Contrary to popular belief, most RDs work in hospitals working with populations of sick patients. Mostly I’m getting people to GAIN weight, rather than lose . I disagreed with much of what Fathead was showing that “professionals” are saying/ believing.

Why don’t you actually sit down with a REGISTERED DIETITIAN and see what he/she has to say?

And on another note, there is truly NO comparison between a registered dietitian and a “nutritionist”. In fact, my DOG could be considered a “nutritionist” if he were interested in nutrition.

http://www.nutritionaltherapy.com/index.htm

I was interested in their online program, and e-mailed them about whether the GI Bill would pay for the training. They said it would not, because the program is not accredited.

So the question is – who would accredit an “alternative” nutritional program? I can’t get a dietitian’s license in Illinois unless I get some sort of certificate from an accredited program.

My guess is, the best I could do (if I were to get a certificate from the NTP program) would be to call myself a “lifestyle coach” and be extra careful to advise potential clients that I’m not certified by any government agency whatsoever to do anything. And still live in fear that I might get arrested by the state for illegally practicing medicine and/or nutritional counseling. I don’t think the arresting agency would pay any attention to the piles of nutritional research I’d have to back up my dietary counseling.

Interestingly, given the number of registered dietitians who have written books contrary to the food pyramid, it appears that once you get certified/licensed in a conventional manner, no one’s going to pay much attention to the advice you dish out. Weird, huh?

That’s what I find annoying about the situation: to be accredited, you apparently have to toe the government line on what constitutes a good diet. It’s a bit like the situation with that doctor in Sweden who nearly lost her license for prescribing a diet that actually helped diabetics.

I’ll look it up.

Definitely a great book. Nora either went to a very different kind of nutrition school, or she ignored much of what she was taught.

Proper eating!

I wish more MDs would think the same way. Often, doctors see health problems caused by bad diets, but their solution is often to prescribe dangerous drugs instead of fixing the diet.

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And worse, they often don’t recognize that diet has anything to do with it.

Does someone in that field risk losing their license if they recommend low-carb to a client (assuming that low-fat is the only thing taught in the courses)?

That’s my concern too. It would be nice to attract some people who know better into the field, but could they STAY in the field?