Nutritional Services for Clermont Families
At Urban Health, our medical team believes that good health starts with good nutrition. So much so that Dr. G (our medical director) decided that access to good nutritional advice needed to start right here, in your patient-centered medical home.
Urban Health is the only primary care office in Central Florida with a primary care dietitian nutritionist on staff as part of our provider team.
Our dietitian, Wendimere Reilly, RDN LDN graduated from Florida State University and worked in both the hospital and long-term care setting prior to joining the team at Urban Health. She is well known to the Clermont community as she was the founding owner of one of the area’s first natural health stores.
Wendimere’s approach is to help people make small, realistic changes that can lead to a lifetime of better health. Her good nature and genuine desire to help people feel better make going to see the dietitian a positive experience.
Does insurance cover nutritional services?
Certain services are covered by insurance, including care for diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and other chronic health concerns. Our dietitian is accepting new patients and is credentialed with Medicare, Aetna and some United Healthcare plans. Call your insurance to find out if you have eligible benefits and the number of visits covered. Affordable, self-pay options are available for those without insurance coverage. While our dietitian is available to see patients that are not part of our primary care practice, please note that our Medically Supervised Weight Loss program is only available to Urban Health patients.
A healthy diet can help you lose weight or maintain your desired weight. It also can lower your cholesterol, improve your energy, and prevent certain health conditions. Most of all, it can help you to just feel better in general and who wouldn’t want that?
A Balanced Diet Matters to your Health and Well-being
Choose foods from all five food groups for a balanced daily diet.
Grains: Choose products that list whole grains as the first ingredient, such as whole-grain bread or whole-wheat flour. Whole grains are low in fat and high in fiber. Containing complex carbohydrates, they help you feel satisfied and prevent overeating.
Examples of whole grains that you may eat daily are whole-grain bread, including wheat, rye, and pumpernickel, English muffins, and small whole-grain bagels, soft tortillas, whole-grain cereal, oatmeal, and low-fat granola. Other healthy choices to substitute popular snacks are lower fat and lower sugar crackers, such as animal, graham, rye, soda, saltine, and oysters.
Fruits and Vegetables: This group are naturally low in fat. Providing flavor and variety to your diet, they contain fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Use yogurt, healthy oils, or herbs for seasoning instead of adding unneeded fats.
Examples of healthy fruit and vegetables are: Raw, steamed, boiled, or baked greens tossed with a small amount of olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh fruit with a small amount of nuts. Baked white or sweet potatoes are an excellent healthy choice.
Protein: Beef, pork, veal, and lamb. Select low-fat, lean cuts of meat. Lean beef and veal cuts have the words “loin” or “round” in their names, and pork cuts have the words “loin” or “leg” in their names.
Trim off the outside fat before cooking and use herbs, spices, and low sodium marinades to season meat. Baking, broiling, grilling, and roasting are the healthiest ways to cook the meats. Avoid serving your protein with high-fat sauces and gravy.
Poultry: Chicken breasts are an excellent choice as they are low fat and high protein. Remove skin and bake, broil, grill, or roast to cook the poultry.
Fish: Most seafood is high in healthy polyunsaturated fat. To prepare fish, you should poach, steam, bake, broil, or grill it.
Fats: While most people tend to shy away from fats because they think they are bad, fat is actually a type of nutrient and your body needs a certain amount of fat to absorb vitamins, provide energy and protect your brain and heart health. Not all fat is the same – there is a difference between “good” and “bad” fats.
“Good” fats, including unsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids, help fight fatigue, control weight, manage your moods, and position you to stay on top of your mental game.
“Bad” fats, including artificial trans fats and saturated fats, are the culprit of most things people associate with the word “fats” – they cause clogged arteries, an increased risk of certain diseases, weight gain, and more.
Knowing the difference between “good” and “bad” fats – and including more healthy fat in your diet – can boost your energy, reduce your waistline, and improve how well you think and feel.
Non-meat proteins: These include dry beans, peas, and lentils. They have protein and fiber without the cholesterol and fat of meats.
Dairy: Select skim or non-dairy milk, like soy, rice, or almond milk. Low fat or part-skim cheeses are options in your recipes. Nonfat or Greek yogurt can replace sour cream. Skim sherbet and soft-serve frozen yogurt is a good choice over ice cream.
How to Read a Nutrition Facts Label
The nutrition facts label will tell you what is in the food you are eating. It will help you decide if you have a healthy, balanced diet. Every packaged or processed product should have a label.
The nutrition facts label lists calories, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, salt, total carbohydrate, fiber, sugars and vitamins, and minerals. Not all nutrients listed on a label are equal. Some are good and should be eaten more.
For example, fiber helps your body digest the food you eat. It can help lower your risk of diabetes and heart disease. Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Vitamins and minerals include vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron.
Vitamin D and potassium are also important. Other nutrients should be eaten less. These include saturated fat, which can increase the risk of heart disease and high cholesterol.
Trans fat also increases your risk of heart disease. This consists of any hydrogenated vegetable oils. Trans fat is often found in baked goods, fried foods, snacks, and margarine.
Cholesterol should be consumed less than 300 milligrams of cholesterol per day. If you have heart disease, consume less than 200 milligrams per day. It is always good to ask your doctor how many calories you need.
Proper nutrition is essential to a robust immune system, which may offer protection from seasonal illness and other health problems. You can help support your immune system by including these nutrients in your diet.
Wendimere regularly interacts with all of the health care providers to ensure optimizing nutritional status is a priority to the medical office. All patients now have access to office nutritional services for a small fee. Please ask for more details on your next appointment.
Does insurance cover nutritional services?
Certain services are covered by insurance, including care for diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and weight loss counseling for those with a BMI of 30 or higher. Not a patient of our practice? No worries. Wendimere Reilly, RDN LDN, is accepting new patients, and many services are covered by insurance. We also have affordable self-pay options.
Call for More Information About Our Nutrition Services
Interested in Telehealth, but think it is too complicated? It is easier than you think. Try out our Telehealth and run a pre-call test to see for yourself! Make your nutrition appointment with the dietitian nutritionist at Urban Health and get yourself feeling more energetic and healthier under professional health care practitioners’ advice. Contact our Clermont office today for an appointment at (352) 394-5535.
