Dietitian Services - University of Guelph

All University of Guelph students have access to nutrition services with a Registered Dietitian. Students can access these services in three ways:

1) Virtual Group Nutrition Services – NEW September 2021!

Group nutrition services are designed to address common nutrition concerns amongst University of Guelph students and are meant to give students access to nutrition advice at the time of their concern, with little or no wait. No registration or referral is required for new virtual group nutrition services and students may attend as many sessions as they would like.

New virtual group nutrition services will be held Wednesdays 2:30PM-3:20PM and will occur via MS teams. The session link can be found via Gryphlife

•    1st Wednesday of each month (Sept 8th [1], Oct 6th [2], Nov 3rd [3]) – Building a balanced vegetarian diet
•    2nd Wednesday of each month (Sept 15th [4], Oct 13th [5], Nov 10th [6]) – Nutrition for mental well-being
•    3rd Wednesday of each month (Sept 22nd [7], Oct 20th [8], Nov 17th [9]) – Managing low appetite
•    4th Wednesday of each month (Sept 29th [10], Oct 27th [11], Nov 24th [12]) – Nutritious meal planning

Take the Stress out of IBS will continue each semester. Students can register on Kathy Somers' website [13]. There is a $20 fee for University of Guelph students to attend this program. F21 group will run Fridays from 12:30PM-1:30PM Oct 22nd-Nov 19th. 

Meal Support Group will continue to run each semester. F21 group will run Tuesdays 12:00PM-1:00PM from October 19th-November 23. Meal Support Group is facilitated by Lindzie O'Reilly, MAN, RD and Samantha Durfy, MA, MSW, RSW. Please see the Counselling Services Website [14] for information on how to be referred to this group.

SWS Monthly cooking classes will resume when it is safe to do so.

2) One-to-One Nutrition Appointments

One-to-one nutrition appointments are available with a referral. Students can speak to their SWS Health Care provider to complete a referral or they may complete a self-referral form ​by downloading and completing the self-referral form [15] and emailing it to loreilly@uoguelph.ca. Please note that high demand for this service usually results in a several week wait for an appointment.

3) Nutrition Services on Demand

Student groups, varsity teams, and U of G professors are welcome to request a guest lecture or workshop by emailing Lindzie at loreilly@uoguelph.ca.

Common Nutrition Questions

Food is a common conversation topic with friends and family. Since everyone needs to eat, everyone tends to have their own opinion about, and approach to, food. Couple that with an overwhelming amount of nutrition information in the media and it can be incredibly hard to get reliable, evidence-based answers. Here are some answers to common questions we hear from students. If you have a nutrition-related question, feel free to email our dietitian at loreilly@uoguelph.ca [16].

• If red meat is 'probably carcinogenic', should I stop eating it? [17]
• Should I be reducing my sugar intake? [18]
• Is a gluten-free diet healthier? What are the risks? [19]
• I'm going to the gym more often, do I need to change my diet? [20]
• Does morning exercise burn more fat? [21]
• I've heard you shouldn't eat after 7pm. Is that true? [22]
• Does drinking milk increase my risk of kidney stones? [23]
• Should I be taking a supplement? [24]
• Will eating carbs make me gain weight? [25]
• Is soy safe to eat? [26]
• Are there certain foods I can eat to decrease inflammation? [27]
• Will calorie counts on restuarant menus help us eat better? [28]

Looking for credible information on the most popular fad diets? The following information was created by AHN students Renée Ouellette and Victoria Hanson.

• 6 Strategies to Identify Reliable Nutrition Information [29]
• Intermittent Fasting [30]
• Paleo & Whole 30 [31]
• The Ketogenic Diet [32]
• Detox Diets and Juice Cleanses [33]

Recipes

Learn everything you need to know about cooking eggs [34].

Looking to add more legumes? Try lentils [35] and Ontario beans [36].

Learn which fruits and veggies are in season when and how to prepare them from Foodland Ontario [37].

Additional Resources

Guelph Student Foodbank [38] - In an effort to combat hunger and poverty on campus and in the greater Guelph community, the Guelph Student FoodBank provides graduate and undergraduate University of Guelph students access to emergency food, anti-poverty resources, and referrals to other food security, anti-poverty and financial assistance groups. This service is always confidential.

The SEED [39] - The SEED is a community food project of the Guelph Community Health Centre. About 16% of households in Guelph are food insecure (Guelph Wellbeing, 2014). Our goal is to change that by offering programs and services that tackle the root causes of poverty. We are supported by hundreds of amazing community members and by many partner organizations.

Sustainable Market [40] - Some of us eat local, others eat organically, and for others, affordability is king. We believe in bringing every household (whether small or large) affordable, high quality goods from farms and producers that meet our very strict standards. This is why we operate with no membership fees, and disclose with pride, where we are sourcing YOUR food from.

Food Safety - How to Clean Up Your Act at Home [41] - Food-borne illnesses post a threat on public health, and the consequences of consuming unsafe food and drink can be devastating. Refresh your knowledge of safe food handling to prevent yourself and those you cook for from getting sick from food-borne illnesses.