National Nutrition Month – Connect with a Nutrition Expert

Last week, the highlighted theme for National Nutrition Month’s Food Connects Us focus was about connecting with food. This week, we take connection a step further – Connect with a Nutrition Expert! 

What is a nutrition expert, and what do they do? Nutrition experts are professionals in understanding food and nutrients; how they work; and what they do in the human body. This type of expert also knows how to best support improving health, lifestyle, and wellness through evidence-based research. These individuals go through rigorous training and education – many go through board certification to become Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN) –  to bring the science of nutrition to a variety of audiences. Because food and nourishment apply in so many spheres, RDNs can be found in almost any setting. 

In clinical spaces, RDNs provide nutrition support and education in inpatient, emergency, and ambulatory/outpatient settings. Here, RDNs can help patients with managing health conditions through medical nutrition therapy. RDNs can also practice medical nutrition therapy in private practices, which are often specialized. Both in hospital and private practice spaces, patients and clients could be seen for specialties ranging from diabetes to pediatrics to trauma care to sports nutrition, and everything in between and beyond!

In community spaces, RDNs can be found in a wide variety of settings. Working with corporations, RDNs create different initiatives to support staff wellness and sometimes manage food procurement. In research settings, RDNs work to study the science of nutrition by being hands-on in studies. In the non-profit and public health arenas, RDNs bring the science of nutrition to the community and make it easily attainable without needing to visit a clinical space. Fun fact – your friendly neighborhood Public Health Nutritionist, Norah Ismail, is a RDN! 

When it comes to learning about nutrition, there’s a lot of information out there and it is often hard to navigate. If you are trying to find a reliable source of information, science-backed institutions (with websites usually ending in .org, .gov, or .edu) are often a good first place! If you find yourself looking at information from social media, it’s best to carefully review the page or individual providing that information. If the social media page features someone with nutrition training, board certification, or the appropriate educational background, the information will likely be more reliable. If you’re unsure, it’s best to see a RDN for clarification!