Why Should I See a Registered Dietitian or Nutritionist?

Revive is a team of private practice dietitians, so it is no surprise that we spend some of our time educating people about why it is important to seek out a dietitian or nutritionist in the first place. Many don’t know the differences between dietitians, nutritionists, nutrition coaches, wellness coaches or certified nutritional practitioners. When looking to work on your eating habits and overall wellness, it comes down to these things: trust, individualization, value, knowledge, and empathy. Let me expand on a few of them in relation to our profession.

Individualization

As dietitians, we have the knowledge and skill to be able to individualize our care on a client-by-client basis. In most cases, no two people are exactly the same with regard to our potential plan and recommendations, so the ability to properly assess, develop an effective plan of action, and collaborate and educate clients on the plan are abilities that dietitians are trained on. Cookie-cutter approaches do not work! Individualization feeds into practicality.

Evidence-Based

In working towards becoming a dietitian, we develop the skill of interpreting scientific research. Our practice is dictated on what the science tells us is plausible, not plausible, true, or untrue. With that, you can be confident that the care we are providing you with has been scrutinized and revised to be that best that it can be! It also lets our conversations flow with what is new and exciting in the science realm, which is not a bad thing! Being up to date with nutritional science means changing our practice as the science changes.

Empathy

Among all of the technical and scientific content, we are still human-beings! Interestingly, the knowledge and skills we have enable us to be more empathetic than we would be without it. This is because we have the confidence and understanding of various conditions and have been trained in such a way that fosters empathy! Connecting with people and listening to every word and emotion that comes from a client are crucial to having strong trust and comfort in place when working together.

Value

Everything is in place to be able to provide the best and most ethical care we can, which ultimately provides value in some way. Whether it is guidance, education, understanding, assessments…I could go on here. The point is, the versatility of a dietitian’s practice combined with the subtleties that surround every action all lead to one thing: value for the client.

 

I will highlight that these four points are definitely not an exhaustive list of reasons why it is beneficial to seek out a dietitian for any sort of nutrition care. The word count might get a little hefty! If you have any questions about what we can offer or what our backgrounds and educations are, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

 

By Brandon Gruber, Registered Dietitian