Today, we have the pleasure of interviewing Lisa Hugh MSHS RD LDN CWCA AACCWS CPHQ CLT of Southern Maryland Dietitian.
We asked Lisa how she got involved with this line of work and she recalled that sometime ago, a Registered Dietitian taught one of her college electives; at the time she was a Chemistry major. The RD was so practical about nutrition and at the same time so detailed and knowledgeable. She remember thinking “I could do that.”
Fast forward to today, Lisa is now a Registered Dietitian with experience working with pregnant women, breastfeeding, and toddlers. She is also a mom of two boys and have been through a lot when it comes to breastfeeding. So she can help people based on clinical knowledge as well as personal experience.
Lisa has a unique experience of working with healthy people and very sick people. She has a lot of clinical expertise and she can make the application very easy for people. She doesn't judge people or force them on to any specific program. She just tries to help them be healthier in ways that are not too challenging.
Her greatest achievement was when she was able to help her best friend, a super-specialist physician who was having some difficulty breastfeeding, identify a medical cause for what she was experiencing. Making a few changes to her medication and her nutrition helped her breastfeed for a few more months.
According to Lisa, parents often have an all-or-nothing thinking about their kids' nutrition. Parents who want their children to eat healthy, sometimes micro-manage too many aspects of eating… how many calories are eaten per snack, how much sodium is in everything, avoiding added sugars… but neglect the bigger picture about eating a variety of healthy foods.
Other parents don’t want to be overly concerned about every little thing… but then easily turn a blind eye to important things. One mom (who was pretty knowledgeable about health and nutrition) told her that her son ate chips, gummy snacks, fruit punch, and a sandwich every day for lunch and didn’t see any reason why the school should be encouraging the students and families to eat fruits and vegetables.
For her, these are the biggest misconceptions she see parents make with regards to their children’s nutrition.
So what does she hope to achieve this year? Lisa's practice is new, so her biggest goal is building her business so she can help more families. She would like to be involved in more community groups so that she can help more families eat and live healthier.
Lisa shares her best nutritional tip:
"Remember that nutrition and healthy eating is important. Focus on general principles more than details. Eat a variety of foods, eat enough fruits and vegetables, limit juice, avoid sweetened beverages, eat adequate protein, get enough calcium from foods or take a supplement if needed. Eat healthy fats, and get enough fiber. Limit processed foods, fast food, and eating out.
When general principles don’t seem to be working, then consider more specific diet changes to meet your goals. A Registered Dietitian can help with this."
Here are some other things Lisa shared with us from her expertise in nutrition:
"I am a Certified Leap Therapist. I help people in getting tested and treated for food sensitivities, which are similar to but different from food allergies and intolerances. Food sensitivities can contribute to a lot of health problems – migraines, ADHD, eczema, constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux…anything that is rooted in inflammation. Food sensitivities can be very burdensome and hard to identify but help is available."
For more information about Lisa Hugh and Southern Maryland Dietitian please visit her website, http://www.southernmarylanddietitian.com/ visit her at 4560 Crain Highway Suite 12 White Plains, MD 20695, call her at 240-210-9725 or email her at [email protected]
