Candid Conversations

What does nutrition care look like when you have an autoimmune disease? By Juliana Tamayo, WH DPG Student Partner Being chronically ill is a struggle, but having an autoimmune disease makes things much more complicated, especially when it comes to nutrition. I suffer from three different autoimmune diseases: systemic lupus erythematosus, Crohn’s disease, and eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). All of these affect the way I’m supposed to eat and how my body utilizes nutrients. However, access to adequate nutrition and dietetic services can be limited, particularly because there is still a large gap in knowledge on nutritional needs for those ...

What It Means To Be A Disabled Latina and Future RDN By Juliana Tamayo, WH DPG Student Partner Dietitians Changed My Life I remember the day I finally got my first diagnosis. It had been a long and hard battle. I’m Latina, born and raised in Colombia, but I have called the United States my home for 10 years. Everything changed once I got sick. I couldn’t keep food down and I lost weight quickly. In the eyes of many doctors, though, I wasn’t sick enough, or it was all in my head. I owe my team of dietitians my life. Not only did they believe me, and saw through the diagnoses, but they encouraged me. I went from being malnourished and scared, ...

Greetings! Thank you for engaging with our Candid Conversations . This section of our website will be used to highlight articles and videos by WH DPG Student Partners. Our Student Partners are dynamic individuals that have elected to lead the charge of increasing diversity and inclusion within the practice of nutrition and dietetics. True to the mission of “diversity and inclusion,” the Student Partners’ work will take on many forms – articles, interviews, social media content and even leadership. Ultimately, each form will stand to recognize, respect, and include differences that represent a spectrum of lived experiences. Each form will challenge us to ...