When you see M.D. connected to someone’s name, what do you associate that with? Nearly all of us would come up with “medical doctor.” In other words, M.D. doesn’t stand for “master dietitian.”
And as a recent study shows, doctors often wouldn’t qualify as masters at prescribing advice about nutrition. In the study, published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, more than 55 percent of the 257 medical students who were part of the research were confident in their ability to offer nutritional guidance to patients. Yet half of the students failed a nutrition quiz.
While more than 68 percent of the medical students in the study agreed that primary care physicians should counsel patients about nutrition, those who specialize in nutrition caution people against relying on their doctors for solid nutrition advice. Instead, they say, you should turn to trained, accredited specialists in nutrition.
A Registered Dietitian Makes Sense…
Generally speaking, experts recommend seeking out a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) or registered dietitian (RD) in your quest for dietary direction. However, other well-trained nutrition professionals are very capable of dispensing dietary recommendations as well.
Why an RDN? An RDN’s preparation for this field includes a bachelor’s degree, a supervised internship and a national registration exam. Furthermore, an RDN must undergo continuing education.
“RDNs possess the critical-thinking skills to offer personalized education and clarification in an age of health information overload and confusion,” says Courtney Meidenbauer, an RDN in Wisconsin and the media representative for the Wisconsin Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Jill Woodward, the southern region representative for the Wisconsin Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, makes the case for registered dietitians like herself. RDs have completed more than 900 hours of training about diet and nutrition, and have earned bachelor’s degrees. Plus, many RDs have gone on to obtain master’s degrees; all practicing RDs will be required by 2024 to have a master’s degree.
“As the food and nutrition expert, a registered dietitian is the professional you should turn to for accurate, evidence-based nutrition advice,” Woodward says.
Medical editor and technical writer Laurie Endicott Thomas, author of “Thin Diabetes, Fat Diabetes: Prevent Type 1, Cure Type 2” and “Where Do Gorillas Get Their Protein? What We Really Know About Diet and Health,” warns people to beware of practitioners who have “phony” nutrition credentials, meaning they lack rigorous training.
But Maybe “Nutrition Coaches” Offer Something Else…
However, a consumer shouldn’t trust a nutrition professional just because he or she has acronyms like RDN or RD next to their name, says Samantha Scruggs, an RD in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area. When considering a nutrition professional, ask about his or her depth of knowledge and whether they’re continuing to educate themselves, she says. In addition, seek recommendations from relatives, friends and colleagues.
Erin Akey, a certified kid’s nutrition specialist (KNS) in Mobile, Alabama, maintains that RDNs and RDs aren’t the only options for nutrition advice, though. Akey says she initially enrolled in college intending to become an RD but became disillusioned by the profession and chose a different path.
“I think it’s important to make sure that the person you’re getting nutrition advice from has studied very recently in programs other than the traditional food and nutrition and RD programs at universities like the one I was in,” Akey says, “and that they are educated in more natural and holistic approaches and that they understand the dangers of sugar and processed foods.”
If someone promotes himself or herself as a natural or holistic nutrition practitioner, make sure that person is certified in that specialty, says Akey, who’s also a certified holistic life coach (HLC) and fitness nutrition coach (FNC).
There are Other Medical Experts, Too…
Furthermore, Dr. Len Lopez, a certified chiropractic physician and certified clinical nutritionist (CCN) in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, encourages people to be skeptical of doctors, dietitians and other nutrition professionals who distribute only one line of nutritional products, since that could cloud their judgment.
“Health and fitness is a lot like politics and religion,” Lopez says. “People have their interest and devotion for various reasons and self-interest.”
Lopez notes that in his own practice, he recommends nutritional supplements sold by several companies, not just one company.
You Probably Checked the Internet First…
Courtney Mayszak, an RDN and licensed dietitian nutritionist (LDN) who works for Sunset Foods, a supermarket chain in the Chicago area, points out another tricky area when it comes to nutrition advice — the internet.
Much of the nutrition information online is produced by “pop” nutritionists and media personalities who, while they may hold professional credentials, sometimes espouse unfounded conspiracies and radical beliefs about food, she says. Therefore, Mayszak says, it’s important to consume information on the internet that’s written by RDs and similar professionals.
Medical Doctors Should be Knowledgeable in Nutrition…
In light of the wealth of misinformation online and the dearth of dietary know-how among physicians, Samina Qureshi, an RDN and licensed dietitian (LD) in Houston who focuses on integrative and functional nutrition, says she wishes more doctors would refer patients to RDNs for dietary help.
“Many of my clients have told me their doctors put them on restrictive diets without any advice on how to meet their nutritional needs,” Qureshi says. “I’ve also heard doctors recommend cutting out all ‘white foods’ to their patients to help them with weight loss and blood glucose control without any scientific evidence, which contributes to ‘diet culture’ and making food the enemy.”
In the end, given that physicians might come up short in their knowledge of nutrition — and given the absence of a broad requirement for medical education about nutrition — it falls on consumers to be aware and wary when looking for professionals to offer dietary counseling.
“Every few years, some major organization comes out with a major report warning us that medical students are learning practically nothing about nutrition and dietetics in medical school. Yet hardly anyone ever does anything to solve this problem,” Thomas says. “Doctors’ lack of knowledge about nutrition is a serious problem.”