Welcome to “Food for Thought”, the Lagniappe Wellness Dietetic Intern Blog. Here we will share current intern “spotlights” and posts written by our interns!

LADA: Never Heard of Her… No, it’s Actually Diabetes!
By Cecilia D., Lagniappe Wellness Dietetic Intern Diabetes mellitus is a disease so common worldwide just about every person walking down the streets of wherever you are reading this from could tell you something about it. Maybe you have seen commercials on television for medicines to aid in diabetes management, heard the common misconception that…

An Integrative and Functional Approach to Obesity and Weight Management
By: Krista W., Lagniappe Wellness Dietetic Intern With the continuous rise of obesity rates over the past three decades, it’s no secret that we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic. It is predicted that more than half of the world’s population will be living with overweight or obesity by the year 2035 if…

An Eating Disorder Specific to Those Living with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus — Recognizing and Treating “Diabulimia”
By Maddie B., Lagniappe Wellness Dietetic Intern What is an Eating Disorder?Eating Disorders (ED) are serious mental health disorders that can detrimentally affect physical health if left untreated. Two specific diagnoses, Anorexia Nervosa (AN) and Bulimia Nervosa (BN) are generally well-known and more common diagnoses — and are most commonly associated with fear of weight…

Healing the Roots: The Role of Trauma-Informed Care in Obesity and Diabetes Care
By: Jeanette A., Lagniappe Wellness Dietetic Intern In today’s fast-paced world, the prevalence of obesity and diabetes has reached alarming levels. While medical interventions and dietary changes play crucial roles in managing these conditions, there is another vital aspect that often goes unrecognized—the impact of trauma on individuals’ health. Trauma-informed care has emerged as a…

Fiber- The Amazing Carbohydrate for Diabetes
By: Steph F., Lagniappe Wellness Dietetic Intern High-fiber diets are an important component of diabetes management. These nutritious carbohydrates add so many benefits including controlling daily blood sugars, decreasing HbA1c, reducing insulin resistance, decreasing LDL and total cholesterol, and keeping us feeling fuller longer. We will discuss each of these fantastic benefits plus much more…


Motivational Interviewing: Addressing a Crisis of Communication
By: Reuben R., Lagniappe Wellness Dietetic Intern The world of dietetics is constantly evolving. Newly emerging research on how nutrients impact our bodies and health is constantly scrutinized and the efficacy of new diets regularly discussed. Macronutrient ratios, meal timing, food composition, weight cycling, meat or meatless, organic or GMO—all topics endlessly discussed to find…

COVID-19 and Childhood Obesity
By Mara B., Lagniappe Wellness Dietetic Intern On January 10th, 2020 the covid-19 outbreak was announced in Wuhan, China. By March and April, the “world [began] to shut down” (2). This closure brought about drastic changes such as school closures which forced children to stay home. Because of the shelter in place, children had fewer…

What is Intuitive Eating? A Treatment Strategy for Binge Eating Patterns
By Makayla B, Lagniappe Wellness Dietetic Intern Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States.1 This disorder will be experienced by 2.8% of the US population at some point in their lives. To put that into perspective, it is 1.75x more prevalent than the two most well-known eating disorders combined,…

“I thought you had an eating disorder?”— The unseen link between eating disorders and obesity
By: Kelsey H., Lagniappe Wellness Dietetic Intern So what exactly is an eating disorder? Inconsistent with mainstream belief, eating disorders (ED’s) are characterized by behaviors, rather than anthropometrics (one’s general measurements) alone. When assessing individuals for a potential eating disorder diagnosis, doctors use terms such as, but are not limited to bulimia, binge eating disorder,…

Diabetes Distress
By: Dallas G., Lagniappe Wellness Dietetic Intern Mornings spent fishing on the lake, afternoons spent tubing behind the boat, and evenings spent on the back porch of my grandparent’s house were the summers I looked forward to as a child. I knew that once I arrived in Texas Hill Country, I would be fed Grandma’s…

The Insulin Crisis: A Deadly Consequence of Medical Price Gouging
By Hannah B., Lagniappe Wellness Dietetic Intern Over 31% of people with diabetes are prescribed daily insulin injections The Humble Origin of Insulin In 1921, Canadian medical scientist and physician Fredrick Banting discovered what would be known as the most significant medical invention of all time (NATAP, n.d.). His breakthrough research would enable insulin to…

Diabetes drugs for Obese Individuals with Type 1 Diabetes
By: Ivette L., LW Dietetic Intern When it comes to people with diabetes, folks assume all are type 2 and it is associated with old age and/or excess weight. While this observation is not wrong, it is quite far from the entire picture. There is actually more than one type of diabetes, but in…

Tackling Celiac in the World of Someone with Type 1 Diabetes
By: Laura B., LWDI Intern Hello! My name is Laura B. In my free time, I enjoy riding on my brother’s boat, fishing, listening to music, walking 5ks with my mom, and spending time with my family including my dog Kelly. I was diagnosed with T1D in April 2000 and wow has it been a…

