Duke Raleigh Hospital

In addition to Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, March is also National Nutrition Month!

National Nutrition Month has been celebrated by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics since the 1970s, as a way to promote the importance of making informed food choices to shape sound eating and physical activity habits. It also increases awareness about the vital role that registered dietitians play in our communities—serving as the leaders of healthier lifestyle choices.

The topic of nutrition and weight-loss has flooded the media over the past few years. And, with all the different types of new diet plans out there- it’s hard to determine what works best for you.  That’s why, this year we are recognizing National Nutrition Month with the theme “Eat Right, your way, every day.”

Since most everything else comes with personalized options to meet our unique tastes (coffee mugs, cell phone covers, toothbrushes)- why shouldn’t our diet?  “Eat right, your way, every day,”  endorses healthy eating styles that are personalized just for you! These styles can include personal preferences, lifestyles, cultural and ethnic traditions. While these are just a few of the many different factors that affect our food choices, the idea is to help people enjoy the foods they love—in a healthy way.

How-to:

A great way to do this is by setting small, short-term goals that suit your lifestyle and are time sensitive and manageable, but will aid in reaching long-term goals. Here are a few healthy tips:

• If your long-term goal is to eat more vegetables, try making one new recipe per week with a new vegetable or a variety of vegetables.
• If you are looking to eat a heart-healthy diet, start by skipping the salt when you cook pasta, rice and vegetables.
• For your next pizza night, switch things up by using broccoli, spinach, green peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini as toppings.
• If you have always dreamed of marking “running a marathon” off your to-do list, start by exercising for 30 minutes—that’s it! Then, you can work your way up by building on your endurance.

As a way to honor and thank the healthy-lifestyle-leaders of our community, we are celebrating Registered Dietitian Day! We are so thankful for these food and nutrition experts, as they help our patients and community members enjoy healthy and fulfilling lives.