— By our Registered Dietitian, Brette Macey

Stepping into my new role as a dietitian at Elysian Health, a common question I keep encountering is “what exactly do you do?”.

Sure, dietitians may be known for providing general healthy eating guidance, but that only covers a small percentage of the work we do. Dietitians work everywhere from clinical, community, to long-term care settings, providing expertise in digestive issues, diabetes, heart disease, pregnancy, kidney and liver disease, eating disorders, and much more. In hospitals, dietitians create formulas for feeding tubes, conduct swallowing assessments, and develop nutrition care plans for patients.

Working with a dietitian to assess your dietary intake can ensure you are meeting your nutritional needs and recommended amounts of vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids. It is important to remember the critical role of nutrition in preventing chronic disease and building a foundation for healthy aging and longevity.

Dietitian’s roles become much more influential from a national and even global perspective. Issues like food security, food literacy, food sovereignty, sustainable food choices, and nutrition prevention are all areas in which dietitians are involved, often in leadership roles. This is the theme of Nutrition Month 2022, “Ingredients for a healthy tomorrow”; highlighting how dietitians are using their skills and knowledge to create change in each of these areas (or “ingredients”) for a healthier tomorrow. Examples of this kind of work include developing school food programs, creating food and nutrition public policies, working with remote communities to provide nutrition education and food literacy, and advocating for sustainable food systems across Canada.

In my role as a dietitian (t), one of the ways I recognize I can help create change for a healthier tomorrow is by promoting sustainable food systems through purchasing locally grown foods and foods in season. Living in beautiful BC, we are so lucky to be surrounded by a diversity of fresh produce year-round. While it may be tempting to purchase your favorite produce from large grocery stores year-round, buying seasonal food is one of the best things you can do for the environment and your health.