- 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
- Get sandwich savvy with these tasty tips
June 4, 2013
- Restaurants get on board with gluten-free cooking
May 25, 2013
- 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
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
-
Nov. 7, 2012
Sleep and energy balance — What's the connection?
By Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
Do you faithfully journal your food and exercise? Have you ever tallied calories consumed and subtracted those burned only to be left wondering why your math doesn't equate to weight loss?
What are we missing in the energy equation? The answer might be the number seven. That's the number of hours of sleep recommended by the Healthy People 2020 goals.
Both the rate of obesity and the rate of sleep deprivation have increased in the U.S. in the past 30 years. The statistics are eerily similar: More than 35 percent of adults are obese and about 30 percent get less than 6 hours sleep a night (considered "partial sleep deprivation").
It turns out that beyond the drag and irritability that accompany lack of sleep, partial sleep deprivation has potentially negative effects on how the body regulates energy. The "Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics" recently published a review of research about partial sleep deprivation and energy balance. This review found that reduced sleep may:
- Disrupt appetite hormones
- Promote greater food intake
- Reduce energy expenditure
- Change body composition to favor more fat storage
What's the take-home message? Continue your healthy diet and exercise habits, but also try to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night. It just might be the missing factor in the weight loss equation.
Here's to sweet dreams,
Katherine
3 comments posted
March 15, 2013 9:57 a.m.
I'm a poster child for this article. I've become addicted to various things on the internet, such as Facebook (and its political divisions), C-Span, newspapers and intellectual magazines w comments (the comments are more interesting than the articles)such as The Guardian, Slate, Salon, Esquire, New Yorker, etc., improving my French and learning about international events with Radio France Internationale, and as a result spend day and night on the internet, only falling asleep for 10 minutes to an hour at a time. During this past year I've gained 30 pounds I never had before, and I don't eat much. A week ago I read an article in HuffPo about the 12 ways that lack of sleep will kill you, and I need to pay attention. It also spoke of the weight-gaining effects of lack of sleep. Aside from my sick internet addiction, I have an incurable insomnia that only afflicts me when I sleep in my own bed. If I'm in my recliner, I can fall asleep like a baby, but not for a full night's sleep. The only thing that gets me 8 sweet hours of sleep is a Dalmane pill combined with an Ambien. Too bad if that is against the 'rules', it works unfailingly, and sleep is of more value than not taking 'narcotics'. I take no other substances, not even alcohol, so I do choose my sins carefully. How to get off the internet is a more deadly problem for me than two sleeping pills.
- Manon
November 14, 2012 6:56 p.m.
I'd give anything to be able to sleep. I'm well aware of the connections between sleep, performance, mental and physical energy, blood pressure and metabolism. The constant reminders of what's happening to me without sleep makes me even more desperate. More medical research is profoundly needed to help those of us who want to sleep but can't - particularly the women in the 50+ crowd. Talk to your physician? Sorry, my physician has no time to talk, and no answers other than chalk it up to menopause. I am following all of the rules for good sleep hygeine - exercise early in the day, no caffiene, no alcohol, evening ritual, etc., but to no avail. I'm lucky to get a few naps at night and stumble through another day. Please Mayo Clinic - research this and come up with some real options. Thank you
- Mary
November 11, 2012 4:34 p.m.
Thanks so much...nothing like this information coming from an R.D. to a 65 year old with a sleep disorder who has a B.S. & M.A. from the "Home Economics" Department at NYU- now the Nutrition Department. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT was drummed into us in the 60's along with GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP, AND SAY YOUR PRAYERS. Need to loose about 10 pounds but only getting 6 hours of sleep. What fun to read your message and research to back up what we were taught! We need to hear it, read it, process it, and DO IT! INVESTING IN OUR HEALTH IS THE BEST INVESTMENT!
- Kristina
Share on:
3 comments posted