By Melissa Baker-Wilson, MHSc, Registered Dietitian, Dietetics Educator
Did you know March is Nutrition Month in Canada?
What better time to focus on eating well and having a positive relationship with food. Because it can be a challenge to know what to put on the table day to day.
If you are seeking guidance, consider reaching out to a registered dietitian. For this year’s Nutrition Month, Dietitians of Canada have set the theme “We Are Dietitians.” They invite all Canadians to recognize and celebrate the role dietitians play in influencing our wellbeing.
But let’s take a step back and learn a little more about dietitians.
Why are dietitians so important?
Registered dietitians (RDs) work in a variety of fields, including clinical, public health, food service, management, government, private practice, media, education, research and more. Dietitians help improve our health and wellbeing in many ways, from shaping provincial and national food policy to helping patients recover from surgery to addressing food insecurity; a dietitian's work has likely impacted your life.
Private practice RDs work one-on-one with clients and might be able to help you with:
Ensuring you are meeting your nutrition goals
Helping manage or prevent many chronic diseases that are closely linked to nutrition, including cancer, heart disease and diabetes
Finding simple, healthy and delicious recipes that fit within any allergies or restrictions, and ensure you aren’t at risk for nutrient deficiencies
Improving your gut health
Moving towards a more plant-based diet
Improving sports performance
Clearing up any confusion and busting nutrition myths (social media is contributing to a lot of misinformation related to food and nutrition)
Optimizing nutrition for different life stages, such as pregnancy or aging
Managing infant feeding issues and questions
Picky eating in kids
Practicing intuitive eating
And more!
If you’d like to work with an RD more directly, many private practice dietitians now offer virtual (or in-person) appointments.
Access a dietitian with your UBC benefits
- Did you know you can use your benefits to see a registered dietitian (RD) for yourself or a family member? Many dietitians offer in-person or virtual appointments, and eligible faculty and staff are covered for 80% of the costs for registered dietitians after you pay the deductible and up to a combined maximum of $600 (for CUPE 2950 members, the maximum is $500). For complete details about your Extended Health Plan, please refer to the Sun Life Benefits booklet for your employee group. And remember, you can use your extended health plan to help other members of the household. For example, you may be interested in exploring this service for a listed dependent, like your child, who needs support for an allergy or take on athletic pursuits.
Our Employee Family Assistance Program, provided by TELUS Health (formerly LifeWorks), has many helpful resources for diet and nutrition, including a range of articles and videos. Not sure how to access your EFAP? Details for accessing TELUS Health can be found on the HR website.
- Lastly, you can also email a HealthLink BC Dietitian with your nutrition questions for free.
Dietitians at UBC
Many dietitians are hard at work here at UBC — working in roles that ultimately improve the wellbeing of our UBC community and beyond. Several dietitians, like me, work for the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, but you can find RDs working for UBC Food Services on both campuses, UBC Health, UBC Wellbeing, and UBCO Campus Wellness and Education team.
Dietetics is an exciting and in-demand career and UBC has the only training program in the province! The UBC Dietetics Program recently launched an exciting new Master of Nutrition and Dietetics stream, in addition to the long-standing undergraduate program, and now graduates about 50 new dietitians a year!
Some awesome UBC RDs (Sara Kozicky, Casey Hamilton and Hillary Stevens) were also involved in the creation and oversite of the Food Hub Market and website, which launched at UBC Vancouver, first as a pilot in 2022, and now continues to offer lower-priced groceries for everyone. If you haven’t visited the market on campus, it is well worth it!
Not only is this month Nutrition Month, but March 20 is Dietitians Day. This is an excellent opportunity to recognize your UBC dietitian colleagues for all the amazing work they are doing, and a good reminder to connect with a registered dietitian to help make positive improvements to your health.
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