Elizabeth M. Ward, MS, RD -- a Kaboose.com medical advisor -- is a dietitian, freelance writer, and nutrition consultant. Widely published, she is the author of the following books:

• The American Dietetic Association’s Expect The Best: Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During, and After Pregnancy (Wiley, 2009)
• The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to the New Food Pyramids (Alpha, 2006)
• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Feeding Your Baby and Toddler (Alpha, 2005)
• Healthy Foods, Healthy Kids, A Complete Guide to Nutrition for Children from Birth to Six Years Old (Adams Media, 2002)
• Pregnancy Nutrition: Good Health for You and Your Baby (Wiley, 1998)

In addition, Ward is the co-author of Super Nutrition After 50 (Publications International, 1994); and is a contributing editor to Pillsbury’s Healthy Baking (Viking Press, 1995).  She regularly writes for several publications including Men’s Fitness, Fit Pregnancy, and WebMD.com, is a contributing editor for Environmental Nutrition, and maintains the Diet Challenge Blog on USAToday.com. 

As a member of the American Dietetic Association and a former spokeswoman for the professional organization, Ward has been featured in nearly 1,000 print and broadcast interviews, including CNN, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times, and The Boston Globe.

An acclaimed nutrition expert, she has been a speaker at more than 100 professional meetings, including The American College of Nurse-Midwives, The American Dietetic Association, The Massachusetts Dietetic Association, The Florida Dietetic Association, The National Association of Catering Executives, The Pennsylvania School Food Service Association, and the International Congress of Dietetics, in Paris.

Ward also created and conducted corporate nutrition education programs for five years at Medical Care Affiliates, in Boston, where she also counseled ambulatory patients. She has worked at the Joslin Diabetes Center and the American Heart Association, and for seven years she counseled children and adults about healthy eating and disease prevention at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, in Boston.

Her educational background includes an undergraduate degree in human nutrition at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; a one-year dietetic internship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston, and a masters degree in Mass Communication at Boston University.  She is a recipient of the 125 Alumni to Watch Award from the University of Massachusetts and in the past was named Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year by the Massachusetts Dietetic Association.

Ward lives in Reading, Massachusetts, with her husband and three daughters.