Who is a nutritionist?
- A nutritionist solves the problem of health and beauty with a simple tool – nutrition. Using skills, knowledge of the body, and a personalized approach, the result will be short. For example, insulin resistance is corrected within 1-2 months; a person loses weight and changes eating habits and addictions. As a result: a happy client is the motivation and inspiration of a nutritionist.
- A nutritionist examines the client’s body holistically, suggests which way to dig, and knows how to correct vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The body recovers on its own if the case is not medically severe. As a result: the benefit to the client is to save money on expensive tests and endless trips to the doctor.
- The nutritionist decides to work in a fitness club or at home in pajamas. Work anywhere in the world and accept clients online. He chooses the specialization and direction of work and influences the income. Among our graduates and students are nutritionists who earn 400 thousand per month and more.
Where did nutrition come from?
The origin of the term “nutrition” is rooted in the Latin – nutrition (nutrition) – and the Greek – logos (teaching). The human body is a continuously renewing complex system. Having fulfilled its function, old cells are destroyed, and new ones immediately appear.
Enzymes, hormones, and other substances required for the body’s normal functioning are constantly synthesized. The elements necessary for this come with food. Therefore, nutritionists rightly believe that our life and health completely depend on what and how much we eat.
The modern food industry is designed to feed many people at once; therefore, preservatives are used to increase the shelf life and ease of transportation. Food products are processed using extremely high or low temperatures, and artificial flavors, dyes, and flavor enhancers are added to replenish the lost natural qualities.
But the appearance needs to be recovered. After such processing, useful substances decrease or completely disappear from the products. All this significantly affects the well-being of people.
As a result, there was a need for scientific substantiation of the nutrition process. This is how nutritionally appeared – an independent science. It is based on the idea of the body as an automated system that periodically receives useful substances in the required amount.
It promotes energy production, tissue development and growth, increased immunity, and sustainable resistance to various diseases and ultimately slows down the aging process, increasing the duration and quality of life.
The science of nutrition is designed to study those substances and components included in the food consumed by humans. Nutrition studies the products themselves, how they are prepared, and how they affect the human body.
Knowledge of the basics of this science is necessary for anyone who wants to keep fit, cares about health, and intends to lead an active life until old age.
Nutrition professionals work closely with doctors, using knowledge of the laws of body development to maintain it at a qualitative level.
Differences between a nutritionist and a nutritionist
A nutritionist is a specialist in nutrition and lifestyle.⠀
Both a nutritionist and a nutritionist deal with nutrition, but they are fundamentally different from each other in the following:
A nutritionist deals with people with diseases and prescribes medicines, treatment tables, and diets.
A nutritionist helps to increase the health of a conditionally healthy person with the help of an individual approach to a specific organism, taking into account the lifestyle of the ward.
He knows everything about the composition of products (even the most obscure facts), their interaction with the body, beneficial and harmful effects on health.
He studies the biochemical composition of food and its effect on the human body to prevent diseases and improve well-being and health.
With the help of questionnaires and tests, he helps to understand the state of the body and, if necessary, will refer you to a doctor for a diagnosis.
He will select the necessary supplements to replenish vitamins and other vital substances, the deficiency of which can lead to serious health consequences.
It helps to correctly adjust the lifestyle and nutrition individually for a particular person, depending on his request:
- Lose weight.
- Gain muscle mass.
- Improve well-being and health.
- Increase energy levels.
- Also, prevent many diseases, and all this without using medicines.
The main task of a nutritionist is to help the client understand himself and his body and help him function as comfortably and healthily as possible, as well as build his diet optimally and consciously.
A nutritionist considers many factors – from the patient’s genetic predisposition to the current state of health and psychological factors.
Attitude toward the profession of a nutritionist in the West
During the Second World War, it was necessary to form an optimal diet for the population and the military, leading to a new specialization. In the post-war period, nutritionists also carried out research that was supposed to solve the problems of hunger and stop the spread of many diseases.
Collecting and analyzing the data obtained, scientists came to an indisputable conclusion: human health directly depends on what he eats. Although the great thinkers of antiquity (Hippocrates and Confucius) spoke about this, trichology confirmed this theory scientifically.
It has been proven, for example, that the composition of the intestinal microbiome is directly related to nutrition and is formed during fetal development. The weight of a newborn child depends on how and what his mother ate during pregnancy.
In the post-war period, observing the wounded, experts revealed a relationship between the number of fresh vegetables in their diet and the rehabilitation period: the more natural products there were on the menu, the faster the patients recovered. The same relationship was found in restoring the gastrointestinal tract after antibiotics.
