Make sure they’re eating lots of fresh fruits and veggies for all the vitamins, minerals, and fiber needed for their health.
What is the Link Between Nutrition and Mental Health?
We use food to nourish our bodies, but food also nourishes the mind. Improving your eating habits can improve your mental health thanks to the link between our brains and the gastrointestinal tract. Healthy foods promote the growth of good gut bacteria that help produce neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin.
ADHD Eating Habits
Experts have found that ADHD tends to co-occur with binge eating. Impulse control and inattention can cause people to “forget” to eat throughout the day, only to overeat later. Similarly, they may ignore how full they are and keep eating beyond the point of being full.
Dementia and Eating Habits
People with dementia tend to suffer from malnutrition because they ignore their hunger and forget to eat and drink. Additionally, they could develop changes in their food preferences. They’ll start to dislike foods they used to love and start enjoying new flavors and textures. A lifelong vegetarian could even go back to eating meat again.