Effects of a Low Carbohydrate and Ketogenic Diet on Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity
By: Lydia Parker, LWDI Intern Effects of a Low Carbohydrate and Ketogenic Diet on Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity When I look up “what is the best diet to be on” on Google, there are numerous nutrition programs such as Noom, Nutrisystem, and Weight Watchers that are suggested. However, diets such as Atkins, DASH, and…

LWDI Intern Spotlight: Hannah A.
Check out the AMAZING work Hannah has been doing during her Food Service Rotation. Way to go, Hannah! The high school district I interned at hires a third party company, Chartwells, to handle a part of their food service operations. ‘Discovery Kitchen’ is something that Chartwells hosts throughout their schools. It was created to help…

LWDI Alum Spotlight: Virginia Leads a Pantry Garden to Surpass Goals and Supply over 850 lbs of Fresh Produce to a Community in Need
Recent graduate of LWDI, Virginia, started her journey as a Dietetic Intern with a food pantry in her area. She continues to serve her community by being a leader of the team that started this community garden at the pantry. The garden has surpassed their goal of 450 lbs and has provided over 850 lbs…


LWDI Alum, Maria, Passed the RD Exam!
💫 please join us in wishing a huge CONGRATULATIONS to LWDI alum, Maria, for passing the RD exam!! 💫 We are beyond proud to introduce Maria Arana, RDN to the world of Dietetics and we know she will do amazing things in her career!Way to go Maria!! 👏

LWDI Intern Spotlight: Ivette Receives Grant from Diversify Dietetics!
We are so excited to congratulate Ivette on receiving one of the 2021 Enlightened Grants from Diversify Dietetics to help support her during her Dietetic Internship! Diversify Dietetics works to increase the racial and ethnic diversity in the field of nutrition by empowering nutrition leaders of color. We are beyond proud to have Ivette in…

LWDI Alum Spotlight: Kim lands a position at the National Diabetes & Obesity Research Institute!
Kim has landed a position with the National Diabetes & Obesity Research Institute on their team of amazing Dietitians! LWDI’s unique affiliation with NDORI allowed Kim to intern on-site with their team. We are beyond proud of her for being offered this valuable and important position to help lead the charge in Diabetes & Obesity…

LWDI Intern Spotlight: Grace Helps American Heart Association Win Grant for Underserved Clinics in Her Area!
While Grace was an intern with the American Heart Association, she collected data and created a Community Needs Assessment for her area. The Community needs assessment helped the American Heart Association write a grant proposal for race equity funding for low income low food access households. Grace was recently notified by her AHA preceptor that…

LWDI Alum, Emily, Passed the RD exam!
We are wishing a huge CONGRATULATIONS to LWDI alum, Emily, for passing the RD exam!! ✨ We are beyond proud to introduce Emily Gerrets, RD to the world of dietetics where she will be working as a clinical Dietitian in a hospital where she did part of her internship.Way to go Emily!!

LWDI Intern Spotlight: Taylor
What’s Taylor up to in her rotations? I just finished my community rotation at a grocery store chain that employs dietitians. While I was there, I helped promote healthful grocery items and sat in on phone calls and virtual consultations with clients. Currently, I am in my medical nutrition therapy rotation at a hospital nearby.…

Intern Spotlight: Alison, LWDI intern & University of Southern Mississippi Master’s Program Student.
Alison can be reached at @alisonlyons__ on instagram or ahlyons91@gmail.com if you have any questions about completing your master’s while interning with LWDI. LWDI is affiliated with USM to provide our interns the opportunity to enroll in a fully online Master’s degree program with an emphasis in Dietetics!

Intern Spotlight: Jessica interning with Hy-Vee
I am currently interning at Hy-Vee, which is a Midwest grocery store. I previously worked at Hy-Vee for four years as an assistant manager. My preceptors are dietitians that work for corporate. Some of the big projects I will be working on include hosting cooking classes via Zoom, 3 seminars for Drake University via Zoom,…

Intern Spotlight: Kenzie
Here’s how LWDI intern and Tennessee Tech University grad, Kenzie, will add “something extra” to the dietetics world: “My background in personal training and working with clients has helped me prepare for incorporating fitness and nutrition together. I would like to show the community the benefits of not only nutrition, but fitness as well and…

Intern Spotlight: Liat
Here’s how University of Tennessee grad, Liat, will add “something extra” to the Dietetics world! “Hello, my name is Liat Koenig and I am a dietetic intern at Lagniappe Wellness. I believe good nutrition is key to a healthy lifestyle and can prevent many common illnesses. As a future Registered Dietitian, I would like to…

Intern Spotlight: Emily
Here’s how Emily will add “something extra” to the dietetics world! “I’m Emily, an intern from New Orleans, Louisiana. Being from New Orleans, food surrounds everything we do and is an integral part of our culture. Something extra that I would be bringing to the table would be to show that eating a healthier diet…

Intern Spotlight: Hourig
Here’s how Hourig will add “something extra” to the Dietetics world! “As a future RDN I want to make sure I advocate for my patients and make sure all their needs are met. My lagniappe or “a little something extra” I will bring to the world of dietetics will be my own personal cultural background.…
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