Nutrition Month 2023
March is Nutrition Month and Dietitians are eager to share about the important work that they do. Calgary Meals on Wheels has a Registered Dietitian that ensures our meals not only taste good but also provides the nourishment your body needs to support overall health and well-being. Our meals are required to follow specific guidelines to ensure they are balanced and healthy. Dietitians help create these guidelines based on information and recommendations from many sources, including Health Canada, Canada’s Food Guide and Alberta Health Services, as well as from organizations that address specific concerns such as Food Allergy Canada and Diabetes Canada. Using this information, the Dietitian creates and continually update our menu guidelines.
Guidelines for our meals include:
- limits on how much salt a food item contains,
- proper ratio of carbohydrates, protein and fat, and
- controls on the amount of saturated fat and trans fat.
The Dietitian at Calgary Meals on Wheels ensures that all items, new foods and new recipes follow these guidelines so that you can be sure that your meals support your health. The Dietitian also reviews the menu as a whole to ensure that the daily amount of nutrients that you get in your meals is appropriate. Our regular menu is designed to be balanced and healthy, and our specialized diets are created to support people with specific health conditions.
Ensuring that our meals follow recommended guidelines is even more important for clients who have health conditions, which means that they must pay close attention to certain nutrients. For example, in renal (kidney) disease, it becomes more difficult for the body to get rid of potassium, which can lead to other health concerns. For this reason, some people with renal disease may need to eat less potassium through their diet. Our renal diet provides less potassium than our regular diet and excludes many high-potassium foods to support the health of clients with renal disease.
The guidelines that our meals follow makes eating a balanced diet easier with Calgary Meals on Wheels. Whether you have had a recent illness, a new diagnosis or are having difficulty dealing with a chronic illness, you can be rest assured that our meals will meet your needs and support your healing journey giving you peace of mind. The Dietitian is also here to answer questions and you can always request a referral through our client services team to further discuss your needs.
Ayanna Smart has been a Registered Dietitian for 4 years and is a member of the College of Dietitians of Alberta. Ayanna uses her expertise to help ensure the meals produced at Calgary Meals on Wheels are nutritious and healthy for our clients.
This information is provided by our Registered Dietitian and is not meant to replace advice from your medical doctor or health professional regarding your individual needs. It is intended for educational and informational purposes only.