Nutrition Services

Jody Margolis, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for UCI's Student Health Center and Center for Student Wellness & Health Promotion, is featured in the September issue of OC Family magazine.

Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT)

Our Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) at SHC provides medical nutrition therapy for UCI students. MNT services are scheduled through the Student Health Center. However, your appointment with the RDN for MNT services may occur at either the Student Health Center (SHC) or at the Center for Student Wellness & Health Promotion (CSWHP) depending upon appointment date/time. If you wish to communicate with the RDN (or another member of our medical team) regarding a non-urgent matter related to your health care, please login to the Student Health Patient Portal which is a secure online portal  that provides secure messaging. This is the only method that you should use for communicating with a provider. Reminder: E-mail is not a secure form of communications regarding your health care. Our providers are advised NOT to communicate with patients using regular e-mail.

 

 

Medical nutrition therapy (MNT) is a therapeutic approach to treating medical conditions and their associated symptoms via the use of a specifically tailored diet devised and monitored by a physician or registered dietitian nutritionist. MNT can help you with a variety of conditions including eating disorders, pre-diabetes/diabetes, elevated cholesterol and blood pressure, digestive disorders, and weight management. Our Eating Disorder Treatment Team meets monthly and includes a physician, registered dietitian, psychiatrist, and social worker who work together to coordinate the care of our students struggling with eating disorders. In addition, we work closely with the Counseling Center or SHC staff to refer students to psychologists/therapists in the community who have special expertise with these conditions.

Yes, to determine medical necessity/diagnosis and to ensure coverage by health insurance.

MNT is covered by most health insurance plans if deemed to be medically necessary. Students without SHIP pay the full cost of their visit and treatments at SHC and the corresponding charges are sent directly to your campus billing account. You may obtain a copy of an itemized statement of your charges and receipt to submit to your own non-SHIP insurance carrier for possible reimbursement. Click here. for fees for the most common services at SHC including MNT and for instructions on how to obtain a copy of an itemized statement of your charges and receipt of payment. Note that HMO plans typically will not reimburse you for care that you receive at SHC or at other providers outside of the HMO network without prior authorization

Initial sessions are typically 60 minutes in length. Follow-up sessions are typically 30 minutes in length. Call 949-824-5304 to schedule an appointment. (Note that our Registered Dietitian Nutritionist maintains office hours at both the Student Health Center and at the Center for Student Wellness and Health Promotion. Therefore, your appointment for MNT may occur at either location.)

MNT is a covered benefit under the SHIP plan. Copays may apply. Visit the Health Insurance page for detailed information regarding benefits, copays and fees.

Nutrition Education

Free nutrition education sessions are also available by a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist at UCI’s Center for Student Wellness & Health Promotion (CSWHP) on a variety of topics including: general nutrition, food label reading, healthy eating on a budget, sports nutrition, body image, and weight management.

Sessions are one hour in length. Email Jody Margolis, MS, RDN directly at margolj1@uci.edu to schedule an appointment at CSWHP for free nutrition education sessions

No charge applies to nutrition education services at CSWHP.

No referral is necessary for nutrition education services at CSWHP.

Nutrition Links and Information

Diabetes and Diet

 

Nat’l. Institute of Diabetes, Digestive & Kidney Diseases www.niddk.nih.gov
American Diabetes Association www.diabetes.org

Eating Disorders

 

Eat-26 (self-test) psychology-tools.com/eat-26
ANAD (support group/help) www.ANAD.org
Nat’l. Eating Disorders Assoc. www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
UCI Counseling Center (therapy/body image group) www.counseling.uci.edu
70 Resources to Support Eating Disorder Recovery www.onlinemswprograms.com/resources/resources-eating-disorder-recovery

Nutrition and Wellness (articles, recipes, etc.)

 

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics www.eatright.org
My Plate www.choosemyplate.gov
Weight loss www.nnnlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/wtl_prog.htm
UCI Hospitality and Dining www.uci.campusdish.com
Body composition testing www.campusrec.uci.edu/testing
UC Davis Integrative Medicine ucdintegrativemedicine.com/recipes
UCI Cooking Classes www.campusrec.uci.edu/cooking
UCI Smart Eater’s Life Skill Series www.studentwellness.uci.edu

Sports Nutrition

 

SCAN (fact sheets) www.scandpg.org/sports-nutrition

Food Insecurity

 

UCI SOAR Food Pantry (free food) soar.uci.edu/food-pantry
UCI Cal Fresh (food assistance benefits) www.whcs.uci.edu/csw/uc_basicneeds.html
UC Berkeley $5/day meal plan www.uhs.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/sos-eatingwell5dollarsaday.pdf