Diabetes Education & Nutrition Services

What is Diabetes Education & Nutrition Services?

When you are diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes, your primary care doctor may refer you to our Diabetes Education Program. Your visit will be with a Certified Diabetes Educator who has a Nursing and/or Nutrition background and is specialized in Diabetes Education. They are here to help you make important dietary changes, control your blood sugar (glucose), and manage your weight if needed. This level of education is critical as you learn how to self-manage your diabetes.

Nutrition Services provide adults and children with counseling for a variety of health conditions, like weight management, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and heart disease. Our Registered Dietitians can help you create lifestyle changes that will improve your overall health. A referral from your primary care doctor is needed for individual sessions.

How We Are Different

Our Certified Diabetic Educators and Registered Dietitians provide you with the tools and understanding needed to develop habits that improve your health. We collaborate with your primary care physician, along with specialists from our Endocrinology Department, to bring you the educational resources you need for greater health.

Our team provides one-on-one and group support for both Diabetes Education and Nutrition Services. We offer individual sessions and group classes for diabetes care, as well as a free monthly Diabetes Support Group.

Education is available for newly diagnosed and previously diagnosed people interested in the latest information.  You will meet individually with a Registered Nurse and/or Registered Dietician who are Certified Diabetes Educators.  You either attend group classes or complete additional one-on-one appointments with a nurse or dietitian educator.  A referral is required from a physician for you to enter the program.

Topics may include the following:

• Basic Diabetes Education
• Blood glucose monitoring
• Exercise guidelines
• Gestational Diabetes
• Goal setting
• Insulin pump therapy or Continuous Glucose monitoring
• Meal planning: carbohydrate counting, weight management, low-fat meals, dining out, and more
• Medication and insulin instruction
• Psychosocial support
• Risk management and complication prevention

We offer Pre Diabetes classes quarterly for nominal fee $25. Must call to register for class. No referral is needed to attend these classes.

Monthly Diabetes Support Group meeting are held the 2nd Tuesday of every month at our 87th Avenue site location. No registration is needed to attend any meeting.

Nutrition Services department consists of dietitians and nutrition advocates who work closely with medical staff to provide the best possible nutrition and nutrition education to patients – called medical nutrition therapy (MNT).

A registered dietitian is a highly trained food and nutrition expert who works closely with you to help you develop healthy eating habits – whether your desire is to prevent illness and disease, or to use nutrition to manage existing conditions or weight.

With a referral from a doctor, you can see a dietitian for general nutrition information or any condition that includes diet and nutrition as part of its management.

Topics may include the following:

• Diabetes
• Cancer
• Celiac Disease
• Eating difficulties
• Eating disorders
• Heart disease
• Kidney Disease
• Malnutrition
• Nutrition in pregnancy and lactation
• Obesity
• Weight Management

How can I schedule an appointment?
Call 360-882-2778 and ask for the Endocrinology department to schedule an education appointment. Diabetes classes are three-hours long, and occur over a three week time period. We offer classes morning, afternoon or night depending on your schedule. Referrals are required from a medical provider for insurance to cover any services.

We also offer Pre-Diabetes class and a Healthy Eating class for adults (REACH). These classes are offered on Saturday morning 3-4 times per year. These classes vary in location between our 87th Avenue Clinic and Salmon Creek. Each class is 2hr long and has a registration fee of $25.00. No referral is needed.

Can a person “reverse” or prevent pre-diabetes?
Yes! Even when you have risk factors for pre-diabetes, you can take steps to prevent the disease from happening. And if you already have pre-diabetes, these same actions can help keep it from becoming type 2 diabetes.

• Be active. Walk more, take the stairs, park farther away from entrances and exits—these extra steps add up in your favor! The more activity you get, the more glucose your body will use, thereby keeping sugars from building up in your blood.
• If you are overweight- aim to lose 5% to 10% of your body weight. For a 200-pound man, for instance, that would be 10 to 20 pounds. A little bit makes a huge difference.
• Make healthier food choices. Start small like eating extra fruits, vegetables or fiber, while cutting back on fried food.

Can you recommend a good “diabetes diet”?

The specialists in our Diabetes and Nutrition Department, along with your primary care physician, will work with you to develop a diet around your specific needs. In general, here are some tips to consider when planning meals:

• Focus on healthier carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes (beans, peas and lentils) and low-fat dairy products.
• Increase dietary fiber, including vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes (beans, peas and lentils), whole-wheat flour and wheat bran.
• Choose fish as an alternative to high-fat meats. Cod, tuna and halibut have less total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than red meat and poultry. Meanwhile, fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines and bluefish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which promote heart health.
• Don’t be afraid of ‘good’ fats from foods such as avocados, almonds, pecans, walnuts, or olives, as well as certain oils (canola, olive and peanut).

Is it true that diabetes is related to the body’s endocrine system?
Yes. Diabetes is the most common endocrine disease in the U.S. You can learn more about the body’s endocrine system by visiting our Endocrinology page.