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Contributed by: Donna Feldman on 3/10/2008

Who's your hair stylist? How about your manicurist? Your doctor? Now, who's your registered dietitian? Wait, you don't have one?

March is National Nutrition Month and today is the first-ever Registered Dietitian Day. I'm an RD, and I'm not sure what to make of this, but I saw an article that got me thinking - the article asked: why doesn't everyone have a nutritionist? It's a good question, considering the heightened interest in nutrition, preventing disease and living long healthy lives. I'm willing to bet 99% of females in this country have a hair stylist. They likely spend hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars yearly on their hair. Do even 1% have a nutritionist. I doubt it. Widespread interest in nutrition hasn't translated into action.

The reasons for this state of affairs are probably many. Food and nutrition seem like things you just do for yourself. The media certainly leads people to believe that, with a constant bombardment of messages about the latest study, the latest superfood, the latest fad diet. You pick some information out of the message and buy a food or a supplement. Then a few weeks later, you're on to the next media message and the next product. Meanwhile not much changes about your health or your fitness or your medical concerns.

There is plenty of evidence that consulting with an RD can produce actual health benefits. One recent study showed that working on dietary changes with a registered dietitian helped patients lower cholesterol and avoid using medication.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Health/2008/03/06/diet_could_help_decrease_cholesterol_drugs/6173/. With everyone screaming about drug costs, you'd think this would look like a great alternative. So why doesn't everyone have a registered dietitian, just like they have a doctor or a hair stylist? Cost? Well, drugs aren't cheap. Neither are stylists or manicurists for that matter.

My personal opinion is that nutrition is one of those things, unlike haircuts, that people think they can do themselves, if they just read the right diet book or the right magazine article. Well, if this were true, then we wouldn't have the current obesity epidemic and resulting explosion of lifestyle diseases, so obviously nutrition isn't working as a do-it-yourself activity. Maybe it's time for people to think of nutrition the way they think about medical care - leave it to the professionals.

So what actually do registered dietitians do? I can't speak for everyone, just as no doctor can speak for all other MDs. Other than the common educational background, training and qualifying exams, RDs develop their own specialities and counseling styles. I personally do not hand out generic diet sheets and send clients on their way. Every individual's situation is assessed and I make recommendations based on numerous factors including health goals and lifestyle. I don't tell people to eat weird stuff or give up all the foods they like. I also don't expect people to stay home cooking all day. My clients get personalized action plans, and we tweak the plans as necessary in follow-up visits. I envision a day when everyone gets a comprehensive nutrition assessment, including measurement of metabolic rate and blood levels of numerous nutrients, which aren't currently considered by most doctors.

Given the importance of nutrition to health and disease prevention, I think that, rather than just a month of nutrition awareness or Registered Dietitian Day, we declare this the Nutrition Century. Maybe by the time 2100 roles around, comprehensive nutrition assessment for everyone will be the norm, and 99% of the population will be able to answer the question "Who's your registered dietitian?".

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Donna Feldman

Louisville , CO

Donna Feldman has posted 133 stories and 1 comment since joining on 9/14/2005. Donna Feldman 's average story rating is 4.91.

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