What is Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT)?
Whether you are a physician or a patient, no doubt diet modification has come up in your appointments.
MNT is not as simple as "calories-in-calories-out," it's a complex, in-depth look into a patient's medical condition.
Medical Nutrition Therapy, or MNT, is clinical, nutrition-based treatment for temporary and chronic health conditions. For example, whether a patient is newly diagnosed as a diabetic or has been diabetic 15 years, MNT is appropriate and can help. In addition to the patient’s reported history, their lab work, medications, supplements, and medical history will be reviewed and integrated into the plan of care. This information helps the registered dietitian understand what nutrients may need to be increased, decreased, or avoided altogether. Often times, insurance will cover some form of nutrition counseling, whether it is considered preventative or true MNT for a condition diagnosed by a medical provider.
Other conditions Reformed Nutrition uses MNT to treat:
Insulin Resistance
Diabetes & Pre-diabetes
Hypertension
Cardiovascular Disease
Surgical Weight Loss
GI Conditions
Guidance with Nutrition Support (EN, PN)
Food Intolerances
Weight Management
And More!
What to expect:
MNT with Reformed Nutrition will include a combination of nutrition education and behavioral counseling. Unlike most dietitians, I pursued a Master’s Degree in Clinical Counseling in order to be better at my job as a registered dietitian. The appointments may very well feel like a counseling! And that’s not a bad thing! We’re after sustainable and long-term solutions, not a quick fix.
In general, the process includes nutrition assessment, diagnosis, intervention, and monitoring / evaluation. In that process, we seek out both objective and subjective information for thorough guidance. The physician’s treatment plan, the patient’s medications and supplements, most recent lab work, and mental, emotional, and social factors at play will all be taken into consideration.
Patients will all receive a tailored treatment plan to address individual patient needs. MNT here is not a “cut and paste” process. Depending on the patient, we may or may not pursue tracking nutrition, supplementation, exercise intervention, different diet approaches, meal planning, and other means. Notably, MNT should ONLY be provided by qualified medical professionals, such as a licensed and registered dietitian (not coaches, trainers or “nutritionists” that are not an RD).
References:
1) Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) To Manage Chronic Medical Conditions (clevelandclinic.org)