In honor of National Nutrition Month and National Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day, here are my top 5 reasons to set up a meeting with your registered dietitian nutritionist:

1. Prevention – this is the nutritionist’s best case scenario. Many people have family histories of cancer, heart disease and other major illnesses. By taking control of the factors you can change including diet and lifestyle, you have a chance of beating the odds. Investing in your health today will pay off with a happy, healthy future.

2. Support your body during illness – when diagnosed with an illness, all contributing factors must be assessed in order to effectively manage and/or reverse the progression. A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist serves as an integral part of your health-care team by helping you safely change your eating plan without compromising taste or nutrition. What you eat and how you live is going to have a direct effect on your body’s ability to fight and recover.

3. Lose weight effectively – being overweight puts you at a higher risk of developing serious conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. In order to lose weight properly and keep it off, more than just a “diet” is involved – a whole change in lifestyle is required, and those changes must be tailored to your unique physical, mental and emotional makeup.

4. Maximize the benefits from your fitness routine – being active and building muscle is half the battle – without the right foods going into your body, plus proper rest and relaxation for recovery, you will not reach your optimal state of health. Why put all the effort into challenging your body physically, if you are not going to do everything you can to ensure health from the inside?

5. Increase your energy and sense of well-being and eat smarter – sometimes we get in a rut, and our work and family life suffers. Finding out what you may be doing wrong, and incorporating positive health-promoting changes can help you live the life you crave. There is a lot of misinformation out there. Learn how to read labels at the supermarket, discover that healthy cooking is inexpensive and learn how to eat out without ruining your eating plan. Eat well, feel well, and look great – people notice when you are radiating health, and it will boost your confidence and energize you!