Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: W Vua FM, tuscaloosa.
Happy Sunday, y'all. You are listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7, the capstone. And we have made it to march, my friend.
[00:00:17] Speaker B: Can you believe I never thought we were going to ever get out of January and we literally blinked. February is gone.
[00:00:24] Speaker A: I know. Even have that extra day. But it's so strange. And I know right before we started our recording, we're talking a little bit about just the nature of this time of year. People have on their radar to meet with their advisors, such as you. They're thinking about that next semester. They're thinking about some, what I call, razzle dazzle bonus things to do during the summer. So it's just an interesting time.
[00:00:48] Speaker B: It is an interesting time. It's midterm. March is mid semester. Midterm grades are due in March.
Drop last eggs, drop.
[00:00:58] Speaker A: Class is in March.
[00:01:00] Speaker B: And then spring break. Yes, a busy month.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: It is. And I think that where spring break falls this year, it's one of those interesting times where it's not necessarily that we have spring break and then you can coast the rest of the semester.
[00:01:13] Speaker B: Oh, no.
[00:01:13] Speaker A: There's still a lot of work to be done.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: You got to keep your mind right when you get back. Yeah. Because there's no coasting. There's still lots of, like you said, lots of work to be done when we get back. Absolutely. It's a tease.
[00:01:25] Speaker A: It is a tease. No, I will agree with you on that. But for this show in particular, and with it launching into March, it is national Nutrition Month. So we'll go ahead and put on the forefront that that's what we're talking about.
You know, as you and I are chatting, Nika, I'm kind of curious, when it comes to your own personal nutrition, as a busy mom, what does that look like for you these days? Because I'll be transparent about myself, too. But are you in survival mode?
[00:01:54] Speaker B: Usually this time of year, I'm in survival mode. And can I tell you, my 20 year old self would be so disgusted with my current self, because I remember when I was sitting in my nutrition classes in college because that was my minor, and I remember thinking, oh, when I become a parent, this is exactly how we're going to do things. We're going to do it by the textbook.
This is legit. This is scientific.
That was great in theory. Now that I am a mom, I am, like, I can remember things like, this is not the way I'm supposed to be doing this. Are they getting all their vitamins and minerals and our nutrients. And am I drinking my water? And as I'm shoveling kraft Mac and cheese in my mouth as dinner because I'd rather just eat it and get rid of it than have to find a tupperware with a lid that matches.
[00:02:47] Speaker A: No and put it in the refrigerator. Well, I'm going to go a little rogue with this question, but it is eating nutrition food related. So does memory serve me correctly that you are not a fan of chick fil a? Is that correct?
[00:03:01] Speaker B: I don't eat chicken.
[00:03:02] Speaker A: Don't eat chicken.
[00:03:03] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:03:04] Speaker A: So then my girls love it, so.
[00:03:05] Speaker B: I'm a fan, but I just am not a partaker of chick fil a.
[00:03:09] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:03:10] Speaker B: They get a lot of my money for someone who doesn't eat it.
[00:03:12] Speaker A: Well, I felt like I was like, I feel like there's something about chicken or chick fil a with Nika, and then I was going to have that follow up of, but do your girls like it?
[00:03:21] Speaker B: They love it. They love it. Every Monday after school, they get Chick fil a, and so they get really mad if we break tradition. And so I always just go home and make myself something to eat. But Monday, they love their chick fil a, so that's their day. Chick fil a does get a lot of my money. Just none of it goes into my stomach.
[00:03:39] Speaker A: Are there other restaurants that are favorites for y'all?
[00:03:42] Speaker B: In Tuscaloosa, they love bombhauer wings. Bombhauers. They like Jason's deli.
[00:03:49] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:03:49] Speaker B: And they like the blue plate diner, which I'm so excited about because I can force them. Force them. I can coax them into eating vegetables there. I know.
[00:04:00] Speaker A: And I feel like we have to do air quotes with the vegetables because obviously there are the actual vegetables there. But then there's that running joke in the south that you can see peach cobbler as an option in vegetable.
