Diabetes Dietitian Nutritionist in the St. Louis Area, Missouri, and Illinois
Get Medical Nutrition Therapy from Registered Dietitian Nutritionists to Manage or Reverse Diabetes (DM) - Improve Your Relationship with Food and Body
How can a nutritionist help with diabetes?
A dietitian can help with the management, and even reversal, of type 2 diabetes. We offer online or in-person medical nutrition counseling in the St Louis area.
This is what you can expect during your sessions with us:
​
-
Nutritional Assessment: We will assess your current dietary habits, lifestyle, and blood-sugar control to understand your specific needs.
-
Meal Planning: One of the RDNs on our team will create a customized meal plan that includes your favorite flavors and family traditions, cultural background, and lifestyle. This meal plan will align with your diabetes management goals.
-
Carbohydrate Management: We will help you understand how carbohydrates impact blood sugar levels. We will work on carbohydrate counting, meal timing, and portion control.
-
Balanced Diet: Dietary interventions are key to treating Type 2 Diabetes. We will empower you to choose the best foods to help you control your blood sugar levels, including whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats, fruits, and vegetables.
-
Blood Sugar Monitoring: As diabetes nutritionists, we can teach you how to monitor your blood sugar levels and how different foods affect their readings. This will help you make informed food choices.
-
Education and Support: A cornerstone of medical nutrition therapy is education. You will learn how to read food labels, find those hidden sugars, and understand the effects of alcohol, caffeine, and other foods on blood sugar levels. Education is empowerment.
-
Collaboration: We can collaborate with your healthcare team to ensure coordinated care and optimal outcomes.
​
By providing education around the role of nutrition in managing the symptoms, creating individualized meal plans, providing practical strategies for making nutritious yet fun food choices, and working on carbohydrate management and blood sugar monitoring, your dietitian nutritionist will help empower you to make informed food choices and implement sustainable eating behavior modifications.
What is the best treatment for diabetes?
The "best" treatment for diabetes depends on the type of diabetes, the individual's overall health, lifestyle factors, and personal preferences.
​
As dietitian nutritionists, we provide medical nutrition therapy for our patients.
Type 1 Diabetes: The primary treatment involves insulin therapy, injections or an insulin pump. With Type 1 diabetes, the body doesn't produce insulin, and this cannot be managed by diet alone. A dietitian's role in treating Type 1 diabetes is to help you understand how your body reacts to certain foods, provide support and education, provide you with strategies to manage insulin levels, and provide family support (as many patients with Type 1 diabetes are children).
​
Type 2 Diabetes: Diet is central to the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes. With Type 2 diabetes, your body's cells become resistant to insulin. A dietitian can help you implement a healthy diet plan, improve your health status with regular physical activity, and provide support in case you need to take medication.
​
Prediabetes: Diet is pivotal in the treatment of prediabetes. Adopting healthy eating patterns, like the Mediterranean Diet, eating behaviors, and lifestyle modifications can reduce your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. A dietitian can support you, helping you implement sustainable dietary changes and manage your blood sugar levels.
​
Gestational Diabetes: Any woman can develop gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant). Treatment with a prenatal nutritionist typically involves dietary changes and regular physical activity to help manage blood sugar levels. A dietitian on our team will ensure coordinated care with your ObGyn, as in some cases, insulin therapy may be necessary to control blood sugar levels during pregnancy. Controlling blood sugar levels is central to reducing the risk of complications for both the mother and baby.​
​
Treatment modalities include lifestyle changes such as consuming a balanced diet, regular physical activity, weight management, insulin therapy, oral medications, and ongoing education and collaboration with a team of professionals knowledgeable in diabetes management. Work with one of the diabetes dietitians on our team. We look forward to helping you.