Do you have questions about your food intake? Well, thanks to modern technology, there are multiple news outlets, search engines and social media influencers ready to offer you dietary advice. The only problem is: Online suggestions aren’t always tailored to your individual needs. And sometimes, they aren’t rooted in fact, either.
Instead of taking your nutrition questions to the metaverse, you may consider booking a session with a registered dietitian nutritionist, or RDN. (They may also have the acronym RD, which stands for registered dietitian, and means the same thing.) An RDN is an expert who can help you understand how your current dietary intake is — or isn’t — serving your body, as well as give meal plan tips and nutrition advice.
“While it’s great to get nutrition information from trusted professionals through social media and other sources, nutrition is highly individualized,” says Ally Mirin, a clinical dietitian at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. “What’s recommended for the general population may not be recommended for you — but it can be difficult to know that without seeing an RD in person or virtually.”
Here’s what to consider if you’re searching for a registered dietitian nutritionist to help you reach your health and wellness goals.
[SEE: Nutrition Recommendations You’re Probably Falling Short On. Here’s How to Fix Them]
What Is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist?
An RDN is a trained professional who advises people on how to make healthy dietary choices that go along with their health goals. RDNs assist people in reaching a wide array of goals, including:
— Attaining healthy weight loss or weight gain
— Recovering from eating disorders
— Managing chronic diseases
— Fueling before athletic competitions
Molly Rapozo, a registered dietitian nutritionist and senior nutrition and health educator at Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, California, adds that in contrast to what you might find on social media, “dietitians don’t just give advice or information; we help people implement new strategies.”
“Dietitians provide support and accountability to make stepwise changes in behavior with the result of meeting long-term health goals,” Rapozo explains. It’s not just about food either, she says. RDNs often receive education in counseling skills and behavior change sciences.
Who Should See a Dietitian?
While “diet” is often associated with losing weight, the word refers more broadly to eating habits or patterns. Dietitians work with people who follow all kinds of diets, not just the ones that claim to help you lose weight.
While research does show that dietitian-led interventions for weight management have led to improvements in body mass index, percent weight loss, waist circumference, blood pressure and quality of life, Rapozo says that healthy eating is important for everyone, regardless of the number on your scale.
“Unless your diet and lifestyle choices are 100% optimal, you could likely benefit from making some tweaks,” she adds.
An RDN can provide advice on healthy food options for just about anyone, regardless of health history or underlying health conditions.
“When you meet with an RDN, they will likely review your medical and nutritional history, lab work, height and weight, allergies and food restrictions or preferences, lifestyle considerations and much more information in order to tailor a nutrition plan specifically to fit your needs,” Mirin explains.
Examples of people who may benefit from seeing an RDN include:
— People with restricted diets. This refers to people who are vegan or vegetarian or avoid certain foods for cultural or religious reasons. If you fall into this category, an RD may be able to help you ensure your nutrition needs are met with alternative foods that fall within your diet.
— People living with chronic diseases. This can include people living with many different diseases, such as kidney disease and diabetes, that benefit from — or mandate — specific diets.
— People at high risk of developing a chronic disease later in life. This includes people with family histories of diseases like heart disease, kidney disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke or Alzheimer’s disease.
— People with concerns about their weight status. This can mean people looking to lose, gain or maintain weight.
— People with GI issues or digestive disorders. This can include people who have gastrointestinal reflux disease, or GERD, and irritable bowel syndrome.
— People with eating disorders. This can include people struggling with various eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, orthorexia or avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder
— People who are athletes. This can include professional athletes, student athletes or athletic people who are looking for extra food-based advice.
[READ: Athlete’s Guide to the Grocery Store: A Shopping List]
Registered Dietitian vs. Nutritionist
Before looking into specialties, however, it is important to ensure that the person you are paying is, in fact, a registered dietitian and not something else — like a nutritionist.
Someone who describes themselves as a “nutritionist,” likely has not had the same schooling as an RDN and may not be equipped to give you dietary advice. Nutritionist is not an official title, but rather an adjective that anyone can use to describe themselves — whether they are an RDN or not. You could think of this similar to how anyone can call themselves a runner, but that doesn’t mean they run professionally.
To be a registered dietitian nutritionist, you must complete a four-year bachelor’s degree in nutrition science and supervised training in an accredited program that includes clinical and community settings. In addition, all RDNs have passed the national comprehensive exam administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration. RDNs must also complete continuing education requirements to maintain their RDN credential.
“Many individuals claiming to be nutritionists may have only completed an online certificate course as opposed to the bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, dietetic internship and board exam required to become a registered dietitian,” Mirin explains.
