The Dietitian Effect
Hey everybody! The school year has started, the stress levels are rising, and the program gets harder by the minute! So I decided to ignore my mountain of textbooks for just a minute so I could write a post that I hope will be informational. And yes, these are most of the textbooks and notebooks I will be using this semester...yay!
This past week in my classes we have been discussing what it means to be a dietitian. Who are these people? Where can they be found? Once found, what the heck will they be doing?
If you have ever asked yourself these questions, then hopefully this post will be helpful to you.
First off, I want to make something clear: nutritionists are NOT dietitians. Dietitians are nutritionists, but nutritionists are not dietitians. Anybody can call themselves a nutritionist, no matter their nutritional and educational backgrounds. Dietitians, on the other hand, need at least a bachelor's degree, an internship, and a passing score on national board exams before they can even consider the title of RDN (or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist).
I felt it important to describe the differences between these two titles because there is a lot of muck out there--some companies hire nutritionists, but not dietitians; some nutritionists write articles, books, and blogs for the general public without any nutritional background; some nutritionists work at gyms, weight loss companies, and other places, but don't necessarily have accurate information. And even those people who seem reputable because they have a ton of extra letters after their name, signifying that they have a lot of secondary education under their belt, usually can't be trusted. In short, if the person giving you advice doesn't have the letters RDN after their name (or some form of the term 'registered dietitian', as there are different degrees you can receive), then ask for someone who does.
Okay. That rant is over. Now we can talk about more of the interesting stuff, like what dietitians do.
As one of my professors has said, dietitians shouldn't be "finger-wagging-naysayers" who tell you what you can and can't eat--if your nutritional professional is doing this, then stop them! Just thinking about somebody doing that makes me cringe. Dietitians are meant to encourage healthy eating by showing their clients how to do it well, how to make it taste good, and how to incorporate it into your life. Our goal is a behavior change; not an instantaneous one, but a gradual one over time. Very few things mean more to people than the things they eat and the memories tied up with food; therefore, our job is to make the process seem as simple and easy as possible.
Yes, these changes will require sacrifice, and will also require a healthy motivation. Dietitians are typically adept motivational coaches as well as nutritional coaches, getting to know their clients enough where they know what motivates them and what doesn't. A personal relationship with clients is important if we are ever going to make a behavioral change towards the healthy side.
Though education and counseling is a big chunk of what dietitians do, they can also be seen in clinical atmospheres. Dietitians are all over in hospitals developing meal plans for patients, working closely with the cafeteria, and making sure patients who cannot eat orally get the nutrition they need, whether that be intravenously or otherwise.
Oftentimes, dietitians see patients who received a diagnosis in the hospital and need to adjust to a new normal. When someone is diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension, cancer, or any other life-altering illness, a dietitian is one of the first on the scene to help them understand some of the changes that are going to be happening. They teach diabetics how to count their macronutrients and to get the right amount of insulin; they show those with heart disease how to measure sodium and to make food taste yummy without it; they comfort those with cancer and tell them about the changes they can expect to their appetite and the taste of food as they start their radiation treatments.
As you can see, dietitians are EVERYWHERE, and they are necessary. They calculate weight, BMI, nutrient intake, caloric needs, caloric consumption, caloric expenditure, read anthropometric charts with patient's vitals and test results on it, and need to know medical and prescription terminology.
It is true that most health professionals (i.e. doctors, nurses) take a couple entry level nutrition classes in their undergraduate careers, but they are not nutrition professionals. Just like how you wouldn't go to a dietitian to perform surgery on you, you wouldn't go to a doctor to give you advice on what you should eat. Just like how you wouldn't go to a dietitian to put an IV in your arm, you wouldn't go to a nurse to give you advice on what you should eat. I simply just ask that you go to the right professional for the right issues, and if a doctor or nurse doesn't send you to a dietitian, please ask for a referral! They are the ones that have the necessary nutritional background for any situation or question you may have. Leave the medical stuff to the doctors, and leave the nutritional stuff to the dietitians.
