- With Mayo Clinic nutritionist
Jennifer K. Nelson, R.D., L.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Jennifer K. Nelson, R.D., L.D.
Jennifer K. Nelson, R.D., L.D.
Jennifer Nelson is your link to a better diet. As specialty editor for food and nutrition, 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."
Nelson, a St. Paul, Minn., native, is a registered dietitian and has been with Mayo Clinic since 1978. She is director of clinical dietetics and an associate professor of nutrition at College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic.
She leads clinical nutrition efforts for a staff of more than 70 clinical dietitians and nine dietetic technicians and oversees staffing, strategic and financial planning, and quality improvement. Nelson was co-editor of the James Beard Foundation Award-winning "The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook" and the New York Times best-seller "The Mayo Clinic Diet."
She's been a contributing author to and reviewer of many other Mayo Clinic books and publications, including "The Mayo Clinic Family Health Book," "The Mayo Clinic/Williams Sonoma Cookbook" and the "Mayo Clinic Health Letter." She contributes to the strategic direction of nutrition, healthy eating and healthy recipes content, including creating recipes and menus, preparing and reviewing nutrition content, contributing to the Nutrition-wise blog, and answering nutrition questions.
Weight-loss basics (6)
- Metabolism: What's the best way to boost it?
- Body fat: What happens to lost fat?
- Weight-loss hypnosis: Does it work?
- see all in Weight-loss basics
Diet plans (9)
- The Cookie Diet: Can it help you lose weight?
- The Special K diet: Helpful for weight loss?
- Coffee calories: Sabotaging your weight-loss goal?
- see all in Diet plans
Mayo Clinic diet (1)
- Weight loss: Better to cut calories or exercise more?
Diet and exercise (4)
- Weight loss: Better to cut calories or exercise more?
- Can I use yoga for weight loss?
- Negative calorie foods: Diet gimmick or weight-loss aid?
- see all in Diet and exercise
Diet pills, supplements and surgery (14)
- Phentermine for weight loss: Can it help?
- Hoodia: Does this dietary supplement help weight loss?
- Water retention: Are there any natural diuretics?
- see all in Diet pills, supplements and surgery
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
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
Question
Dieting? Beware of liquid calories
I'm dieting and to keep from eating between meals, I've been drinking lots of juice and milk. But I'm not losing weight. Am I doing something wrong?
Answer
from Jennifer K. Nelson, R.D., L.D.
When you're trying to control your calorie intake, it's important to be mindful of what and how much you're drinking. Although milk and juice have important nutrients and can be part of a healthy diet, they still have calories — and calories in liquids can add up even faster than can calories in food.
So when you're counting calories, your best beverage choice is water. Keep higher calorie beverages in check. As a general rule, drink no more than 4 ounces (118 milliliters) of juice a day and 16 to 24 ounces (473 to 710 milliliters) of skim milk a day. Also be careful about energy drinks. Although they're touted as healthy, energy drinks can have as much added sugar as sodas — the top source of added sugar in the American diet.
If you get hungry between meals, snack on fresh fruits and vegetables. Whole fruits and vegetables are much more filling than juice — and it's likely you'll consume fewer calories with these choices.
Next questionFlat Belly Diet: Can it help you lose weight?
- Nelson JK (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 10, 2011.
- Hensrud DD, et al. The Mayo Clinic Diet. Intercourse, Penn.: Good Books; 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on