March is National Nutrition Month

Editor?s note: The monthly To Your Heath column is a venue for Jefferson County Health Center to provide health information that will benefit The Fairfield Ledger?s readers.

To suggest ideas for future articles or to obtain information, call Jefferson County Health Center community relations manager Wanda Bagby at 469-4198.

This month, The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) promotes National Nutrition Month. National Nutrition Month helps bring registered dietitians to the forefront to showcase the importance of the profession and eating healthy. March 11 is singled out in this month as Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) Day.

Dietitians can be found in many different places in the community. They work in schools, hospitals, grocery stores and nursing homes. You can also find dietitians working with sports teams and in gyms and fitness centers.

As a clinical dietitian at Jefferson County Health Center, I work with patients to ensure they are receiving the correct diet to heal while they are in the hospital. I also work with outpatients, counseling them on diets to help prevent and treat medical conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure. From time to time, I participate in the community with health fairs and different events to talk about healthy eating and nutrition.

Many people do not know where to turn for nutrition advice. There are many different diets out there and conflicting information at every turn. It can be hard to sift through all of this and know the difference between fact and fiction. Companies want you to buy their product and therefore market to the health conscious public. The problem is determining if the claims that are made are truthful. A supermarket dietitian can take you on a tour and go through the aisles to give you a better idea of what is healthy and how much truth is in those claims. If you have any questions on nutrition, research local dietitians. Eatright.org is the website for the AND and is a great resource. They have a feature, Find an Expert, which can help you find the dietitians in your area.

We are here to help decode and debunk nutrition myths. On April 18, stop by my booth at the Wellness Fair at Jefferson County Health Center get any questions you might have answered.

Tamara Harvatt RD, LD, is dietitian/asst. manager at Jefferson County Health Center.