- With Mayo Clinic nutritionists
Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
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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.
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Nutrition-wise blog
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Feb. 8, 2012
Meet the SuperTracker
By Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
In 2011 MyPyramid was toppled and replaced with MyPlate. MyPlate, the latest food guide from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), makes it easier to see at a glance what your meal should be — at least 50 percent vegetables and fruit, a little more than 25 percent grains (half of which should be whole grains), a little less than 25 percent lean protein, and a serving of low-fat dairy.
So is your plate in shape? How can you tell? Technology to the rescue.
The USDA recently launched SuperTracker — an interactive and personalized assistant. SuperTracker will help you:
- Compare your diet to MyPlate
- Identify goals for what to eat and how much to exercise
- Track your diet and physical activity over time
- Compare your diet and exercise efforts to recommended guidelines
Other nifty things you can do with SuperTracker include:
- See a simple or detailed analysis of your meals by food group or nutrients
- Get tips and support from a virtual coach
- Connect to your social networks to share your story
All of this can be found — and more — at ChooseMyPlate.gov. If you put in the information, you'll like the reports you get and you'll find them helpful. Start tracking your foods, your fitness and your health. It's almost like having your own dietitian.
Check it out and let me know what you think.
- Jennifer
4 comments posted
June 13, 2012 10:37 a.m.
After watching "Weight of the Nation" on HBO. I took a look at the Super Tracker site. I've been using it for almost 3 weeks with 2 lbs lost. The site says I should eat 2000 calories a day and I know for me 1500 is better. I concentrate on fruits and vegetables and the other items I eat about 75% of what they suggest. This site was really an eye opener of all the "empty calories" I eat. I am making changes to eat fewer of them. I've used other sites but i really like this one. Sometimes you have to search the site for what you eat but you can usually find what you want or something similar. After you use the site you'll know how to work the food tracker. If you eat a tomato our of your garden use "tomato, raw" If you just put in the word tomato a lot of things come up. If you eat a frozen pizza, look at the serving size on the box and how many calories. Pick a similar pizza in the food tracker and adjust the size of serving to match calories on the box. Yes, some things may be off a little but you won't be off by thousands of calories. Getting the general idea of what you eat most important. I find the site is helping me log my food and exercise and I'm making better choices because of it.
- Rochelle
February 16, 2012 8:13 a.m.
I have been following the Mayo Clinic Pyramid Diet successfully for over a year and have lost 25 pounds and am still counting. The SuperTracker is good for actualy calorie count and for tracking specific food values, eg. potassium, etc. It does not offer much leeway in foods though so the sodium count is not always exact. I do not buy alot of prepared foods and the SuperTracker does not allow for "homemade" anything! I find the "Pyramid" is quicker and as I don't have to play around finding foods from lists, I can just manually add whatever it is I am eating.
- Barbara
February 15, 2012 5:58 p.m.
The concept is excellent. But be VERY careful to know exactly what SuperTracker assumes is in the food you select. For example, if you select a cup of cooked white rice, it apparently assumes you added gobs of sodium when preparing it. It says 1 cup of cooked white, regular rice prepared without fat contains 577mg of sodium. But the actual rice, according to the UDSA's SR24 database, contains only 2mg of sodium. So SuperTracker assumes you added 575mg of sodium - over 1/3 of the amount allowed for a person with high blood pressure.
- Doug
February 14, 2012 1:32 p.m.
Wow! What a great site. I've been looking for a free site just like this to help me begin my weight loss program. The site calculates my calorie intake and exercise "out take" immediately so it helps me plan my day. Thanks USDA.
- Kate
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