Anna L. and Elizabeth chat with Monika Saigal, a Certified Eating Disorders Registered Dietitian, and former dancer, about her efforts to make the dance world a healthier and safer place. Monika highlights the importance of giving dancers the knowledge and tools they need to properly nourish their bodies, and teaching dancers how to cultivate positive body image. We discuss:

• Ways to navigate the pressures that exist in the dance world to conform to a particular body shape and size
• How the lack of body representation in the dance world calls for a rejection of the thin ideal and embracing body diversity
• The importance of parents and dancers seeking nutrition advice from qualified sources (i.e. Registered Dietitian)
• Signs parents can be on the lookout for if their child is not getting adequate nutrition
• How absence of a period is a major red flag for girls due to the health-related consequences of not menstruating

Monika is a Certified Eating Disorders Registered Dietitian, a New York State Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist, and the founder of ms nutrition, PC. She has been a Registered Dietitian for over a decade and has helped thousands of clients improve their relationship with food and their body.

Monika’s favorite IG accounts:

@ddd_centre_for_recovery 

@ausdancersoverseas 

@alexia_performancenutrition

Links:

• MS Nutrition (Monika’s website)
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition

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