BOZEMAN  — The month of March is recognized as National Nutrition Month, promoting the importance of making informed food choices while developing healthier eating and physical activity habits.

“When talking about nutrition, instead of focusing on what you shouldn’t do or what’s bad for you, I try and focus on what you should do and make actionable recommendations,” says Morgan Rhinard, registered dietitian (RD), board-certified diabetes education specialist, and supervisor of inpatient clinical nutrition at Bozeman Health.

Rhinard says a few simple tips to keep in mind include choosing rotisserie chicken or canned tuna for something quick and convenient over heavily processed meats; eating 25-30 grams of fiber per day from food, not supplements; and focusing on unsaturated fats like fish, nuts and olive oil. Implementing small, feasible changes can make a big difference over time.

“And good news for coffee drinkers,” Rhinard shares, “when it comes to antioxidants, most people think of fruits and vegetables, but coffee is actually considered a good source as well!”
In the hospital setting, RDs can be found providing inpatient and outpatient care and working with hospital food services. Rhinard says National Nutrition Month also serves as an opportunity to highlight her profession, “For hospitalized patients, we most frequently provide services related to nutrition support, malnutrition treatment and diabetes care / education. We also provide medical nutrition therapy and education for any relevant medical diagnoses.”

Inpatient RDs must have extensive knowledge of all disease states and understand how to optimize nutrition status for high-acuity patients who have complex metabolic needs due to acute illness or injury.

“We monitor, assess and optimize nutrition status based on the patient’s current medical condition and nutritional needs. Meeting nutrition needs for critical care patients is significantly different compared to a healthy adult and involves adjusting the nutrition plan of care in response to changes in medications that have an impact on food and nutrition,” Rhinard continues.

RDs are an integral part of the interdisciplinary inpatient care team at Bozeman Health, and in general, hospitals who include RDs in their care teams have improved patient outcomes.
Rhinard shares that if she could give one piece of advice to those interested in making a positive change it would be, “Be honest about your motivation for making the change and then write it down to revisit when things get tough. People are far more successful with behavioral change when they set their own goals, and an RD can provide expert guidance to help you reach those goals.”

To reach the Bozeman Health Diabetes & Nutrition Center, call 406-414-5331.