Taylor Leddin-McMaster (Host): Hello, listeners. Thanks for tuning into the Well Within Reach podcast, brought to you by riversidehealthcare.org. I'm your host, Taylor Leddin-McMaster. And joining me today is Brittany Champney, clinical dietician, who is here to talk about trending nutrition topics and how to know what's healthy and what's, you know, maybe just a cash grab. So, welcome. Thank you for joining us.

Brittany Champney: Thank you for having me.

Host: Before we get into today's topic, can you tell us about your role here at Riverside?

Brittany Champney: Yes. Well, I'm a clinical dietician at Riverside. I've been here for about 10 years in December, and I just really enjoy working here.

Host: Fantastic. How is your role in a hospital different from what people might imagine what a dietician does?

Brittany Champney: So, I think when people think of dieticians, a lot of the times there's a focus on we do weight loss. That is not always the case, especially when it comes to like an inpatient clinical dietician. So, we really focus on helping patients with certain disease states. So, heart patients may have low salt education, renal patients get kidney diet education.

We do tube feedings for vented patients. We certainly will help patients with weight loss if that's something that they need while they're admitted, but it just kind of goes beyond that. And then, we work with the kitchen a little bit as well and, like, getting food preference for patients. And we will communicate preferences to the staff that brings food to the patients as well.

Host: So from your perspective as a clinical dietician, how often do food and diet trends come up in patient conversations?

Brittany Champney: I would say that food trends come up more so with our outpatients than our inpatients, but I would say at least a few times a week, especially if we are talking to patients about healthy weight or I notice a lot of times new diabetics will have questions about some of the diet trends.

Host: That makes sense. So when you hear about a new food trend, what questions do you ask yourself to determine whether it's actually beneficial?

Brittany Champney: So with food trends, I'm definitely interested if there's been appropriate studies. We want to make sure that, you know, that there's been something done to determine if there's safety to it or if it even gives you results. If it's a diet trend on a very specific food item, I'm going to look at how restrictive it is. If it's a diet and it's telling you to eliminate an entire food group, it's likely not going to give you long-term sustainable results. We see that a lot with like the low carb diets.

And then, when it comes to, like, the studies, you know, was there any sort of blind trials done? One thing that's hard about nutrition research is you have patients that are doing diet recalls about things and they might not remember what they ate one or two days ago. And just kind of getting that cohesive picture before just putting something on the market.

Host: Sure. That makes total sense. What would you say are some red flags that tell you either a food or a beverage is more marketing than nutrition?

Brittany Champney: If it seems too good to be true, it's probably all marketing. I have noticed with new products, that suddenly every influencer I follow on social media as marketing a product. So, that also was a red flag for me. There was this like one vitamin brand and I just noticed every influencer I followed was marketing that vitamin. So, that makes me immediately think that there's a lot more marketing involved than is it a product that's going to really give you life-changing results.

Host: Yeah. I think I know exactly what vitamin brand you're talking about too, because I kept seeing that as well. Great. Before we continue our conversation, we are going to talk about the importance of primary care.

At Riverside, our primary care providers are right here in your community, offering personalized care for you and your family close to home, and connected to the specialists and services you may need. Having a primary care provider means having someone who knows you, listens to you, and helps you stay well through every stage of life, from annual checkups and preventative screenings to managing everyday concerns when they pop up, because remarkable care should never be out of reach. Remarkable care right where you live. To find a primary care provider who's right for you and your family, visit myrhc.net/acceptingnew.

And we're back talking about food trends and dietary trends. Let's talk about a couple of trending food topics. The first thing that comes to mind is mushroom coffee. Is this something that's beneficial for people?

Brittany Champney: So, I did have to do a little research on that one. My husband did drink that for a little while. But I looked at a few brands. And when it comes to mushroom coffee, I've noticed a lot of it is instant coffee. So, you're going to get the benefits of coffee and caffeine from there. When it comes to the mushroom part, I've noticed like they used their own little blend of various mushrooms.

So I mean, you will get some antioxidants, some vitamins and minerals from the mushrooms. I was looking to see if it provided any vitamin D because sometimes mushrooms can give you that as well. Most of them had 0%. So, I mean, you're getting a little bit of a nutrition benefit, but nothing that you need to buy this special if you just prefer regular coffee.

Host: Interesting. So, it's not going to fix all your ailments and change your life.

Brittany Champney: It's not going to fix all your ailments more than likely. I mean, the antioxidants maybe can reduce some inflammation if you have like some joint pain or something. But I don't think it's going to change anyone's life. If you prefer the taste, obviously, you know, that's totally fine too.

