- With Mayo Clinic nutritionists
Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
Katherine Zeratsky and Jennifer Nelson
Jennifer K. Nelson, M.S., R.D., L.D., C.N.S.D.
Jennifer Nelson is your link to a better diet. As specialty editor of the nutrition and healthy eating guide, she plays a vital role in bringing you healthy recipes and meal planning."Nutrition is one way people have direct control over the quality of their lives," she says. "I hope to translate the science of nutrition into ways that people can select and prepare great-tasting foods that help maintain health and treat disease."
A St. Paul, Minn., native, she has been with Mayo Clinic since 1978, and is director of clinical dietetics and an associate professor of nutrition at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.
She leads clinical nutrition efforts for a staff of more than 60 clinical dietitians and nine dietetic technicians and oversees nutrition services, staffing, strategic and financial planning, and quality improvement. Nelson was co-editor of the "Mayo Clinic Diet" and the James Beard Foundation Award-winning "The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook." She has been a contributing author to and reviewer of many other Mayo Clinic books, including "Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight for EveryBody," "The Mayo Clinic Family Health Book" and "The Mayo Clinic/Williams Sonoma Cookbook." She contributes to the strategic direction of the Food & Nutrition Center, which includes creating recipes and menus, reviewing nutrition content of various articles, and providing expert answers to nutrition questions.
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
As a specialty editor of the nutrition and healthy eating guide, Katherine Zeratsky helps you sort through the facts and figures, the fads and the hype to learn more about nutrition and diet.A Marinette, Wis., native, she is certified in dietetics by the state of Minnesota and the American Dietetic Association. She has been with Mayo Clinic since 1999.
She's active in nutrition-related curriculum and course development in wellness nutrition at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and nutrition related to weight management and practical applications of nutrition-related lifestyle changes.
Other areas of interest include food and nutrition for all life stages, active lifestyles and the culinary arts.
She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, served a dietetic internship at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and worked as a registered dietitian and health risk counselor at ThedaCare of Appleton, Wis., before joining the Mayo Clinic staff.
Latest entries
- Juicing and blending with a focus on flavor
May 22, 2013
- Safe juicing and blending
May 14, 2013
- Is NEAT part of your weight-control plan?
May 1, 2013
- Exercise, hunger and weight loss
April 25, 2013
- Another look at meat consumption and mortality
April 17, 2013
Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Nutrition-wise blog
-
Oct. 14, 2010
Talking to kids about healthy food choices
By Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
When my son was 2 years old, he took a large swallow of clear soda thinking it was water. Eyes watering and throat burning, he swore off drinking anything with bubbles.
About a year later, however, he started to realize that his older cousins and their friends drank soda. And he began to brag to his friends that he drank soda too. As his mother I was somewhat amused by his behavior. As a health professional, I thought, "Oh dear." But despite his claims, my son wasn't actually drinking soda. Oh he tried to like it, but to no avail. I breathed a sigh of relief.
Fast forward one year. A neighbor recently offered my son a diet soda, and my son asked my permission to have it. My obvious response was, "Honey, you don't like soda." His equally obvious answer was, "Mom, I like this kind."
Thinking that some lessons have to be learned the hard way, I let him have the diet soda. As he sipped, he started reading the nutrition facts label to me. "Mom, this has 0 grams of fat in it!" Pause. "Mom, this has 0 grams of protein in it!" Pause. "Mom, this has 0 grams of car-bo ...." "Carbohydrates, honey," I filled in.
And so the label reading continued, and I listened and assisted with sounding out the big words. Then I realized my moment had come. I asked my son, "If something has no carbohydrates, no protein, no fat, and x, y, z of everything else, is it good for you? Is it good to put it in your body?" My boy who loves to talk was silent.
What do you think? If a food or beverage has little nutritional value, is it good for you? If your body doesn't recognize anything in it as digestible, absorbable or nutritious, should you eat it? Does it add value to you in another way, for example, as a way to avoid extra calories? How would you explain it if someone asked you?
To your health and your children's health,
Katherine
7 comments posted
July 5, 2012 11:13 a.m.
I'm not sure how to be invited and so I hope this megssae somehow gets to Uncle Paul Lampe and his family I grew up with and love dearly though I don't communicate regularly with. ( I got your Holiday letters & cards Marta & Paula and have been remiss , delayed in returning any news) Dear Uncle Paul, during this painful process of life and death you are currently going through, I want to share with you my gratitude for your sharing with me (through my parents and family experiences together) your love, patience, humor, building expertise, knowledge and generosity. You were a good father figure and a good boss to my brother when he worked for/with you. I have many fun memories of fun times at the cottage! You and Aunt Mimi and my parents laughing and talking, sometimes arguing but working it out and respecting eachother's boundaries, after all. Remember shaking me upside down when I was choking on that jawbreaker? All the kids were annoyed with me after you made the rule no more jaw breakers from the candystore! After college and Marty quitting after some bad advise from Dad, we didn't see or talk to each other much, but you will always have a place in my heart . Although we are not blood related, you and your family will be thought of forever as related to my family. I love you. I wish for you continued life, joy, energy, warmth and love woven through out this process of end of life( that, in some way or other, we all must pass through ) and to ease your pain and
- Marissa
April 16, 2012 8:54 a.m.
Good argument...except the same logic applies to water..no protein, no carbs, no fat. Minerals we can't always pronounce, in unidentified quantities....and we all think we should be drinking lots of water.
- Elizabeth
July 5, 2011 4:18 a.m.
Hello.. I think Eating the right foods and exercising can have a positive impact on your Health and help you to Keep your body fit and healthy.
-
December 15, 2010 4:44 p.m.
By that preliminary logic, would water be good to put in your body?
- Tracy
October 29, 2010 2:25 p.m.
Nutrition and chiropractic go hand and hand along with exercise. The keys to health are eat well, move well, and think well. You think you can accomplish those? Easy enough right? The best health care is preventing conditions from arising, not treating symptoms. You are in control of that. Take control of your own health!!
- Matt
October 18, 2010 11:59 a.m.
Hi Katherine, You have a good way of convincing your kids or disciplining them. I like it very much as I was reading your blog. Your message was planted in their as in the lesson inside grows as a tree. You have a heart, you really a good mother and a good disciplinarian. Health and wellness must be taught in the early age of a child so that what they learn from the beginning will be followed when they grow older. Thanks to your children's health advice. You are not only giving us health advice but teaching us the good ways to handle our kids.
- Dr.Jeff
October 14, 2010 5:52 a.m.
This story shares the importance of parent knowledge and taking advantage of teachable moments. Even though Katherine is R.D. and has the nutrition knowledge, it is up to you as a parent to educate yourself so you can pass the information onto your child.
- Anne
Share on:
7 comments posted