And because dietary choices impact your health and well-being, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the high quality — fully educated — advice from an RDN.
To steer clear of people with false pretenses, be mindful to look for that “RDN” at the end of someone’s title, or on their bio page.
Additionally, some RDs and RDNs display the acronym LDN, which stands for licensed dietitian nutritionist, or CDN, which stands for certified dietitian nutritionist. LDN and CDN indicate that the provider has received an extra license to practice in a certain state. They are not essential acronyms to look for, but aren’t harmful either.
[READ: Best Diets for Seniors.]
What Kind of Dietitian Should You See?
Just like doctors can be specialized in treating various conditions, many RDNs focus on treating a subset of patients with similar goals.
While this isn’t true across the board, and some RDNs are equipped in treating a wide range of patients, many are better at treating some than others. “Dietetics is a vast field, so I’d suggest finding a dietitian with experience related to your needs,” Rapozo says.
For instance, some RDs may be great at assisting clients who want to lose weight, but not so great at helping people work through eating disorder recovery. As a result, it’s helpful to confirm that your dietitian offers the expertise and services you are seeking.
If you are looking for an RD specialized in certain areas, look up their bio online to read more about their experience.
Rapozo suggests learning about your RDN’s background — such as where they did their schooling and internship, and what kind of work they’ve done as a dietitian — to better understand if they are a good fit for your situation.
You can also look at their title, to check if they hold any extra specialized expertise. Extra acronyms that RDNs might have if they are specialized in a specific area may include:
— CEDRD, or Certified Eating Disorder Specialist. This type of expert specializes in eating disorders.
— CSO, or Certified Specialist in Oncology. An oncology-specialized RDN may be helpful if you are seeking nutritional guidance during cancer treatment.
— CSG, or Certified Specialist in Gerontological Nutrition. This type of expert specializes in care for older adults.
— CSP, or Certified Specialist in Pediatric Nutrition. An RDN with CSF credentials may be helpful for children requiring specialized nutrition support.
— CSR, or Certified Specialist in Renal Nutrition. This expert specializes in dietary needs related to the kidney, ureters and urethra.
— CDCES, or Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist. This type of RDN can help you with dietary-based diabetes management.
— CSSD, or Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics. This type of specialization is perfect for an athlete looking to enhance sports recovery or performance.
[READ: Best Anti-Cancer Foods]
How to Find a Registered Dietitian
Before you begin your search, it is important to think about what type of dietitian you want to work with — and what you hope to get out of your sessions together.
Once you have an idea of the type of RD you are looking for, searching online, reading patient reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations are all good places to start.
When you search online, look to pinpoint an expert based on:
— Their area of expertise
— The languages they speak
— Where they are located
— What type of insurance plan or payment they accept
Mirin suggests using the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Find a Nutrition Expert tool. This is a search engine for finding nutrition experts like RDs who you might want to work with.
To feel out your connection with an RD, Rapozo recommends requesting a short phone call or Zoom session to explore working together. This time should be used to discuss what you want to get out of working with an RD — and not what they suggest you have for lunch that afternoon — to help you understand if this person can meet your needs and if you would feel comfortable working with them.
It’s also important to think about financial questions — such as if they do or don’t accept your insurance, or if your insurance would reimburse you for using their services — and personal questions, such as if you two get along.
What to Look for — and Avoid — in Your Dietitian Search
The right RD can help you improve your dietary health, but the wrong RD could waste your time and money — or do more harm than good.
Recent investigations by the Washington Post and The Examination, a nonprofit newsroom that covers global public health, found that food companies like General Mills offered “giveaways” to RDs who promoted their cereals on social media — despite research showing health risks of consuming too many processed foods. With money and prizes in the mix, consumers may find it hard to tell if a dietitian is making recommendations based on science and schooling, or commercial profits.
In addition to the General Mills debacle, it’s important to be wary of people who act like nutrition experts, but don’t actually know their stuff. Rapozo encourages people to be mindful of marketing schemes in the nutrition world.
“If an influencer claims that their meal plan or dietary product are the only roads to good health, I would be very cautious,” she says. “RDNs (and RDs) provide guidance based on client needs and preferences instead of dictating a single solution for all people.”
But while it may be in your best interest to get your diet questions answered offline, you can still use social media as a starting point for finding a registered dietitian. Just be sure to look further than their Instagram feed before booking a session. Check out their bio, credentials and areas of expertise.
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Why You Should See a Dietitian – and How to Find the Best One originally appeared on usnews.com
