Karina Almanza, MS, RDN, CDCES
Karina Almanza is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist specializing in diabetes care and hormone health, pediatric nutrition, plant-based nutrition, digestive health, and healing your relationship with food.
She earned her Bachelor of Science in Clinical Nutrition from the University of California, Davis and her Master’s degree in Human Nutrition from California State University, Northridge.
Karina practices as a full-time outpatient dietitian at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, where she leads evidence-based programs in diabetes management (including gestational diabetes and prevention), cardiac health, weight management, sleep hygiene, stress management, and behavior-focused lifestyle change.
As lead Pediatric Dietitian for the Pediatric Endocrinology, she supports children and families managing type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Through her clinical experience, she developed additional expertise in selective eating and sensory sensitivities. She is trained in the SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) Approach to Feeding, helping children gently expand food variety while building confidence and positive mealtime experiences.
Karina’s work extends beyond medical nutrition therapy. She is deeply committed to helping clients rebuild trust with their bodies, heal their relationship with food and with themselves and integrates components of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) into her work. Her approach is compassionate, collaborative, and rooted in sustainable change — because true wellness includes both physical health and a peaceful relationship with food.
What clients say
Before working with Karina, I was frustrated with out-of-control eating which led to feeling terrible physically and emotionally much of the time. You were very easy to talk to about a lot of aspects of my life that were frustrating me. Karina made very small and doable suggestions for me to try, and didn’t dictate what to do, what to eat, what to not eat. I felt - and feel - I could absolutely trust her with anything I needed to talk about.
After working with Karina, I’m easier on myself, more forgiving and patient, than I was before we worked together. I gained a lot of insight into myself - not just eating habits but how I see myself - working with Karina. And I appreciate it very much!
In my work with Karina, I learned how to incorporate mindful eating, adding vegetables, adding more rather than denying what you want. I learned how to practice radical acceptance and not getting upset about not meeting a goal. The compassion and kindness Karina practiced with me in each session was something that overtime, I started to lend myself more easily. She made small and fun goals with me like how to make better food choices and still enjoy foods I love, like adding vegetables to pizza. Instead of just a cheese sandwich, adding avocado and spinach. It's a revolutionary idea to add rather than to subtract. My way of thinking about food has changed to thinking more positively, focusing on the things to add, rather than "denying" myself, restricting or dieting.
Karina Almanza finds a manageable food plan by bringing in her research and experience with strategies that help children get personalized results aiming for nourishment and optimal development. She listened and addressed all our concerns and would go above and beyond to find answers to some of our more nuanced questions. At the end of each session she completed with a few goals that felt doable. We've met and exceeded important food milestones with Karina as our guide. Highly recommend!
Working with Karina felt supportive, and felt like you had accountability. It was nice and refreshing to have a goal to work towards. The equivalent to doing exercise with someone, Karina was a supportive partner in what you're trying to accomplish, similarly to having a coach. A kin to therapy. Most people lack support in their lives, it's different from friends or family support. Specialized and specific to nutrition changes and understanding more about it. What you feel like you know about nutrition is exactly that, Karina actually knows about nutrition who can give more concrete facts and information.