I hope you understand that I am not undermining the importance of other healthcare related fields; they are all equally important, and they all have their place when it comes to patient care. I just ask that you sometimes double check where your information is coming from to ensure that you get the best care available!
Now that that rant is over, I want to introduce a new idea that I had this past week. Somebody asked for a recipe for something I posted on my Instagram account (if you aren't following me, please do! @the.nutrition.effect), and I decided something...I really should be better at posting the recipes, not just the pictures. So it is my goal to post a recipe featuring one of my Instagram posts along with each of my blog posts. Keep in mind that most of the time I alter the recipes, though I will make sure to distinguish between my own add-ins and the original recipe.
Without further ado, here is the first recipe:
Crockpot Risotto* (Yes, this recipe isn't the prettiest, but it tastes like chicken pot pie, so who's the real winner, here?)
-1 cup brown rice
-1.5 cups chicken stock
-1 can (10 ounces) cream of chicken soup
-3 raw chicken breasts, cubed
-1 onion, chopped
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 cup frozen peas
-2 tablespoons butter
-1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-4 tomatoes, chopped (my add-in; optional)
-1 bunch of kale, chopped roughly (my add-in; optional)**
-1 bunch of spinach, chopped roughly (my add-in; optional)**
1. Combine brown rice, onions, and chicken into 3.5 quart crockpot. In separate bowl, combine salt, pepper, chicken stock, and soup; mix well and pour over the mixture already in the crockpot.
2. Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours, stirring after four hours (this helps make sure the rice on the bottom doesn't burn and the heat is distributed)
3. Stir in peas, butter, cheese, and stuff all of the tomatoes, kale, and spinach into the crockpot (this will take a lot of work to fit it all in, and the lid might not even be able to go on all the way, but once the greens wilt all will be well). Cook for another 30 minutes. If you decide to add the kale and spinach, stir consistently throughout this 30 minutes to make sure all of the greens wilt (it may be hard to stir for the first 10-15 minutes until the wilting process begins). Once warmed through, enjoy!
*I got this recipe from the $7 a Meal Slow Cooker Cookbook
**If you end up using either the kale or spinach as an add-in, you will need to add a bit more soup and chicken stock (greens soak up a lot of moisture as they wilt)
This past week in my classes we have been discussing what it means to be a dietitian. Who are these people? Where can they be found? Once found, what the heck will they be doing?
If you have ever asked yourself these questions, then hopefully this post will be helpful to you.
First off, I want to make something clear: nutritionists are NOT dietitians. Dietitians are nutritionists, but nutritionists are not dietitians. Anybody can call themselves a nutritionist, no matter their nutritional and educational backgrounds. Dietitians, on the other hand, need at least a bachelor's degree, an internship, and a passing score on national board exams before they can even consider the title of RDN (or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist).I felt it important to describe the differences between these two titles because there is a lot of muck out there--some companies hire nutritionists, but not dietitians; some nutritionists write articles, books, and blogs for the general public without any nutritional background; some nutritionists work at gyms, weight loss companies, and other places, but don't necessarily have accurate information. And even those people who seem reputable because they have a ton of extra letters after their name, signifying that they have a lot of secondary education under their belt, usually can't be trusted. In short, if the person giving you advice doesn't have the letters RDN after their name (or some form of the term 'registered dietitian', as there are different degrees you can receive), then ask for someone who does.
Okay. That rant is over. Now we can talk about more of the interesting stuff, like what dietitians do.
As one of my professors has said, dietitians shouldn't be "finger-wagging-naysayers" who tell you what you can and can't eat--if your nutritional professional is doing this, then stop them! Just thinking about somebody doing that makes me cringe. Dietitians are meant to encourage healthy eating by showing their clients how to do it well, how to make it taste good, and how to incorporate it into your life. Our goal is a behavior change; not an instantaneous one, but a gradual one over time. Very few things mean more to people than the things they eat and the memories tied up with food; therefore, our job is to make the process seem as simple and easy as possible.
