1. Somebody Assess My Diet Please
So you'd like to know if some of your symptoms could be related to the foods you eat and you're considering going to get a dietary assessment so you'll know for sure. But who do you go to? What is the best professional to help you analyze what you eat? In most cases, your primary care or other doctor will refer you to a licensed dietician. They do what is called a dietary consultation, which includes a look at what your goals are, where you are on the BMI scale, and an in depth assessment of what you eat.
2. Use These Helpful Calculators and Tools
There are many health risk calculators available to help you determine what dietary changes you need to make. While it is always good to go see a professional to make a complete, thorough dietary assessment, these calculators can get you on the right track. Some of these include the BMI calculator, weight and activity calculator, health risk calculator, waist circumference calculator and cholesterol assessment tool.
3. Assessment Tests Shed Light on Overall Health
Your doctor may prescribe certain tests that can shed some light on your dietary situation, and you'll want these done before visiting the dietician. These tests include simple blood tests that check for nutritional deficiencies--such as calcium, vitamin D and B--and to detect malabsorbtion problems. They also may check for anemia, or an iron deficiency, right in the office with just a drop of blood. If you show signs of insulin resistance, hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia, your doctor will ask you to do a glucose tolerance test and check your fasting glucose level. These conditions are all related to diabetes, and the glucose tolerance test shows how well your body responds to sugar over a period of one to three hours.
4. Take the Advice
If you've taken the time and spent the money for a dietary assessment and don't do what the dietician recommends, then it is a waste. Making changes to your diet is hard, but you reap lots of long term health benefits if you do. Take the information and advice given by your dietician and incorporate the suggestions, one at a time, into your new healthy lifestyle.
5. Reassess Your Dietary Assessment
Be sure to go back to your doctor a few weeks after you've incorporated the dietary and lifestyle changes your dietician suggested in your dietary assessment. You need to assess how the program works and what needs to be altered to give the best result. You'll also find that some food sensitivities may disappear after a major dietary overhaul. Be sure to discuss any new symptoms with your doctor as well, no matter how small. Something as simple as tiredness and mood changes could be symptoms of vitamin or mineral deficiencies.
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