That I think that's the charm of the south, honestly.
[00:04:15] Speaker B: Yeah. How about your boys?
[00:04:16] Speaker A: What are their favorites? So my oldest is a little bit more adventurous than my young mun, and I really attribute it to how I ate with both of those pregnancies. So with that first child, I was like, okay, I'm going to eat all the things I heard that if I have a diverse palate while I'm pregnant, then that means that my child will. With my second one, it's as if I ate Doritos, talkies and Mountain Dew. I mean, he doesn't necessarily eat those things, but it's definitely within that difference it's on brand with that. But with that said, I think we need to take a break before I out myself even more about all the nutrition things you are.
[00:05:13] Speaker B: Listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the capstone.
[00:05:18] Speaker A: And as we mentioned, if you are just now, actually, if you heard us in our previous segment, we mentioned a little bit about the fact that we were talking about National Nutrition Month, and then we did kind of out ourselves with some candor about our own nutrition habits as busy mommies just as humans in general. But now we're going to introduce our guests. I'm very pleased to introduce our guest today, Ms. Sherry Simpson, who is a registered dietitian at the UA Student Health center. And Sherry, thank you for joining us.
[00:05:48] Speaker C: Thank you. Glad to be back again.
[00:05:50] Speaker A: Yes, I talk about a favorite topic, so yes, it's always good when we can have someone with us again. I know the last time you were with us, a few years ago now, we actually talked about heart health. And now we have you on for the month of March talking about National Nutrition Month. But before we get into the meat and potatoes, pun intended, pun intended. Talk a little bit, sherry, about your academic and professional background.
[00:06:13] Speaker C: So similar to a lot of your guests, both of my degrees come from the university. I do have a ten year gap in between my undergrad and my master's degree. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do, so I took some time and explored a couple of different careers, but most of my time has been in just different levels of healthcare. So I've worked in hospitals small and large, and I've had just direct clinical roles and then also some administrative roles. And I enjoyed both of those sides.
I've also been teaching at a community college and also I do teach adjunct here at the University of Alabama. So some students may remember me from being either in the classroom. I still continue to teach some classes online, and I found that I really like the college population. So I've had students even in my clinical roles, and so I've always had them with me to learn and train them to get ready for careers and then kind of came in on the teaching side. But I just really like, they're just so excited. I mean, it's just such a fun time in life because they're learning how to be adults. Even though they're 18, they haven't learned some of those skills yet. So you kind of get to guide them into growing into adulthood, but also just kind of getting them ready to go out into the career world. So now I'm taking care of them on a medical.
[00:07:43] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:07:44] Speaker A: Now, with your role at the student health center, and you just mentioned this passion for working with college students. Sherry, I know that you've had this vast experience in hospitals and in long term care and then kind of newer in your role working with students in the capacity that you do now. What has been the biggest eye opener for you, or interesting thing that you've noticed working clinically with college students now compared to the other patient populations that you've had?
[00:08:15] Speaker C: I guess looking at them, I thought that they would be healthier eaters than they are. I thought they would be much more kind of structured and especially what's around them. I mean, they're surrounded by all these good food, you know, finding that their diet consists of chips and energy drinks. Yes. It's either Starbucks or energy drinks that they survive off of. They kind of react instead of being proactive. So just kind of, they're used to such a structure in high school and living at home, and then they come here and all of a sudden think they've got to figure it out. And they don't have a traditional schedule like they did in high school, so their meals and their times to take care of themselves are different. So that kind of gets to be less a priority. They get super focused on school and having to kind of take a step back and remind them that not only do you need to eat just to be healthy, but your brain is starved if you don't give it what you need. So that's been pretty eye opening there.
