- 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. 15, 2012
Will school lunch changes mean healthier kids?
By Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
Change is coming to the National School Lunch Program. These changes were inspired in part by the Let's Move! Campaign, which is aimed at curbing childhood obesity and improving the health of the nation's children.
Here are some of the changes in store for school lunches:
- Ensuring students are offered both fruits and vegetables every day of the week
- Offerings more whole-grain foods
- Offering only fat-free or low-fat milk
- Limiting calories based on the age of children being served
- Reducing saturated fat, trans fats and sodium
When I think of the school lunch — and breakfast — program, I think of the children my mother-in-law and sister teach. Most of their students receive free or reduced-price breakfast and lunch. These are the only meals that some children eat during the week. For this reason, limits to calories send up a red flag for me.
The final rules states that children of poverty should have access to food from other programs or resources. I agree. Many growing kids are going to need more calories than those provided by meals at school.
That said, obesity affects children from all walks of life. And any attempt to make meals more nutritious is a positive move.
Not all agree, of course. Some will argue that organic fruits, vegetables and milk aren't being required and that too many processed foods are still being offered. While others will argue that mandating nutrition is not the role of the government.
What do you think? Are you appalled? Are you applauding? Do you feel there's still more to do?
To the health of our children,
Katherine
21 comments posted
- Let's move! http://www.letsmove.gov/. Accessed Feb. 13, 2012.
- Healthy meals and healthy kids. U.S. Department of Agriculture. http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/01/25/healthy-meals-and-healthy-kids. Accessed Feb. 13, 2012.
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