Jennifer K. Nelson, R.D., L.D.

Jennifer Nelson is your link to a better diet. As specialty editor for food and nutrition, she plays a vital role in bringing you healthy recipes and meal planning.

"Nutrition is one way people have direct control over the quality of their lives," she says. "I hope to translate the science of nutrition into ways that people can select and prepare great-tasting foods that help maintain health and treat disease."

Nelson, a St. Paul, Minn., native, is a registered dietitian and a former associate professor of nutrition, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Before retiring from clinical practice, Nelson was the director of clinical dietetics for Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. In that role, she provided direction for a staff of more than 70 clinical dietitians and oversaw staffing, strategic planning, and quality improvement. Nelson was co-editor of the James Beard Foundation Award-winning "The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook" and the New York Times best-seller "The Mayo Clinic Diet."

She's been a contributing author to and reviewer of many other Mayo Clinic books and publications, including "The Mayo Clinic Family Health Book," "The Mayo Clinic/Williams Sonoma Cookbook" and the "Mayo Clinic Health Letter." She contributes to the strategic direction of nutrition, healthy eating and healthy recipes content, including creating recipes and menus, preparing and reviewing nutrition content, contributing to the Nutrition-wise blog, and answering nutrition questions.