“I see such potential to help people through physical means and nutrition knowledge to improve health and well being,” says registered dietitian Amanda Paltzer. “Mothers are the pillars of cultures and societies, and children are the futures. It is so important to increase their access to nutritious food and give them the tools to understand how to eat to be healthy.”
Paltzer works with the Women, Infants and Children program in Madison and Dane County in Wisconsin, and says she love the opportunity to see different kinds of people every day, all at varying stages of interest in nutrition and desire to make changes. Part of why Paltzer became an RD was to make messages about good nutrition clear to people and to help them to see through misinformation from media, celebrities, fashion and advertising. “I want people to understand that eating healthy can be simple, satisfying and taste good… and it doesn't mean eating only carrots and lettuce,” says Paltzer.
Her path to maternal and child nutrition began in 2005, when she spent four years in central Africa teaching nutrition and counseling patients at a clinic in Zambia. Paltzer says working with a different culture deepened her interest in public health, and that while meeting some goals can be challenging, her career as a registered dietitian is very rewarding.
“I truly believe it is necessary to help those who are food insecure and so important to all of our cultures,” says Paltzer. “It is a challenge working within people’s beliefs and habits and getting them to really believe, own and act on the nutrition knowledge we provide.”