[00:09:25] Speaker A: I feel like, because I'm looking at you, Sherry, and Nika, I'm looking at you thinking about your advisor role, Sherry, you as a dietitian, and just the capacity that we work with students one on one. I feel like many times we also have this social worker hat that we put on just in terms or even just a byproduct of being, like, case manager for a student. So as they kind of go on these tangents about life, we want to help them. And also all of us on the show today, we're all moms. And I think even if we weren't in motherhood, there's just this tendency of let me help you or enable you without you necessarily, me spoon feeding everything to you, but helping you navigate all the things. You know what I mean?
[00:10:09] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:10:10] Speaker B: That lifelong education. Yes. Like you said, they're young adults, but they've not learned the things that 50 year old adults have learned. They have so much to learn. And it is exciting to be able to mold that.
[00:10:27] Speaker C: Absolutely. I find just simple things that we don't think about, like do you know how to navigate the grocery store? And do you know how to use an oven or a cooktop or something besides the air fryer and the microwave? So just basic skills have been very interesting to talk about that. And they get their information online. So I'll say, well, why did you choose this recipe? What was on TikTok?
I watched somebody on YouTube, or they gain their information from other places, whereas we were looking, when I was in school, we were looking at books and movies and tv shows and those kind of things. So it's interesting to see kind of where they're getting their information and a lot of their nutrition information is very skewed. So we have to talk through some of those things pretty regularly.
[00:11:18] Speaker A: And I feel like, and again, in all of our roles for anyone who is coming into the university environment, working with students and maybe they were working in another area, sometimes when we hear our students, it can feel like hashtag first world problems, the things that they talk about. But I have to remind myself, and so I'm getting on to myself the most that I have to remind myself.
It should be important to me because it's important to them in this moment. So they're looking through that viewpoint of what they know immediately is happening to them right now. It's not always appropriate to give them that life lesson of I promise in the grand scheme, it's a big deal for them in the here and now moment.
[00:11:59] Speaker B: Yes, it is. I had a student today approach me to ask me, she said, I left a baked potato out on the counter overnight. Do you think it's okay to eat it today? And my heart just swelled because I thought, well, she's asking a source that she feels is better than googling it, I guess. I don't know, like she wanted to do.
[00:12:20] Speaker A: Right?
[00:12:20] Speaker B: And so that's that, mom, I guess, in me. But I was like, let me help navigate this with you. This is important for you right now.
[00:12:27] Speaker A: Yes, exactly.
Sherry, I know in just a minute we're going to have to go to a break, but I did want to ask. So with your role at the student health center and pharmacy, can you tell us a little bit about the services at the student health center just to kind of share what students can experience if they were to seek services there?
[00:12:46] Speaker C: Absolutely.
We try to capture them when they come in during Bamabam, their orientation, but they're surrounded by so much information. But we're basically their health care while they're here. And if we can't take care of something, we have a whole referral service. So if we can't take care of them, we connect them to somebody that can. But they can come for doctors visits. So whether they're sick or just to get a general checkup, they have nutrition counseling, which is what I do. We also have women's health care. We have mental health services. And then also for people that have allergies or if they are going out of the country, we have an allergy and immunization clinic as well. And we have some nurse practitioners that specialize in things that are specific to our students. So we have one that does dermatology, and we have some specialty things, too, to keep them out of the emergency rooms. So we have an iv hydration room. And we also can do minor things like putting a boot on them and giving them crutches if they injure something. And also doing, they do small sutures and those kind of things. If they have a little boo boo that needs to be sewed up, they can do that as well.
[00:13:55] Speaker A: I love that. And I think with our health center on campus, the nice thing about it is that it is for students. And so I think also just being that part of that learning process as students become independent, going to the doctor for the first time. So having a little bit more compassion from the receptionist or the nurses when a student is in panic and receptionist, asking for an insurance card, kind of walking them through that and not feeling irritated that a student is trying to get in touch with mom and dad or whoever for that.
[00:14:28] Speaker B: Nice stepping stone.
[00:14:29] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:14:30] Speaker B: From going with your parents to the pediatrician to being fully functional on your own adult.
