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Giving Back To The Latinx Community

LEDA MEDINA

RDN, LDN

POLICY ADVOCACY LEADER

Over the last year, I developed a platform called Latina Nutritionista� I help the Latinx community thrive by helping them quit chronic dieting, honor their health, and embrace their bodies, culture and authentic selves� The entire reason for this project was to help dismantle the stereotypical, diet-culture trends which tend to villainize ethnic foods and bodies� After seeing this throughout my career in dietetics, I wanted to do something about it� It is my passion project, but it is also a way that I pay it forward to Latinas who struggle with their body images and diet culture as I once did�

Leda Medina, RDN, LDN, is the proud owner of LatinaNutritionista�com, a blog dedicated to help the Latinx community quit chronic dieting, honor their health and embrace their cultures and bodies� In her spare time, you can find her in the kitchen whipping up a new recipe or cooking a meal for her all-time best friend, Capone, her English bulldog�

DEFINITION OF LATINX

(MERRIAM-WEBSTER)

: of, relating to, or marked by Latin American heritage - used as a gender-neutral alternative to Latino or Latina

In the process of supporting the Latinx community I have gained friends and colleagues� It has opened up a world of networks that I did not belong to before my platform� These dietitians support one another, understand each other and are always willing to help�

Through the power of social media, Latina Nutritionista was listed on PopSugar’s “8 Latinx Nutritionists and Dietitians Fighting Dieting Myths on Instagram�” It was amazing to see how many other dietitians were fighting the same battle� I have been an RD for seven years, but I had not met anyone with the same mindset or background until I started Latina Nutritionista� I am genuinely grateful for these professional relationships as they have helped

me continue to grow on a personal

level as well as on a business level� I remember having a mentor in college who helped me through the journey of becoming a dietitian� She was a Latina, a dietitian and a professor at a top university� As a first-generation college student and a child of immigrants this meant the world to me� Later through my platform I connected with an RD-to-be who was also Latina and first-generation college student like myself� As a mentor for her I paid it forward to the next generation of Latina dietitians� Along this journey of helping my mentee, I gained a friend and a colleague�

Sometimes we forget how far we have come along in our dietetic careers� We may take for granted our learning experiences and the many people who have helped us get to where we are today� I hope this inspires you to pay it forward to others who may be going through the same challenges you once faced in your career