James Alvarado, RD

Nutritious wishes! Creating a healthful, lasting eating pattern can feel unbelievably daunting—but it doesn't have to be! Through thoughtful, engaging visits and achievable interventions tailored just for you, I'm here to hold your hand along the journey. No matter your nutrition concerns, know that making healthy changes won't have to mean sacrificing lots of time, money, and, most importantly, flavor!

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With a background in culinary nutrition, public health, and higher education, my approach to nutrition care is hands-on, strengths-based, transformational, and grounded in Empowerment Theory and Health at Every Size approaches. Nutrition isn't always just about the food, and so I take keen interest in learning about your medical, mental health, and social history to not only co-create a customized nutrition plan, but to help you cultivate a foundation for a healthful food environment at home, at work, and beyond.

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Sometimes, we know what to do to make healthy changes and how to do it, but get stuck on the implementation, losing motivation along the way. I have over seven years of experience in nutrition counseling in challenging environments, including long-term psychiatric inpatient care, collegiate health/athletics, and institutionalized settings, and so I am here to help bolster you when the going gets tough with creative and innovative solutions to roadblocks.

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As your expert guide, I am prepared and eager to provide you compassionate and quality care for even the most complex concerns under the nutrition gamut. I specialize in nutrition for eating disorders and disordered eating; emotional eating; mood disorders, ASD/ADHD, and other mental illnesses (including nutrition-related effects of psychotropic medications); cardiovascular health; diabetes; gastrointestinal illnesses; food insecurity; and sports/fitness nutrition. However, I am happily available to provide nutrition therapy for other conditions, including in cases in which several overlapping concerns are present at once.

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As for bona fides, I hold a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, where I graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors in 2015. After relocating to California, I completed one of the nation's few paid Dietetic Internship programs with the California Department of State Hospitals in 2016. Since that time, I've worked in a number of in- and outpatient care settings throughout Southern California as a Registered Dietitian and Health Educator, honing clinical acumen and counseling skillsets over both in-person and telehealth modalities.

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I am passionate about nutrition issues affecting BIPOC communities and advancing health equity causes; I was humbled to receive the Commission on Dietetic Registration Diversity Award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as well as the California State University, Fullerton Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award in 2020. Outside of work, I enjoy spontaneous road trips to less-traveled places, low-budget renovation (currently DIY-ing a mountain cabin), culinary outings with my husband and friends (forever a foodie), developing (and taste-testing!) new recipes, and supporting climate and food justice advocacy movements.