[00:14:37] Speaker A: Oh, yes. Because I feel like there's been so many times that I've walked past our exam rooms and you'll have a student that's like, my mom is on the phone. She'll tell you what's wrong with me. It's like, hey, this is actually a learning experience where you can advocate for yourself. But we have to take a quick break. Sherry, when we get back, we'll kind of dive into national nutrition month. You are.
[00:15:15] Speaker B: Listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7, the capstone. And we are talking about National Nutrition Month.
[00:15:23] Speaker A: Yes. And Sherry, I know earlier on we were talking about your role at the student health center, the services that you provide, but now kind of jumping into National Nutrition Month. Can you tell us a little bit about this year's theme. And I guess really what one should expect during national nutrition Month or just the opportunities to be had when it comes to nutrition education.
[00:15:47] Speaker C: Absolutely. So National Nutrition Month is kind of like a celebratory month for us dietitians. And so everybody kind of gets excited. 1 January and you make your resolutions, and then usually by February and Valentine's Day, you dive back into the candy and kind of get. So March is exciting, the flowers are blooming and things are coming, the weather is getting nicer. So we kind of start to think about food, too, at that time. So fruits and vegetables and all the things that are going to be coming that we've missed all fall and winter, that's usually what I get feedback from my patients is I really miss good, fresh vegetables, especially fruits, because we don't get those as plentifully in the fall. But this year's theme is beyond the table, and so it's really kind of putting focus on most of us don't sit down and eat at the table anymore. And a meal doesn't have to be, and balance doesn't have to be just sitting down with your family. So we're all eating on the go.
We're packing stuff and going to sporting events and traveling, and it's just about thinking about covering all your bases and eating a balanced diet away from the table and also thinking about where our food comes from.
[00:17:08] Speaker A: Yeah, I love that. And I know that before, during the break, we were talking a little bit about farmers markets, and I love that you mentioned that because I think when we can have the opportunity to get the students connected with that fresh produce, it also gives them a moment to get connected with their local community outside of campus, too.
[00:17:30] Speaker B: Yes, I do love that. So what's some of the tips and tricks that you would give our Listeners on how to stay nourished when they have a tight budget?
[00:17:41] Speaker C: So I always encourage anybody, whether it's a student or I've worked with all the age groups. And really it just comes down to one thing. But one of the main things is I do encourage people to plan ahead. And I don't mean make spreadsheets and plan menus out for the next two weeks, but just think about what you're going to cook and think about what you're going to need. And think about am I going to be home or do I need to plan to be away from home? So just kind of thinking ahead. So that's usually, I like to talk through scenarios with patients. I usually say, what is your spring break look like? And what is your weekend going to look like? Do you have sporting events? Are you going to be traveling? Are you going to be at a concert where they have food trucks? So just kind of trying to think ahead and plan and saving money just kind of means looking at food ads and kind of seeing what's on sale and what's more economical and then trying to use those leftovers. People didn't throw away excess, and you could incorporate that into something else that can save a lot of money in the long run, too. So that would be general stuff. And then I do have to kind of shift when I'm dealing with students, whether they have a regular size fridge or if they have a micro fridge in a dorm room. So we have to focus more on what can we put in the fridge and then what is shelf stable that we can keep out that's healthy, that they can keep around them, and then they're not ending up at the vending machines.
[00:19:16] Speaker B: Right.
[00:19:17] Speaker C: Those type of things.
[00:19:18] Speaker A: What is one of the most interesting things you've heard a student say that they make in their microwave or that you've encouraged a student that they can cook in their microwave, that they realize that, didn't realize that that was a possibility.
[00:19:31] Speaker C: They're very creative, and some of them even come up with things on Pinterest where they found. But they cook, like, omelets. I mean, they cook eggs in the microwave. Some of them have made baked goods. There's actually, like, brownies and that kind of thing. But they get pretty creative with things like, especially their breakfast oatmeal combinations and those types of things.
[00:20:00] Speaker A: Nika, did you do much microwave cooking when you were in college, which I don't know what your living situation was in undergrad in terms of having access to a full kitchen.
