Nutritionist

I took my oldest son to a nutritionist this morning at the recommendation of the endocrinologist we saw in June and it was such a good appointment.  With all the conflicting books and junky information out there on the Internet, it was wonderful to sit down with someone who has the education to make some solid, evidence-based recommendations.

We talked about everything from child nutrition to organic foods to developing good eating habits in kids.  It was WONDERFUL!  I was pleased that she was complimentary of my kids' diets and positive about the way we handle food issues and family meals (of course, there is always room for improvement!).   She, like me, is a huge proponent of families eating together and eating the same foods (no short order cooking!) because data has shown that modeling is the single most important factor in a child's eating habits.

For my son, bottom line is that he is healthy as a horse but that he's just not consuming enough calories.  Given that he is offered the exact same foods as his siblings and they are growing and gaining appropriately, there are some factors specific to him that are the cause.  The first is that to my son, food just isn't that interesting or fun - especially compared to other things he could be doing.  The second is that he is a slow eater and this contributes to him losing interest in food quickly and not consuming as many calories as his counterparts when he eats.  The third is that the foods he tends to fill up on first (namely fruits) are not calorically dense.  The fourth is that he has a high metabolism which is probably even higher due to fact that he has some baseline allergy and a reactive airway issues.

I could write a novel on all the good information the nutritionist gave me from the steps of eating, to common food myths, to the organic vs. non organic and the "sugar-is-bad" debates.  SOOO fascinating!  Someday in my spare time I would love to go back to school and and get a degree in nutrition. ;)  For now, I'm so thankful to have found someone knowledgeable to help my son.  I have high hopes and am so excited to delve into the information she gave me and put it into practice.