by Margaret Shauers

Created on: August 27, 2007

Nutritionists are usually thought about in terms of offering weight-loss assistance. For this purpose, they are valuable and certainly should be considered before trying a "fad" diet or pills. However, weight-loss insight is only the tip of what a nutritionist can offer.

When I was found to have diabetic tendencies - what used to be called borderline diabetes - my doctor recommended a specialized diabetes nutritionist. Her help, and the short course I took from her, allowed me to become a "maintained" diabetic, using diet and exercise alone. My blood sugars returned to normal within a month! They stayed there for four years. And yes, it was the food and exercise. Certain medications-and a Thanksgiving or family-reunion feast or two-have shot my blood sugar right back up. All diabetics should consult a diabetic nutritionist, and then follow the advice given.

A friend's daughter, conversely, suffered from low blood sugar. She saw the same nutritionist and also was helped. The high/low blood sugar diets actually have a great deal in common; they simply allow the malfunctioning or slow-functioning pancreas in controlling insulin flow.
I now have cancer. On my own I found a nutritionist who specializes in cancer diets. Food alone has not cured my cancer, but I am positive it has helped control the spread and should continue to keep my body cleaner and more able to fight the disease. For one thing, after months of aggressive chemo, I am stronger and basically healthier than most of the people I meet at the local Cancer Center. During my last chemo rounds I have had to take a steroid as a pre-med to prevent nausea and breathing problems. This also shoots my blood sugar up, up, up. So I am now on a medication for diabetes, but a mild one that is carefully controlled. I still have to exercise and follow a decent food plan (a better word than diet since it is sensible eating).

Heart patients, and those with high cholesterol or family backgrounds of heart disease, usually see (or are advised to see) a nutritionist. As with diabetes, diet and exercise can work wonders for many ailments.

I'm positive most physical disorders can be helped, and sometimes even cured, by learning which foods are individually best for you and which should be avoided or strictly curtailed. I highly recommend gaining knowledge about your own ailments, your own body and about how to best "feed" it. A physician recommended nutritionist can do this for you! And hey-you will lose weight, too.

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