[00:20:09] Speaker B: But my freshman year, I lived in the dorm, so it was a lot of microwave cooking, but it was an all girls dorm. It doesn't exist anymore. It was Parker Adams.
[00:20:18] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:20:19] Speaker B: Yes. I loved it. And I actually lived two doors down from the kitchen, so we had a stove and an oven, but we lived a lot on our dining dollars, as.
[00:20:31] Speaker A: Many of our listeners.
[00:20:32] Speaker B: We didn't do a lot of cooking, I will say, but we did do some. And then the rest of my time, I had even an apartment or a house that I shared with others where I could cook.
[00:20:43] Speaker A: Yeah, I, like, know when we think about food and nutrition, I think all of us probably notice how relevant it is these days, especially on social media, when we think about shows like the Food Network and everything else. Competition, cooking shows, food is just a very relevant thing. And I remember several years ago, an RA in one of the residence halls asked me and my nutrition students to come and be judges for a program she was doing. And it was basically chopped residence hall edition. And so the students had broken off into teams, and they had some very random things in their quote unquote basket. But it was kind of comical what was in there, because it was like pop tarts, bananas, pickles, hot dogs. And so they're coming back, and the way that they would talk about what they made, they're like, I present banana two ways with a pickled cucumber ceviche, which was like dill relish or whatever else. And so it was kind of cute that they were trying to use the language of the cooking show. So that was just something memorable to, you know, as I think about National Nutrition month and students and their nutrition, I think that it makes me, you know, when we think about this whole concept of eating healthy, sherry, why do you think that this concept of eating healthy can feel so complicated for consumers these days?
[00:22:08] Speaker C: I think they're just so confused by what's healthy and what's not. A lot of the things that they think are healthy, when you really drill it down, it's very processed and has a lot of ingredients that we normally wouldn't recommend, but I hate putting rules on what they shouldn't and shouldn't eat.
Social media has been our downfall. There's so much good information out there, but there's some that really gets people confused where they think that they're doing the right thing and it's really not healthy. So I have seen a shift, especially in the younger generation, where they're more apt to buy liquid supplements or bars or foods that they perceive are healthy versus just trying to stick to. I teach the plate method every day, and it's a very simple way just to make sure that everything fits in there and they can plug in what they like. It's a very simple way to do that. But, yeah, I think that just in general, whoever's influencing them, whether it's the people around them or it's social media, there's a lot of misinformation that's getting out there.
[00:23:25] Speaker B: So I love that because I try to tell my students this all the time. When you are watching someone on social media or you're listening to them or you're reading about them, how do you know that your best interests are at heart? What should be the credentials we are looking for behind a person's name who is telling us what is healthy and what is not healthy to eat.
[00:23:50] Speaker C: Oh, boy, that's a big can of worms.
[00:23:54] Speaker B: Let's start with the basics. Yes.
[00:23:55] Speaker C: Well, I mean, that is something that I think from an education standpoint, that I talk about that in every course that I ever taught that was part of my curriculum, is just making sure that they know who is the right people. So they need to find. For nutrition information. They need to find a registered dietitian. There's a lot of people that will pose in other roles. They'll call themselves nutritionists when they're not, they'll call themselves, they're a trainer or a health coach or a life coach or whatever. And I do feel like the intentions are good, that when you approach somebody, they're saying, well, I'm just trying to help, and they have good intentions, but they don't realize that what they're doing can be harmful to others. So it is very important, not just in nutrition, but in other areas as well, just making sure that people know your schedule, who's the right person to come to.
[00:24:53] Speaker B: So I want to follow back up with that when we come back from our break, just because I feel like this is the world you guys live in. But a lot of people out there don't realize the importance of having a registered dietitian be the one who tells you, this is how much vitamin D you need a day, or this is how much fiber you need. That, or a physician. Yeah.
[00:25:16] Speaker A: No, I think you bring up a good point, because I have some thoughts on that for sure. You are.
