Why a Dietitian?
Trust (noun):
A firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.
It is considered best practice for a healthcare practitioner to prioritize building trust with their newly established patients/clients over the first few visits. As trust and the relationship strengthens, it generally allows for the client to feel comfortable and not doubt or question any of the practitioner’s recommendations. Some individuals feel this way and fully trust the practitioner before meeting with them. In both cases, a trustworthy relationship can be either a good or really bad thing. It is a great thing if the practitioner has adequate training and education behind their approach, recommendations, and overall guidance. However, on the other hand, this can be a big problem if a “professional” does not.
Take this as a friendly reminder to always trust your gut. Whether this experience happens to you personally, or someone you know. If anything ever seems off or doesn’t feel right about a recommendation or guidance that you receive from any kind of professional, listen to that feeling and seek help elsewhere.
Quick story: A woman in her mid-50’s began seeing me for nutrition counseling following working with another local nutrition counselor for years. At our first appointment, I discovered that her focus was on the number on the scale, she was terrified to eat any fruit besides berries (because she was told they were too high in sugar), she ate plain fat free Greek yogurt and boxed egg whites despite disliking both of these foods (because she was told she had to in order to meet her protein needs and not go over on her fat intake), and the list goes on and on. This woman believed that her health was defined by the weight on the scale, she was afraid to eat anything “off of her plan” (which was WAY too low in calories), and she overall didn’t feel very well. Despite all of this, she still thought that the nutrition counselor she was seeing was great because she kept her on track (by yelling at her when she gained weight at her weigh in). She happened across me by word of mouth, and she assumed that I was going to have a similar approach to nutrition. She didn’t expect me to debunk all of the nutrition myths that had been engrained in her and lead her onto the path towards overall wellness and a balanced relationship with food. There was true shock on this sweet woman’s face when I encouraged eating nourishing foods like pasture raised chicken eggs, avocados, almond butter, steel-cut oatmeal, and apples.
In this story, the issue was that this client TRUSTED everything that this other nutrition counselor told her, and it caused more damage than good. Years of fear around food, undereating, and avoiding eating so many nutrient rich foods. I wish I could say that this was the only story that I have to share about someone receiving bad nutrition advice that was damaging, but it happens all the time.
For most professions (Medical Doctors, for example), there are many rules, laws, and ethics in place that prevent someone from practicing “outside of their scope” and giving medical advice if they are not licensed/credentialed. However, unfortunately the nutrition professional field seems to have many blurry lines, if you will.
Food for thought: Who do you know that gives nutrition advice, teaches nutrition classes, or sees individuals for nutrition counseling? Is that person a Registered Dietitian (RD)? If you aren’t sure - look at their website or ask them personally this question.
Spoiler, there is quite the difference between a Registered Dietitian versus a Nutritionist, Health Coach, Certified Nutrition Coach, Holistic health coach, Personal Trainer, Ex-body builder that is a self-proclaimed nutrition expert, etc.
*Photo by Nutrition Awareness RD*The above photo is a good summary of the key point differences. RD’s must attend college, majoring in nutrition/dietetics for 4-6 years plus another year of completing an unpaid accredited internship. The internship process is very competitive to begin with, and then upon completion there is a quite grueling registration exam to pass. Following that, the RD must maintain licensure in the state or states they are practicing in. In order to maintain both the RD credential and the state licensure the RD must complete a number of hours of continuing education each year.
Many of the profession titles other than an RD are usually certifications achieved in a few months online, or even just self-proclamation of being a nutrition expert. There are always some exceptions, and it is important to say that some nutritionists do have a bachelor’s degree in dietetics (and they did not go on to do the internship/exam to become and RD), and many health coaches and trainers can absolutely be very knowledgeable on nutrition (but, ethics). Seeking guidance from an RD is the way to avoid biased recommendations and general nutrition misinformation.
I would love to get through the rest of this post without calling out other professions, but I think it is necessary for growth as well as starting conversations about the importance of referring to other professionals when needed. Just like how I could never give someone physical therapy when personal training them, or how I could never adjust someone’s medication dosage during a nutrition counseling meeting, understanding scope of practice is essential.
I mentioned blurry lines above when it comes to nutrition ethics when it comes to other professions. Personal trainers are probably one of the most common health professionals to step across that blurry line into doing things outside of their scope of practice. Don’t get me wrong, I know so many amazing personal trainers that refer to RD’s and are mindful of their scope. I am personally a personal trainer myself and on the training exam by NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine), the answer to pretty much any question related to nutrition was “refer out to a Registered Dietitian”. We know that most trainers understand what is inside and outside of their scope, but I think it is more convenient for them to “handle” nutrition for their training clients. Trainers can give very surface level nutrition recommendations to their clients. For example, eat more fruit or veggies or protein. However, what is outside of their scope of practice is prescribing diets and doing medical nutrition therapy. Specifics regarding what is in and out of a trainers scope does slightly vary in each state.
Additionally, there are many highly educated healthcare professionals such as doctors, chiropractors, nurses, etc. that also give nutrition advice. There are some of these professionals that do have nutrition degrees or take continuing education courses in nutrition, but the average doctor takes one nutrition course in all of their years of schooling. I think that it is important to say that just because someone has a PhD does not mean that they are an expert on all topics. There is a reason why the field of dietetics was created. RD’s are considered the experts in the field of nutrition so that these other professions can focus on all of the continuing education and up to date research that pertains to their specialty.
I am writing this blog as a call to action in hopes that this will spread awareness of the differences between an RD and other “nutrition professionals”. Please share this blog, spread the word, start conversations and speak to others about it. Look for the RD credential, and encourage people that you know to do the same. I know that I speak on behalf of all Registered Dietitians when I say that we will be doing a happy dance if you do.
