NUTRITIOUS TABLE

I am not a provider for insurance companies and do not take insurance payments. However, I can provide a receipt for my services that you can send into your insurance company to request reimbursement.

Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) is an essential component of comprehensive health care services. Individuals with a variety of conditions and illnesses can improve their health and quality of life by receiving medical nutrition therapy. But unfortunately, some insurance companies choose not to contract with dietitians or cover "preventive" health care. Contact your insurance company to see if MNT is a covered benefit and if you have met your deductible requirements. If it is a covered benefit, you should be able to be reimbursed for your payment.

If you are on Medicare, you must seek a Medicare provider for your services. I am not a Medicare provider, so I cannot provide services for you. If you are willing to pay out of pocket and not request reimbursement from Medicare, I can see you. Diabetes and Kidney Disease are currently the only two nutrition conditions that are covered benefits under Medicare. I suggest that everyone lobby their Congressmen to add heart disease and other medical conditions to the list of Medical Nutrition Therapy services that are reimburseable through Medicare.

No, I cannot guarantee success because the ability to change your eating habits is totally up to you. I am here to instruct and support you, but I cannot make you change. It is all up to you!

You will only gain weight if your caloric intake exceeds the calories you burn through activity. You metabolize food the same way all day, no matter what time you eat. So a food eaten after 8 PM will not make you gain more weight than if you ate the same food at 8 AM. This guideline for weight loss makes sense only as a behavioral tool to eliminate mindless eating and excessive caloric intake when we are not truly hungry.

I don't see a problem with taking a daily multivitamin with 100% of the Daily Recommended Intake. If you are eating a well balanced diet most days of the week, you probably don't need vitamin supplementation. Some consider vitamins as "nutritional insurance" in case you don't eat properly every day. Just be careful about taking megadoses of individual vitamins. You could easily overdose.

Registered and Licensed Dietitians are credentialed nutrition experts recognized nationally by the medical profession, The American Dietetic Association. and by the state of Texas. The term "Nutritionist" is a general term that may be used by anyone, with or without professional credentials. It is commonly used by those who are trained to sell nutritional supplements and have no formal nutrition education.

Registered and Licensed Dietitians (RD/LD) are nutrition experts because they have the most rigorous and concentrate education and training of any healthcare practitioner. The principles of nutrition are those based in human biochemistry & physiology, food science, behavioral and social sciences. The RD/LD is a professional with at least a baccalaureate degree in food and nutrition/dietetics, nutrition education, food service management or other related sciences from an accredited US college or university. They must have also completed a post-graduate, accredited internship and passed a national credentialing examination. To remain credentialed 75 continuing education credits must be obtained every five years. Credentialing protects the public from being harmed by unqualified incompetent practitioners.

The large portions we are served in restaurants and fast food establishments differ greatly from three key standards for portion sizes. Each standard has a different use based on the special needs of consumers.

1. The Nutrition Facts Label on food packaging defines a serving size as the amount of food customarily consumed per eating occasion. It is important to remember that if you eat two times the serving size, you will be consuming two times the calories and nutrients. This serving size has nothing to do with nutritional guidelines.
2. The Food Guide Pyramid uses household measurements such as cups, ounces, pieces to teach consumers to balance caloric intake with physical activity. The pyramid is revised every 5 years after the USDA releases revised Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The number of servings a person requires depends on how many calories she or he needs. The serving size used in each food group is the amount of food that provides a comparable amount of key nutrients. In many cases, you way want to serve more than one portion of food to meet proper calorie or nutrient needs. For example, you may want to eat 2 ounces of breakfast cereal rather than 1 ounce. In this case, you would count this as 2 servings. Be sure to check out the www.mypyramid.org interactive tools. It is a great resource for adults and kids.
3. The Diabetic Exchange List was developed by the American Diabetes and the American Dietetic Association as a guide for diabetic diet or weight loss diet portion sizes. The food groups are divided into three categories: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Each serving in a particular group has the same amount of carbohydrate, protein, fat and calories as other foods on the same exchange list.