[00:25:40] Speaker B: Listening to fit to be tied on 90.7, the capstone with Sheena and Nika, and we are talking about National Nutrition Month. And I want to start out saying with, I'm surrounded by registered dietitians, that for those of you out there listening, if you don't know, nutrition is a science, and in order to make a meal plan or to give quality health care information to a person, you need to be thoroughly vetted, credentialed, and licensed. Am I correct about that?
[00:26:16] Speaker A: Yes. And I will say, and I know Sherry would agree with this, know, because I'm sure we have listeners that know other allied health professionals that are thinking.
[00:26:26] Speaker B: Well, I still want to be an.
[00:26:27] Speaker A: Advocate for nutrition, for healthy nutrition.
And something that I've done before for personal trainers and other groups, is to let them know, yes, you do want to encourage healthy habits. The best way to do this, staying within your scope of practice, but also making sure you're giving correct and safe information to your population is encouraging. Population based nutrition tools such as choosemyplate, dot gov, or other things that are evidence based out there. I think it gets a little dicey when you start making some very personalized things for people because you don't want to run the risk of harming that person when they may have health conditions that you don't realize, and that puts you at a liability. So I say, look at this from a liability.
[00:27:12] Speaker B: Well, that is great, because when I was a personal trainer, someone would say, so I'm not supposed to have carbs. So I would do generalized nutrition education. Hey, there's complex carbs, and there's simple carbs.
Carbs are not the enemy. But if you want to know exactly how many you need a day, let me connect you to my friend Sheena, who can tell you exactly for who you are as a person. Medically sound advice.
[00:27:39] Speaker A: Yes. And, Sherry, have you run into situations where you've had to kind of correct some information that a student has brought in that they got from another source, and you're like, actually, that could work for someone else, just not for you.
[00:27:55] Speaker C: All the time? Yes, very regularly. And really, on the flip side of that, patients ask me all the time because we go over the nutrition part, and they say, well, you talked about exercise. Can you write out exactly what I should do? And I have to punt to the professionals and tell them, all we say is 150 minutes a week. That's as far as I go.
[00:28:18] Speaker B: And that generalized advice, and it needs to be bounced.
[00:28:20] Speaker C: But I think it's important along the lines of what Sheena said. I've talked to groups before. I would rather give them information and say, this is what you can talk to them if they ask you questions. Here's a tool, and it's free, and it's very important overall. But I'll tell you, there's generalized people that I get where they're just really confused and we have to talk through, and then the light goes off, and they understand, and it makes sense. They go, that's why my body wasn't responding. But I will tell you both in the hospital and on kind of an outpatient basis, what I'm doing now. I've seen where people have really harmed their body, and we've been able to luckily catch that and correct it. And so, again, I don't discredit whoever's giving them that information, but I just say, I need you to talk to me about this.
[00:29:17] Speaker B: Right.
[00:29:17] Speaker C: Because if not, you're doing something to your body that's not helpful. It's really more harmful. And people think, well, other professionals say, well, it's just food. We all eat. They feel like it's fair ground.
So just putting the message out there, and also, in a very nice way, we let people know that in our state, it's illegal. Like, you can get in trouble. And I say, just from a personal standpoint, I don't want you to be in trouble. So let's kind of work together.
[00:29:50] Speaker B: I had heard this adage, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I was told food has the power to heal and to kill.
So, I mean, you can take too much of a supplement that you've read off of a Buzfeed article, which, no, hate to buzfeed, but you think, oh, I have all those symptoms. I must be deficient in this. And so then you go to your local store and you just grab the cheapest one and take it. Now, that can cause a lot of.
[00:30:24] Speaker A: You know, and if we've not brought this up on the show before, we do want to do this as a friendly reminder that many of your fitness wellness, weight loss supplements out there, they are not regulated by the FDA. And so that can be really tricky. And so I think all of us would agree, looking for those brands that have that third party verification, like, where it says, like, USP verified, that's letting you know that that company has sought out a third party resource to confirm that what they're saying is in that product is actually in there. So if they're claiming x amount of milligrams of vitamin C or biotin or whatever, that's actually in there. Because it is scary to me that companies can claim can make up the.
