What Is A Dietitian?

Many people have an idea that a dietitian could benefit their health, but there can be confusion as to what a dietitian is, what their role is, how influential their advice is and how a dietitian differs from others who may offer advice relating to diet and nutrition.

In this post, we aim to answer all the key questions, after which you will know how dietitians work and the importance of this form of health professional.

Dietitian – The Quick Version

A dietitian is a health professional who can assess an individual’s dietary problems and requirements, diagnose as appropriate and through this treat issues relating to diet.

They also work with other health professionals, helping to ensure the diet is best suited to the treatment of other health problems.

A dietitian can work with both healthy people and those with a medical condition; they use the latest scientific research into diet and turn this into practical advice for any client.

Dietitians also work to shape policy relating to diet and public health.

They are always the go-to source for accurate information relating to diet and how it interacts with an individual and influences their health.

Who Sees Dietitians?

The glib answer is that anyone can see a registered dietitians and the service is beneficial to anyone’s health.

Those who are healthy but want to feel at their best, maybe enhance fitness and energy often see a dietitian as they look to ensure their food intake is ideal. Those involved in professional sport use dietitians – as do professional clubs – for their continuing professional development. 

The service combines food and health, ensuring all nutrients are taken in appropriate quantities and the body is getting all it requires – and avoiding elements that will lead to substandard performance.

Many individuals and members of the public use a dietitian for exactly this reason. With a busy lifestyle, it is very difficult for any individual to stay fully across their diet and food and drink intake to be certain they are giving themselves the best opportunity to be healthy and at their best.

Maximising Health

We all eat and drink, we all put energy and fuel into our body, a dietitian can help anyone ensure that what they consume is what they need; taking their lifestyle into account.

This is a key element of the service a dietitian provides- it is bespoke. A registered dietitian takes the individual into account, their medical history, their food intolerances and their lifestyle. Only with all relevant information is it possible to create a plan and advice that can truly benefit that person.

Generic advice can either be useless or even damaging, each individual requires a professional service, especially as we all react so differently to diet and have such different lifestyles.

A dietitian will also provide support that is possible to follow. There is, for instance, no point recommending a diet that someone will not want to stick to, or will only manage in the short term. 

This can lead to fad diets and the mental anguish of forever fluctuating in terms of weight and health. A dietitian works with patients to deliver advice and eating plans that they can fit in with their lifestyle and which contains foodstuffs they are happy to consume.

Managing Health Issues

The other main facet of a dietitian’s work is in the area of food and health, ensuring that diet is beneficial in the treatment of health conditions, or that it does not do further harm.

The list of conditions to which this might apply is too lengthy to mention here – it includes conditions that you might closely associate with diet such as eating disorders, IBS and the management of allergies. However, it is also essential for many as they have ongoing support for cancer and other serious health conditions that are not directly linked to diet.

The dietitians work with other health professionals and their work is as part of a professional healthcare team, all working in the patient’s best interests. A key component of any dietitian’s work is inside healthcare settings, such as hospitals, as part of a multi-skilled team. 

Quick Overview of Reasons to See a Dietitian

This is a list of some of the reasons a person might seek the services of a dietitian:

• To treat a medical condition directly linked to diet or where there is a clear need to manage diet, for instance diabetes or IBS

• For the ongoing management of other health conditions, where maintaining a good diet is of overall benefit to health

• Anyone who suffers from digestive problems

• Those with a food intolerance or who believe they might have an intolerance

• You want to maximise fitness and general well-being

• Anyone in professional sport. Also, though training for an event such as a marathon often seek a dietitian’s help

• Those wishing to manage their weight, potentially either weight loss or weight gain.

• Anyone seeking to get pregnant, as well as those who are pregnant.

• Those with upcoming surgery

• Those who have a child in their care with special dietary requirements

How to See a Dietitian

Dietitians work in both a private capacity and also as part of the NHS healthcare system.

Anyone can see a dietitian on a private basis and the service will always be of benefit as it is tailored advice suitable for their lifestyle and health aims. Even for those with a diet well-tuned to their needs, there are likely to be small improvements to be made.

For those with a condition to treat or with clear medical need to see a professional, it may be that there is a referral to see a health professional in this field.

Anyone with a healthcare concern or condition should utilise usual NHS protocols and seek a GP appointment at first, thus ensuring services are joined up and they receive all-round health care.

Are Dietitians and Nutritionists the Same?

There is naturally much confusion relating to the roles of dietitian and nutritionist, they seem to cover broadly similar areas.

However, they are actually vastly different.

Dietitian

Dietitian is a protected term, anyone who uses this term is a highly qualified professional who is regulated by the statutory regulator, the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC).

If anyone has any complaints about the services a dietitian offers, there is a professional body to contact who oversees the work, a dietitian could potentially lose their accreditation and so be unable to practice.

Dietitians are highly qualified. At the very least, they have a BSc Hons in Dietetics or related scientific discipline – this would be accompanied by a postgraduate diploma or higher qualification in dietetics.

Dietetics covers biochemistry, physiology and the applied science and research methods that are crucial to offering nutritional advice. The courses include time spent in NHS settings and their clinical and professional skills are constantly scrutinised. 

Most dietitians have gone well beyond this initial level of qualification, with additional degrees and Masters and great in-role experience, often including Fellowships and specialisms.

Nutritionist

Nutritionist is not a protected term, perhaps somewhat unbelievably, anyone could set themselves up as a nutritionist and start offering dietary ‘advice’. 

Some who practice as a nutritionist have qualifications and a high degree of skill, others might offer advice that is of little benefit or, worse still, actually damaging. 

A nutritionist can also only work with a healthy person, looking to offer advice to maximise health that bit more. They cannot offer dietary advice to someone with a health condition to manage – this highlighting the fact they do not work in combination with healthcare professionals. 

A dietitian is a professional who is trained and regulated. A nutritionist is not. Which one would you rather trust with your health?

Ultra Personalised Dietary Advice

A new subset of dietitian work called Nutrigenomics is now emerging as a gold standard of dietary advice. This is not separate to the work a dietitian does, or a replacement, it is a refinement. 

Nutrigenomics analyses a person’s genetic make-up and uses this to truly personalise the advice then given. It will pick up on food intolerances that the person was unaware of, it will ascertain that certain foodstuffs will be better taken on by this person’s body than others. The report will show that, for example, one patient needs a high proportion of their energy through proteins – this might be very different to someone else.

Dietitians work with all available knowledge to provide the very best care. Nutrigenomics simply gives them a lot more information tailored to that person and so means the plan can be further refined.

If you would like further information about this new science, please browse this site as Rachel Clarkson is one of the UK’s leading proponents of this work.