Host: Sure. Yeah. I tried it for a little bit and it tasted good. But I don't know, it wasn't really for me. I like regular coffee too much. Another popular item is pre and probiotic sodas. Do you feel that those are helpful or are they kind of all for show?

Brittany Champney: Well, I mean, I love Poppis, but I do think they're mainly for show. However, they do, depending on the brand, offer 2 to 10 grams of fiber. So, you're getting something from them, absolutely. And they still are a lower calorie and lower sugar alternative to traditional soda. So, I still think they're a good option if you like them and want to drink them.

Host: How much influence do you think that social media has on how people view nutrition today?

Brittany Champney: I would say social media has the most influence. I talk to patients who see a lot of things on the internet, on Facebook, Instagram. I have a friend that was sharing their journey, doing this specific diet on Facebook. You know, should I do this? And so, I really think it influences people more than regular news stations, regular talk shows. It is like the way of nutrition media, I feel like now.

Host: Yeah. Absolutely. You see it a lot. I'm sure you see it a lot more than the regular person.

Brittany Champney: Yeah. I'm sure it's on my algorithm a little bit more.

Host: But yeah, it does pop up, I feel, on most people's to some extent. With that in mind, what's one nutrition myth you wish would disappear for good?

Brittany Champney: That carbs are bad. So, anything, any diet, any nutritionist or whatever that tells you to eliminate an entire food group, to me, that's a red flag. Carbs are important for brain function, so we do need some carbs in our diet and they're going to be one of the main sources of fiber in your diet. So whole grains, especially like whole wheat bread, buckwheat, quinoa, things like that are going to give you a lot more fiber than other foods. Of course, our vegetables are going to give us fiber as well, but you really get the most bang for your buck from some of your whole grains.

So, I think portion size is really why people kind of associate carbs with weight gain. When we go out to eat, we go out to a pasta restaurant, we have bread, we have pasta. It really adds up. We go out to a Mexican restaurant, we have chips, we have tortillas, we have beans, we have rice. Carbs, we're eating larger portions. But if we have balanced plate, half non-starchy vegetables, so that broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, that type of thing; a quarter of your plate carbs and a quarter of your plate protein, it's going to be a lot more balanced out and give you the appropriate fiber and calories for your diet and needs.

Host: Well, I'd love to hear that carbs aren't fully evil. That's fantastic. If there's someone who's curious about trying a new food trend, how can they go about that safely?

Brittany Champney: So depending on kind of what the food trend is. So if it's something like a probiotic soda or mushroom coffee, you know, as long as you don't have any sensitivities to caffeine or fiber, something like that is fine to try, in my opinion. If it's a supplement, so a new vitamin or a mineral or a vitamin powder or—gosh, there's so many things, St. John's wort, all those supplements that you might see, I would not feel comfortable if you taking them, if you are on medication. So, that's where you really need to speak with your physician to make sure that there's no sort of, you know, medication interaction with those.

If it's some sort of diet, once again, depending on your health status, I think it is important to talk with a doctor, a dietician before starting a new diet, especially if it's one that requires you to be a little bit more restrictive. These professionals are available to you, and I think it's important to utilize them especially if you have underlying medical conditions.

Host: Yeah, definitely. When it comes to food and health, what do you wish more people understood?

Brittany Champney: That nutrition is not a one-size-fits-all approach. That's another reason why I think my profession exists. It's because everybody is so different. Everybody's calorie needs are different, protein needs are different, food preferences are different. And so, it's good to have an idea of the general guidelines of what's going to be healthy, but then have someone help you tailor that to you individually based off of your height, weight, preferences, medications, and any underlying conditions that you may have.

Host: Yeah, that's great to keep in mind, especially so you're not comparing your journey to other people's journeys.

Brittany Champney: Exactly. Exactly.

Host: And going backwards a little bit, you had mentioned outpatient nutrition. What does that look like at Riverside?

Brittany Champney: So, we do offer outpatient nutrition visits. We have about six slots per week. They're Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. We have a 9:00 AM or 2:00 PM slot. And that just requires referral from your primary care physician. So if you're looking to lose weight or you're struggling with, you know, a low sodium diet, you can ask for that referral and they just send that right to our outpatient pavilion, and they'll call and get you scheduled. And we'd be more than happy to see you.

Host: Fantastic. . Well, thank you so much for tuning into the Well Within Reach podcast with Brittany Champney and your host, Taylor Leddin-McMaster. And thank you, Brittany, for your time today.

Brittany Champney: Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

Host: Yeah. Be sure to liken subscribe to the Well Within Reach podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to learn more about the services at Riverside Healthcare, go to riversidehealthcare.org.