[00:31:07] Speaker B: Biggest wazoo, and they just put it out there. Put it out there and not really have any accountability for it.
[00:31:14] Speaker C: But that is something that to kind of put that in perspective for our population, whether it's a student or just general community member, you can go talk to your healthcare provider. I would start with your primary care physician and just say, I read this article and I think I may be deficient or something may be off. It's a very simple medical evaluation. And as dietitians, we're trained to do a nutrition assessment, and we can look for physical presentations, and we can evaluate your diet and tell you whether we think that you're potentially deficient. We can't test for all deficiencies, but there's a lot that we can do and we can guide you into not only making the right choices. I do find that I save people a lot of money because they're spending lots and lots of money on supplements, and so I can help them refine it, usually, and kind of guide them to make better selections so people don't know that they can go to the doctor to be healthy. And that's a conversation.
[00:32:12] Speaker B: I love how you said that, because your allied medical professionals, they know they have the training to stay within their scope of practice and when to punch.
[00:32:21] Speaker A: Right.
[00:32:21] Speaker B: I think what I was alluding to more is your health influencers on social media. Yes, that's what I mean. Like your friend that goes, nutrition is my passion.
[00:32:31] Speaker A: And you're like, have you ever taken.
[00:32:32] Speaker B: The collegiate academic course on it? No, but I follow this person. Look, they have gazillion followers.
[00:32:37] Speaker A: They're legit. No, I took their two week certification course.
[00:32:43] Speaker B: Yes, that is what I mean by that. So you want to stay in that healthcare realm because your healthcare professionals know, hey, go see my friend over here.
They're the ones who, they live and breathe this every day.
[00:32:58] Speaker A: Yeah. Nika. I even think about for, you know, a certified health education specialist know, we have people that call themselves, oh, I'm a health coach.
There's just so many interpretations of that, just like the word nutritionist. And so it's just this. You hold your breath, and I have to give compassion for the fact that they are passionate about it. But it's a safety.
It all comes back to safety.
[00:33:26] Speaker B: It's not about money. It's about safety. It really is, because we want you to be your healthiest self. And if you don't know that research, that evidence based research, that peer reviewed research, then you can lead them into unhealthy behaviors.
[00:33:40] Speaker A: Yes, I think we're all on the same page with that.
[00:33:44] Speaker B: We are on our soapbox. And I love it, though, because I do. I feel like people, it can be complicated.
[00:33:51] Speaker C: It can.
[00:33:51] Speaker B: And they're just looking for a way to do right and be healthy. And people with a lot of followers, why not think that they know what they're talking about? Obviously, other people think they do. So that's what we're saying is just know the credentials of the person you're asking advice from.
[00:34:09] Speaker C: Yes, I think there's a lot of visual connection. It's usually the feedback that I get. I said, well, why did you choose this person? And there was something about them that drew them in, either something that they said or the way they looked. And they say, I want to look like them or I want to have their energy, or they make some kind of connection. Even though there's no one on one conversation, they really make a connection and there's a desire there.
[00:34:37] Speaker A: Or sometimes their Instagram posts are just very aesthetically pleasing.
They have those social marketing tools.
[00:34:44] Speaker B: It looks healthy.
[00:34:45] Speaker A: Yes.
Okay, we need to take a break, y'all. We need to cool off. We're going to reconvene. Sherry, we're going to have you in for our last little bit. You are.
[00:35:13] Speaker B: Listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the capstone, and we are wrapping up our talk on National Nutrition Month.
