Nutrition News

I just came back from the big Dietitian's conference.  It is the place to be in the nutrition world.  I have come back with new knowledge and motivation to share with others.  I learned the importance of Vitamin D supplementation, we are just not getting enough from the sun.  I learned about restaurant menu labeling laws that should be hitting your local chain restaurant soon, although probably not any kosher ones as it only effects restaurants with 20 or more locations.  I learned about new healthy products that are hitting the stores and new computer and smartphone apps to help us make better choices. 


There is meallogger a new website where you can use your phone to take a picture of your food and write a description so that your dietitian can accurately assess your food intake.  There is fooducate, an iphone app that allows you to scan a bar code in the store to tell you what is really in that food and give you alternative healthy choices.  It is amazing what everyone is coming up with to help educate the consumer, but I wonder who will actually benefit from these programs.  They are affordable and seem to be easy to use, but only the already interested health nut would probably take the time to use any new app that will take them more time at the grocery store. 

We need to figure out ways to reach a wider audience to improve the health of our nation.  I met quite a few dietitians working in supermarkets.  They work to help consumers find healthier choices by putting a healthy start in front of healthy choices.  They offer food demos in the stores to help teach people how to cook with healthier foods and they are there to answer consumer questions.  I do believe that one of the best places to educate consumers about health and nutrition is in the supermarket where they are shopping and choosing the food for their family. That is why I take all my clients to the supermarket, it is vital in learning how to eat right, first you got to shop right.