Yes, these changes will require sacrifice, and will also require a healthy motivation. Dietitians are typically adept motivational coaches as well as nutritional coaches, getting to know their clients enough where they know what motivates them and what doesn't. A personal relationship with clients is important if we are ever going to make a behavioral change towards the healthy side.
Though education and counseling is a big chunk of what dietitians do, they can also be seen in clinical atmospheres. Dietitians are all over in hospitals developing meal plans for patients, working closely with the cafeteria, and making sure patients who cannot eat orally get the nutrition they need, whether that be intravenously or otherwise.
Oftentimes, dietitians see patients who received a diagnosis in the hospital and need to adjust to a new normal. When someone is diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension, cancer, or any other life-altering illness, a dietitian is one of the first on the scene to help them understand some of the changes that are going to be happening. They teach diabetics how to count their macronutrients and to get the right amount of insulin; they show those with heart disease how to measure sodium and to make food taste yummy without it; they comfort those with cancer and tell them about the changes they can expect to their appetite and the taste of food as they start their radiation treatments.As you can see, dietitians are EVERYWHERE, and they are necessary. They calculate weight, BMI, nutrient intake, caloric needs, caloric consumption, caloric expenditure, read anthropometric charts with patient's vitals and test results on it, and need to know medical and prescription terminology.
It is true that most health professionals (i.e. doctors, nurses) take a couple entry level nutrition classes in their undergraduate careers, but they are not nutrition professionals. Just like how you wouldn't go to a dietitian to perform surgery on you, you wouldn't go to a doctor to give you advice on what you should eat. Just like how you wouldn't go to a dietitian to put an IV in your arm, you wouldn't go to a nurse to give you advice on what you should eat. I simply just ask that you go to the right professional for the right issues, and if a doctor or nurse doesn't send you to a dietitian, please ask for a referral! They are the ones that have the necessary nutritional background for any situation or question you may have. Leave the medical stuff to the doctors, and leave the nutritional stuff to the dietitians.I hope you understand that I am not undermining the importance of other healthcare related fields; they are all equally important, and they all have their place when it comes to patient care. I just ask that you sometimes double check where your information is coming from to ensure that you get the best care available!
Now that that rant is over, I want to introduce a new idea that I had this past week. Somebody asked for a recipe for something I posted on my Instagram account (if you aren't following me, please do! @the.nutrition.effect), and I decided something...I really should be better at posting the recipes, not just the pictures. So it is my goal to post a recipe featuring one of my Instagram posts along with each of my blog posts. Keep in mind that most of the time I alter the recipes, though I will make sure to distinguish between my own add-ins and the original recipe.
Without further ado, here is the first recipe:
Crockpot Risotto* (Yes, this recipe isn't the prettiest, but it tastes like chicken pot pie, so who's the real winner, here?)
-1 cup brown rice
-1.5 cups chicken stock
-1 can (10 ounces) cream of chicken soup
-3 raw chicken breasts, cubed
-1 onion, chopped
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 cup frozen peas
-2 tablespoons butter
-1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-4 tomatoes, chopped (my add-in; optional)
-1 bunch of kale, chopped roughly (my add-in; optional)**
-1 bunch of spinach, chopped roughly (my add-in; optional)**
1. Combine brown rice, onions, and chicken into 3.5 quart crockpot. In separate bowl, combine salt, pepper, chicken stock, and soup; mix well and pour over the mixture already in the crockpot.
2. Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours, stirring after four hours (this helps make sure the rice on the bottom doesn't burn and the heat is distributed)
3. Stir in peas, butter, cheese, and stuff all of the tomatoes, kale, and spinach into the crockpot (this will take a lot of work to fit it all in, and the lid might not even be able to go on all the way, but once the greens wilt all will be well). Cook for another 30 minutes. If you decide to add the kale and spinach, stir consistently throughout this 30 minutes to make sure all of the greens wilt (it may be hard to stir for the first 10-15 minutes until the wilting process begins). Once warmed through, enjoy!
*I got this recipe from the $7 a Meal Slow Cooker Cookbook
**If you end up using either the kale or spinach as an add-in, you will need to add a bit more soup and chicken stock (greens soak up a lot of moisture as they wilt)
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