Want to know whether skipping breakfast is really that bad? Confused by all the talk about bugs in your gut?
A simple trip to the Health Center at Auraria and a visit with registered dietitian Natalie Nowalk could help sort it out. As of this month, Nowak is the center’s full-time nutrition counselor, available five days a week to answer questions, offer advice and generally help Metropolitan State University of Denver students and employees eat better and feel better.
There’s more good news: “It’s completely free, whether you have insurance or not,” Nowak said.
Previously, her role at the Health Center was part time. But her new 40-hour week means she can fit in more individual counseling, as well as more outreach across campus.
One of the events she’s planning is an “Intuitive Eating Group” that focuses on body image in a way that “gets away from the idea of calorie restrictions and your body having to look a certain way to feel good,” said Nowak, who is a certified intuitive eating counselor.

Not that she’s giving up her previous work, which included providing individual counseling. Many of the students she works with also see mental-health counselors for anxiety and attention-deficit disorder, conditions that can be complicated by certain foods. “If their diet isn’t great on top of that, that’s a main source of referrals,” she said.
She also plans to continue helping MSU Denver’s athletes master nutritional habits and techniques that fuel peak performance. “I do a lot of sports nutrition for our athletes,” she said, “and do cooking demonstrations for them at the beginning of each semester.”
With all that on her plate, so to speak, it’s no wonder her job is now full time.
As for those questions about what’s living in your gut, Nowak has the answers. “We’re actually going to be doing a Lunch and Learn series on the gut microbiome” this spring, she said.
Lunch & Learn Series
Balancing Your Body’s Blood Sugar
Monday, Feb. 10 | noon-1 p.m.
The Magnificent Gut Microbiome
Monday, March 17 | noon-1 p.m.
Understanding the Impacts of Ultra-processed Foods
Monday, April 14 | noon-1 p.m.