Professionals who specialize in the study of nutrition, deficiency and challenges of nutrition that a human being or a society comes across are called Nutritionists. Their job profile deals with planning food and nutritional programs, supervising how a meal has been prepared and also how the meal is served. They generally consider an individual as a whole and don’t concentrate only on the individual’s deficiency or problem.
Keeping public health in mind, they also recommend the correct nutrition for a community and work on the requirements and the sources of nutrients from that environment. To educate the public on the healthy nutritional habits they also conduct programs to educate and involve the public. They do a lot of research on various health models in different conditions to have a better study of their patients and help them be fit.
Nutritionists working in a hospital or school environment are also termed as dietitians. These dietitians work one-on-one among patients or individuals. They plan meal programs for a health facility like hospitals, nursing homes etc., or an organization, or may work in a school as a staff and assist in the students nutritional balance.
When it comes to dealing with sick people their job is very complex and demanding. Health concerns like fatigue or immunity demand more attention from nutritionists. Also diseases like cancer and heart problems can be kept in control with a regular visit to a nutritionist along with the regular doctor. There diet may also include techniques from homeopathy and eastern medicines.
When working with a nutritionist it is important to cooperate in your healing process. They would guide or request you to keep a daily note of your food intake, prepare a survey of the various symptoms that you come across, report your stress levels or mood swings, also educate yourselves on some materials provided. This cannot be neglected and should be taken seriously as they care about your condition.
A bachelors degree is required to practice as a nutritionist or a dietitian. Degrees related to food management, nutrition and food behavior are required. Majors in biology, physiology, health sciences, nutrition management, chemistry are one of the requisites to specialize in nutrition.
“RD” (Registered Dietitian) is a credential given by the Commission on Dietetic Registration of the American Dietetic Association to authorize those dietitians who are qualified to practice. Not all nutritionists can become a “RD”. State laws vary for every state, and depending on the license held the practice of a nutritionist varies. Some states or countries require a degree to be called as a nutritionist while others can be addressed so without any qualification (training or certification).
nutritionists Maryland Not all nutritionists can call themselves registered dietitians. Not all dietitians can practice as “RD” (Registered Dietitians). Nutritionist that we come across in hospitals are termed as dietitians.