[00:35:20] Speaker A: Yes. And if you didn't get to listen to the earlier part of the show, we encourage you to do so. We had some opinions about some things and kind of going in some different directions related to nutrition, where people are getting that information, supplements, all the things. But, Sherry, normally at this point in the show, I kind of ask some random questions, but actually I'll ask something more practical because I feel like all of us have been in this position where we're in a public place, we're sitting on an airplane or whatever, and then somebody's like, what do you do? And then you almost don't necessarily want to tell them, like, oh, I'm a health professional or I'm a dietitian. Because then say you were in one of those situations and you told somebody on the plane next to you, well, I'm a dietitian.
And they're like, oh, tell me, how can I start eating better or how can I start eating healthier? What would be your elevator pitch to that person, just in terms of kind of giving them the basic rundown of, okay, well, here's where you can start, especially when people aren't necessarily giving you that much information about them in those kind of situations.
[00:36:30] Speaker C: I try to keep it pretty generalized because you really can't get too specific unless you know their medical history and the whole gamut of what's going on. But I just always kind of go back to the word balance.
I find that people get pretty heavy into certain food groups here in the south. They get pretty heavy in protein and pretty heavy in the grains or the carbs, fruits and vegetables and dairy. Kind of get the just that, that plate method. I know I keep going back to that, but we had other tools before then, but I just go back to that and just try to get them back in balance.
Yeah, they kind of think that you're going to tell them something miraculous and that we have all these secrets is usually what I get from patients, they think that we have all the magical stuff stored away and that we're going to tell them this magical food or supplement to take, but really it's just about just going back to the basics and getting some balance.
[00:37:30] Speaker B: So when you say balance, I have heard before, dietitians say that there's no such thing as a bad food.
[00:37:35] Speaker A: What does that mean, really? When we think about, we eat for so many different reasons. We eat for celebratory reasons, nutrient reasons, all the things. I think when we're thinking about bad foods, it boils down to somebody having a healthy relationship with food so that there isn't. Because I think when we start labeling something as bad, we tend to obsess about it more. Right. But if we can think of it as free game, and then we can have a general understanding. Okay, this is something that I can have. Maybe it's not what I eat regularly for all three meals, but knowing that there's no morality that's tied into that food, because I think a lot of times individuals can pride themselves on saying, oh, well, I never eat bad.
[00:38:20] Speaker B: So that leads me into my other question. Is this conception of healthy eating, clean eating, to be able to brag and say, I've not had a candy bar in 55 years, but you think about it every day, and you long for that candy bar every day. Is that healthy?
[00:38:36] Speaker A: No, I don't think so.
[00:38:38] Speaker B: So it's not really clean. I mean, like you say, you got to have a good relationship with it.
[00:38:43] Speaker A: Yes, I agree.
And again, if there's a food that you enjoy, like, if this person secretly does love candy bars, but then they're wanting, as a sense of pride to say, oh, well, I haven't had it in x many years. Like, who is that really serving?
[00:38:59] Speaker B: I don't know.
[00:38:59] Speaker A: Sherry, any thoughts on that?
[00:39:00] Speaker C: I mean, I was just thinking, bless your heart.
[00:39:04] Speaker B: So what you're saying is you're not judging us when we sit down to.
[00:39:07] Speaker A: Eat dinner with, oh, gosh, no.
[00:39:10] Speaker C: I hope that you don't pass me in the grocery store when I have my groceries and headed to the checkout line, because we basically say all foods can fit.
[00:39:20] Speaker B: All foods can fit. I love.
[00:39:21] Speaker A: Yes, yes. And I think on that, y'all, we should end the show. It has been a great one. It has been a great afternoon. Sherry, thank you for joining us for National Nutrition Month.
[00:39:30] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:39:31] Speaker A: Absolutely, Anika, love you.
[00:39:34] Speaker B: Love y'all. Do y'all do the work. I mean, you know, you keep us fed and there's so many things. And I know we're closing this out, but there's so many things about our health holistically that start with good sleep and good food.
[00:39:49] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:39:50] Speaker A: Amen, sister. You have been listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 to captain.
[00:39:59] Speaker C: You.
[00:40:01] Speaker A: W-V-U-A-F-M. Tuscaloosa.
