Dietetics 101

Hello! My name is Krista Kane and I am a registered dietitian (RD/RDN) here at North Idaho Physical Therapy/The BioPerformance Institute! Nutrition is such an integral part to living your best life, I am delighted to have joined the team and offer nutrition counseling to our community!

Who is a dietitian?

You may be wondering who a dietitian is, or maybe you already know, either way I’m here to explain! As a registered dietitian, we are considered the food and nutrition experts. How do we become experts? Well, we have to complete a minimum of a bachelor’s degree at a US regionally accredited university or college and course work accredited or approved by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. We then complete three different internships in the following disciplines: clinical nutrition, community nutrition, and foodservice management. Lastly, we must pass our national exam administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). Once we passed the exam… we are officially a registered dietitian! To maintain out title of nutrition experts, we are required to complete continuing professional educational requirements every year to ensure we are up to date on the latest research and nutrition recommendations.

What do dietitians do, and what can they do for me?

So, what do dietitians do? Dietitians can work in a variety of settings; in the hospital treating patients, managing large foodservice kitchens, working for community nutrition programs such as WIC or SNAP, for sports teams, in research, as teachers, in private practice (that’s me!), and many more. We are trained in all things nutrition to help patients, clients, and our community prevent, manage, and even treat illness while providing accurate nutrition recommendations. As a dietitian my goal is to help my clients and community reach their health goals by providing evidence-based nutrition recommendations and assisting clients make behavior changes so they can make lasting lifestyle-changes! We all not it is not easy to make lifestyle changes alone. Nutrition counseling is for anyone looking to optimize their health through preventative care, improve performance, manage chronic illnesses, manage weight, or someone who needs a little guidance and accountability to help make lifestyle changes last.

Will my insurance cover my visits?

Yes! You guys, this is the best part. Most insurances have preventative nutrition benefits… meaning you can come see me typically at no cost to you for preventative counseling! This varies insurance to insurance. However, some insurances allow unlimited visits with an RD and will cover 100% of the cost! This is an insurance benefit you will want to take advantage of! Also, if nutrition therapy is important to the management or treatment of a medical condition (renal disease, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, etc.) there are opportunities to get coverage if it is determined that medical nutrition therapy is medically necessary. Here at BPi, we will check your insurance benefits for you!

What can I expect at my visits with you?

At your first appointment, we will obtain body composition testing, metabolic testing, review past medical history, sleep, stress, physical exercise habits, nutrition habits, and go over your health goals! Due to the amount of information to cover at the first appointment, the first appointment will typically run 75-90 minutes long. After your first appointment, we will come up with a nutrition game plan together based on your goals! Meaning, based on your nutrition and health goals, time availably, and financial ability, we will determine how often to meet and topics to discuss during our time together so you can be successful!

What is body composition testing?   

Body composition testing tells how much fat and muscle you have in your body. Here at the BioPerformance Institute we use the In-Body. The In-Body scan uses bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) that utilizes a combination of low- and high-level frequencies that are sent through the water in the body via contact with electrodes to measure impedance or resistance. The impedance is used to determine total body water (TBW), which can then be used to derive your fat-free mass and body fat. Crazy right?

What is metabolic testing?

For metabolic testing, we test your resting metabolic rate or RMR using the PNOE device. This tells us how much energy or calories your body uses to perform its basic daily functions like breathing, organ function, thermoregulation, etc.  while it is at rest. This provides us with a base of how much energy your body needs to survive. With other external factors like how much you exercise, we can then provide a better estimate of your energy needs based on your health goals!

Hopefully this blog post gave a little insight into what a registered dietitian is and what we do. In my opinion, everyone can benefit from nutrition counseling! Whether that is fine-tuning your already amazing nutrition habits, helping you navigate all the confusing nutrition information and recommendations out there, or becoming the healthiest version of yourself to prevent disease, or maybe you just got diagnosed with disease or illness where nutrition can help treat that condition. A registered dietitian can help. So, why wouldn’t you make an appointment… especially since most insurances cover nutrition counseling? Give me a call at 208-262-4729 for a free 15-minute discovery call to discuss your nutrition goals and get scheduled today!