Hi Friends!
I wanted to breakdown some terminology that you may or may not be familiar with.
What is an “Registered Dietitian”? What is a “Nutritionist”? Or what my coaches like to call a “nutritionalist”? Is dietitian spelt with a “t” or a “c”?
A Registered Dietitian is an expert in food and nutrition. Pretty simple, huh? Eh, not really. A Registered Dietitian goes through an undergraduate degree in food, nutrition, dietetics, or nutrition and dietetics, etc (each college has different titles), once completed you then apply for an “dietetic internship”, which is 1300 clinical hours while pursing a graduate degree. Side note: there are so many options now to complete the internship, it’s incredible. Completing the internship is no easy feat, you have to get into the internship first. The application process is a whole other blog post in itself. Once you complete is phase you will then be able to sit for a national exam. This is basically everything you learned in the past 5-6 years in one test. It is STRESSFUL but worth it. The Registered Dietitian credential is regulated by the government, hence the national exam, and most states require Registered Dietitians to be licensed in that state. This provides advanced protection to the industry and client. Registered Dietitians are considered to be a part of the medical community and are active members of treatment teams.
A Registered Dietitian learns a variety of areas in undergrad and grad school:
- Food service
- Medical Nutrition Therapy
- Food and nutrition sciences
- Nutrition through the life cycle
- Community nutrition (food stamps, WIC, and so on)
- Chemistry (LOTS of chemistry)
- Biology and Microbiology
- Physiology
- Biochemistry (my personal favorite, sike)
My favorites are actually medical nutrition therapy and physiology.
There is so much learning in school and even more learning once you pass the exam. That is what makes the field so intriguing, each person gets into this field for a variety of reasons and can specialize in just about anything: functional nutrition, sports, gastrointestinal, eating disorders, public health, PCOS, clinical, pregnancy, kidney disease, diabetes, cancer, childhood nutrition, and so on. The Registered Dietitian credentials allow a foundation of growth to happen as the career progresses.
For more info on how to become an RD, click here.
A Nutritionist can actually go to school for nutrition but do not complete the dietetics route. To be honest, there are so many “nutritionists” out there that are credible sources because they purse the research, PHD, or the administrative pursuits to help advance the profession. However, when a dietitian hears “nutritionist” this is not normally the educated member of society people are talking about. The passionate teacher, Instagram model, gym goer, diet promoter, etc are who people refer to, which makes most professional practitioners cringe. I love people’s passion for nutrition but nutrition is so lucrative that it is important to ask yourself “do they have credentials to be giving this advice? Nutrition is different for every body, what works for some does not work for others, and it is important to strive to promote healthy habits and self-talk while pursuing nutritional goals. Typically, “nutritionists” are pushing to sell a product, such as supplements, have little to no schooling, claim to have certifications, do not participant in a national exam, have no government regulations, and could lead you down a road to confusion. Remember, all Registered Dietitians are Nutritionists but not all Nutritionists are Registered Dietitians.
A “nutritionalist” is a thing but I have been called one countless times by coaches that it is a running joke that I have accepted.
Lastly, just a little RD humor, Dietitian is obviously spelled with a “t” and not a “c” but at one point in time the “c” was running the show. It’s often used interchangeably so if you see a “c” or a “t”, it means the same.
For more explanation, check out Eat Right.
