Nutrition Counseling
Your diet is a significant factor in your overall well-being as well as your risk of many diseases. San Mateo Primary Care offers personalized nutritional counseling to optimize your health and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mood disorders, and other chronic diseases. We offer nutrition counseling personalized to you as well as general lectures and cooking classes.
What is nutrition counseling?
Nutrition counseling is the process of evaluating your diet and health, then identifying how to adjust what you eat to optimize your health. The professionals at San Mateo Primary Care apply evidence-based “food as medicine” principles to nutritional counseling. Changing your relationship with food and learning to recognize how it affects your health takes time. Nutrition counseling is an ongoing process combining education, lab testing, and counseling sessions.
Nutritional counseling helps you make health-conscious choices to enhance your overall health and reduce your risk of chronic health issues like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and mood disorders. As an added benefit, most patients lose weight and notice that their energy levels improve when they change their diets and focus on whole, nutrient-dense foods.
What does food-as-medicine mean?
The nutrition experts at San Mateo Primary Care believe in the power of preventive health care. They try to take a natural approach using lifestyle medicine whenever possible. Food-as-medicine is based on the principle that disease can be prevented and controlled with your diet.
The team begins with a consultation, physical exam, and lab testing. You discuss your current diet, medical history, and health goals. Your physical exam and lab tests help identify any health conditions or elevated risks. Based on your individual needs, you receive nutritional counseling and support to heal your body with dietary changes and supplements. You also have periodic health screenings and blood work to track your progress and health.
Nutrition education at San Mateo Primary Care includes the opportunity to learn to shop and cook with nutritious ingredients. In many cases, making healthy dietary changes can reverse chronic issues like diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension.
How does nutrition affect my health?
The foods you eat should contain the nutrients your body needs to function. However, many Americans eat far too much processed convenience foods that are full of salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats, but woefully deficient in essential nutrients.
While an occasional unhealthy treat isn’t a threat to your health, a prolonged poor diet increases your risk of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, mood disorders, and a wide range of other health problems. However, when you primarily eat nutritious whole foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean proteins, your body has everything it needs for optimal function and health.
Call San Mateo Primary Care or make an appointment online to start your customized nutrition counseling program today.