- 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. 6, 2013
Industry reacts to attacks on sugar-sweetened drinks
By Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
With research linking sugary drinks to unwanted pounds, poor diets and health concerns, are soda companies soul searching or finding ways to maintain sales?
Consider these recent developments:
- Soda sales declined in 2012. Volume dropped 1.8 percent overall. In the last quarter of 2012, the decline was 3.5 percent.
- Manufacturers are acquiring and marketing a wider variety of beverages, including sports drinks, fruit juices, "real" sugar and lower-sugar beverages, low-calorie and no-calorie drinks, as well as various teas, coffees and bottled waters. One manufacturer touts that it offers 180 different low- and no-calorie beverages out of its more than 650 products.
- Beverage companies are releasing ad campaigns to raise awareness about what steps they've taken to address obesity. The ads emphasize the importance of taking personal responsibility for balancing "calories in" with "calories out" (through increased physical activity). These campaigns also make the point that excess calories in any form — not just sugary drinks — can lead to obesity.
What does it all this mean?
- Are companies seeing the light of declining sales — and doing anything they can to continue to push liquified sugar down our throats?
- Are they seeing the light, turning the corner and leveraging their formidable industry to deliver new beverages that could contribute to health?
- Are they turning the spotlight on consumers by highlighting that what we drink is really our personal responsibility?
There are no clear answers to these questions. Only time will tell if the makers of sugar-sweetened beverages will be viewed as having been part of the problem or part of the solution.
Your thoughts?
Jennifer
6 comments posted
March 28, 2013 1:33 p.m.
How is buying from Walmart beating the billionaires?
- Maureen
February 18, 2013 12:21 p.m.
It was stellar day for me, the day I went "cold turkey" on ALL sugared beverages (pop, juices, & hot chocolate included!) I feel so much better & have more energy & no more crash after having a bunch of sugar & less trouble controlling my blood sugar. Going "cold turkey" worked for me because I went straight to sugar-free pop and whole fruits (thus, getting all that good fiber, too!). I also beat the soda billionaires by buying the "off-brand" sugar free beverages at WalMart and Aldi -- extremely cheap and satisfying -- great flavors + with or without carbonation). And beating the billionaires is soooo satisfying!!!
- Linda
February 16, 2013 5:44 p.m.
I can teach you a somewhat unusual weight loss strategy that can help you get a flatter belly in under 7 days, while still enjoying the foods you love. Visit: http://tinyurl.com/fat-loss-health
- Robin
February 13, 2013 12:40 p.m.
It's not just the calories from sugar, it's the addictive quality of sugar as well as the fact that fat deposition is not just a factor of calories in -calories out. Fat deposition is controlled by hormones. Read "Fat Chance" by Robert Lustig.
- Judy
February 12, 2013 6:58 a.m.
It's not just sugary drinks. Americans seem obsessed with eating sweet things in any form from artifical sweetners to excess fruit sugars in the form of juices. Unfortunately, those of us who practice healthy nutrition pay the price by footing the bill for obsesity and diabetes through outrageous health insurance premiums. People's nutrition and exercise behavior should factor into what they pay for health care.
- Susan
February 6, 2013 5:04 a.m.
We get to know the side effects of sweetened drinks in the later stage of life.
- Samuel
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