Does my Health Insurance Cover Dietitian Services?
In the state of California, there is much variation in insurance plans; some people have unlimited nutrition benefits, others have restricted plans (limited only to diabetes, for example), and others have no nutritional counseling benefits at all.
Tri-Care does not include nutritional counseling in any of their plans and Medicare covers only for Diabetes or kidney disease.
You will need to call your insurance company to verify if you have benefits. Ask your patient services representative if you have nutritional counseling (codes 97802 or S9470). You will also need to find out if you have any limitations (number of visits or only for certain diagnoses) or exculsions. Please
contact me if you need assistance with this process.
What is a Dietitian and why should I see one?
Registered dietitians are qualified practitioners who have met academic and professional requirements. They are uniquely qualified to translate the science of nutrition into practical dietary advice for healthy living. Emphasis is on total diet, overall eating patterns, and individual variation. RDs focus on treatment and prevention of nutrition-related disease and health and wellness promotion.
What is Nutritional Counseling?
Nutritional counseling is an essential component to any healthcare regimen. While dietary recommendations are ubiquitous these days, it takes a trained professional to assist individuals in implementing realistic changes. By addressing personal philosophies about food, shopping and eating habits, barriers to change, and overall lifestyle concerns, nutritional counseling is able to encompass a broad approach to overall well-being.
The standard of nutritional care is based on a personal approach to diet and health rooted in food quality and self-care. Nutrition goals are achieved through various tools including diet diaries, nutrient intake analysis, personalized meal plans, and nutrition and culinary education and instruction. Many types of diets are prescribed, all with an emphasis on whole foods.
Benefits of Individualized Nutritional Counseling
- Learn how to eat for increased energy, improved digestion, and a healthy weight.
- Gain an enhanced understanding of your diet's effect on your health
- Get personalized dietary recommendations for optimal health
- Clear up confusion and get answers to your burning nutrition questions
- Optimize your personal vitamin regimen
- Learn how to use food as medicine, deliciously!
Won't a dietitian make me feel quilty for what I'm eating and give me a big list of what not to eat that will be impossible to follow?
- No! We all have struggles with taking care of ourselves and managing stress, cravings, and a toxic and overwhelming food environment. My goal is to help you identify areas in your diet and lifestyle where you can make positive and realistic changes to feel better quickly and put you on the path to wellness for a lifetime.
What is” detoxing”?
- "Detoxification” is a process that is constantly happening in the body. The different organs of elimination work together using nutrients, water, and fiber to allow the body to excrete harmful substances. Supporting this process naturally provides relief from the daily onslaught of stressors that tax our organs and vitality. An effective program supports the body’s intrinsic healing potential
Why cleanse the body?
- We are inundated daily with toxins from our food and the environment (processed foods, additives and preservatives, household chemicals, air pollution and auto exhaust, personal care products, plastics, heavy metals, pesticides, etc). Without proper nutrition to supply the necessary nutrients, our internal detoxification mechanisms cannot entirely do the job demanded of them. Continued stressors on the body can lead to illness, chronic disease, or conditions such as digestive disturbance, joint pain, headaches, skin rashes, brain fog, weight gain, and general malaise.
- Bothersome symptoms such as headaches, digestive problems, food cravings and weight loss resistance are some chronic problems often due to the foods we are eating. Sensitivities to food, feeding sugar or carb addiction, imbalanced eating, and deficient diets are some of the root causes. A well-designed detox diet gives you the structure to get rid of what may be harming you and add in that which nourishes and supports you.
- Detox diets provide the structure to get you started on a new way of eating and caring for yourself.
How do I choose the best program?
- There are many different detox diets, cleanses, programs, foods, and supplements. How do you find the best program that leaves you feeling nourished, supported, and renewed? A liver support detox is not a “fast” or based on deprivation; it provides elimination support for all of the organs and is nutrient rich to support healthy metabolic processes. Find out more about a food and nourishment-based liver support detox program here.
