World Dietitian-Nutritionist day
Hello Vibers! Today is world Dietitian-Nutritionist day, and for this reason, in today’s blog we want to discuss the importance of this professional figure in the field of health, especially for us at Glucovibes.
Importance of Dietitian-Nutritionist
The Dietitian-Nutritionist (DN) is a healthcare professional with a university degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics, specializing in activities related to nutrition for individuals with or without health conditions, either individually or collectively. They work across all life stages, following professional ethics and principles of prevention and public health (1).
As you can see, their role in the healthcare system is essential. However, Spain is the only country in the European Union that does not have DNs in the public healthcare system in most autonomous communities, and very few hospitals have DNs on staff (2,3).
While many of us know that DNs create diets for weight loss, not everyone is clear on their other roles. Some of their main areas of work include:
- Improving dietary habits
- Enhancing body composition, not only for weight loss but also for other health or athletic goals
- Providing education on healthy nutrition
- Preventing and/or improving symptoms or conditions (allergies/intolerances, digestive, cardiovascular, liver diseases…)
- Nutrition throughout different life stages (pregnancy, lactation, menopause, childhood, adolescence, old age, etc.)
- Sports nutrition
The DN relies on scientific evidence to offer advice but always considers the individual’s unique circumstances to tailor recommendations accordingly.
Types of DNs we might encounter include:
- Clinical (primary care, hospital)
- Community
- Sports
- Public relations
- Research/scientific
- Teaching
- Educational
- Food industry
- Collective catering
What a Dietitian-Nutritionist is not
It is still not well understood what a Dietitian-Nutritionist (DN) is or what they do. As we’ve mentioned before, many people think that they simply make diets for weight loss or even sell weight loss products. But that’s not the case, as we will see now.
Nowadays, there is a lot of contradictory information in the world of nutrition, which makes it difficult to know what is true and what is not. Often, inappropriate advice is given that promotes unhealthy practices. This type of advice confuses people and can even endanger their health.
Just as we wanted to clarify what a DN is, we will now explain what a DN is not (4):
- A DN does not prioritize aesthetics or plan the “bikini operation” → they are a healthcare professional who prioritizes health, also giving importance to mental health.
- A DN does not only focus on weight loss diets → they are a professional who can work in various areas: sports, diet therapy in physiological situations, diet therapy for pathologies, etc.
- A DN does not sell supplements (pills, ampoules, herbal preparations, protein preparations, etc.) → they are a professional who prioritizes foods when providing nutritional guidelines and only recommends supplements if necessary.
- A DN does not give you a ‘standard diet’ they have saved → they are a professional who takes into account your situation and circumstances, as well as many other factors, to create a tailored nutritional plan or report. They also support you throughout the process to make necessary adjustments to that plan.
- A DN does not forbid you from eating certain foods or label foods as good or bad → they are a professional who teaches you which foods are better for health and which ones should be consumed less due to their lower health benefits. They always leave the final decision to you without judgment.
A nutritionist should not prescribe diets without considering your lifestyle, preferences, and medical or dietary history, so if you find yourself in such a situation, run away!
Nutrition team at Glucovibes
In case it’s still not clear, at Glucovibes we recognize the importance of the Dietitian-Nutritionist (DN) in the field of health, which is why it is one of our distinctive features.
As you might know, at Glucovibes we have the necessary technology that allows us to continuously monitor glucose levels. Thanks to our app and system, we obtain glucose values and, along with information on diet, physical activity, and energy levels, our nutrition team analyzes it all together to create a report. This report explains what has been observed and provides nutritional guidelines to help achieve the goals.
In our nutrition team, we have worked with individuals with various objectives: improving body composition, enhancing sports performance, improving sleep quality, rest and energy, and bettering dietary habits.
Depending on the objective, we adapt the nutritional plan and recommendations to fit the needs and circumstances of each user: type of group (children, pregnant women, lactating mothers, athletes, etc.), tastes and preferences, cultural and ethical priorities, health status, and lifestyle (schedules, intakes, stress levels, energy levels, rest, physical activity, sleep, etc.).
We also place great importance on education, which is why we have this blog where we try to explain current and relevant health topics in an easy and brief manner, always based on scientific evidence.
One of Glucovibes’ fundamental pillars is individualization. Every person is unique, so both the recommendations and nutritional guidelines we provide are adjusted and tailored to each individual’s needs to ensure they are sustainable in the long term.
Conclusions
The role of the Dietitian-Nutritionist (DN) is crucial, not only if you want to lose weight but also if you feel you’re not maintaining a healthy diet and want to learn to eat better, if you want to modify your body composition for sports, aesthetic, or health reasons, if you have any diet-related conditions (intolerances/allergies, diabetes, hypertension, kidney insufficiency, high cholesterol, etc.), or if you are in any of these life stages like pregnancy, lactation, menopause, sports, adolescence, old age, etc., and you want to adapt your diet accordingly.
Glucovibes offers you an innovative tool that provides objective information about your metabolism, which, when combined with the knowledge of our nutrition team, helps you adopt the best nutritional guidelines for your case.
Do you think our nutrition team can help you with your goals? If so, don’t hesitate to contact us!
References
- [1] Academia Española de Nutrición y Dietética (AEND) y Consejo General de Dietistas-Nutricionistas de España (CGD-NE). ¿Quién es el Dietista-Nutricionista? [internet]. 2022 [consultado 20 Nov 2022].
- [2] Babio N., Crespo P. et al. Dietista-Nutricionista: Historia de una profesión. Pasado, presente y futuro de la titulación y de la profesión [internet]. Reus; 2022.
- [3] Benítez Brito, N., Soto Célix, M., et al. Situación del dietista-nutricionista en el Sistema Nacional de Salud Español: documento de posicionamiento del Grupo de Especialización en Nutrición Clínica y Dietética de la Academia Española de Nutrición y Dietética. Rev Esp Nutr Hum Diet [internet]. 2020 [consultado 20 Nov 2022]; 24(3), 278-288.
- [4] Academia Española de Nutrición y Dietética (AEND) y Consejo General de Dietistas-Nutricionistas de España (CGD-NE). ¿Qué no es un Dietista-Nutricionista? [internet]. [consultado 20 Nov 2022].