Therefore, the attention of Western researchers switched to the processes of assimilation of nutrients by the body. Nutritionists appeared – doctors who control the process of nutrition in people with various diseases. But the full picture of what is happening can only be formed by nutritionists engaged in research within the science of nutrition.
Now a nutritionist in Europe and America is, first of all, a person who studies the influence of nutrition on the human body. Many nutritionists also work on public health programs.
For example, in the United States, a nutritionist is a professional with a nutrition degree from a fully accredited institution. To be accredited, a nutritionist must complete 1,000 hours of supervised practice and pass exams that cover a wide range of scientific nutrition research and applied clinical topics.
Registered nutritionists often work in hospitals, nursing homes, rehab centers, and other healthcare settings. But a career in nutrition doesn’t have to be the four walls of a clinic.
In addition to clinical practice, careers in nutrition include conducting research at colleges, universities, and public/private research institutions, assisting public and private agencies in developing nutrition programs, and overseeing product development and quality control in private food companies/corporations.
Why is nutrition a growing trend in our time? What do people want today?
- Technologies have appeared so that a person can manage health and well-being.
- People want to be confident in the competence of their nutritionist.
- An individual approach to health is the only right way.
- A nutritionist today should be able to see the relationship between the psyche and health.
- A readiness for preventive measures comes to society; people are ready to turn to nutritionists BEFORE they get sick.
- I see a great increase in interest in the root causes of disease in diet and lifestyle.
- Most have already eaten fast food; today’s trend is juices, salads, and a balanced diet.
- They began to listen to Ayurveda; we managed to transfer the ancient knowledge to reality and get results.
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- About the tasks of a specialist
The flow of information that falls on a person from all sides sometimes does not allow him to figure it out independently. The task of a nutritionist is to teach how to select really useful facts, not to pay attention to outright deceit, and to read not all articles in a row but only those posted on trustworthy scientific sites.
The expert should explain why a method that works well on another person may give different results in your case. Using modern means of communication, the best specialists’ blogs conduct online training with feedback. The successes of students inspire them to develop further and move forward.
So it would be fundamentally wrong to consider the profession of a nutritionist only in the material aspect, as bringing a good income. First of all, the work of these specialists is aimed at helping people.
A professional in his field will collect and analyze many factors related to a particular person, from genetic predisposition to health status, to choose an individual diet. He should be able to compose a menu of specific dishes for this routine.
A nutritionist must have good biochemistry and physiology knowledge and pedagogical skills to intelligibly explain complex biochemical processes to the patient in simple, accessible language.
- On the need for a profession
Due to many not-always-useful product additives, nutritional problems have become much more common. Hypo- and hypervitaminosis, micronutrient deficiencies, protein starvation, lactose intolerance, sucrose, gluten intolerance, other food allergies, scurvy, and even osteoporosis – all this is the field of activity of a nutritionist. Moreover, he does not give general advice but only within the framework of one specific person about his nutrition system.
Humankind has finally realized that everyone has a diet, and even the number of calories for a normal life is different for everyone.
Modern bodybuilders no longer pump up their muscles to the point of stupefaction with various physical exercises. Thanks to the research of nutritionists and nutritionists, the now popular program for building muscle mass through sports nutrition has been developed. It is a carefully balanced composition of a certain amount of BJU (proteins, fats, carbohydrates), amino acids, and other elements involved in creating muscle fibers.
- About the complexities
As in any profession, nutritionists have certain difficulties. The biggest one is to respect the limits of the possible. You can’t completely change a person. Therefore, one must understand that some habits will remain and select a nutrition program for him based on real conditions.
Another area for improvement is not pretending to be an all-powerful doctor who can cure any patient.
- About the pros
The most pleasant thing is to see the results of your work, how the person you taught to live and eat right has changed. But you can not stop in your professional development. Knowledge in this area changes almost daily. With the development of science, new information about the composition of foods and nutrients appears.
- About prospects
Dietology and nutrition are young sciences; they are at the very beginning of their development and require many studies and experiments. The great interest in this knowledge is explained by the fact that it became clear to people that food affects a person constantly. What we eat today becomes part of our body tomorrow.
This is why research is important to determine how different foods affect our health. Fashion today is not only clothes, shoes, and some accessories. A healthy lifestyle, personal growth, and development have also become a fashion trend, but this can only be achieved by changing your habits.
13 competencies of a nutritionist
- Tell the client about the rules for forming a healthy diet, help him form this diet, and give advice. Communicate the health risks associated with unhealthy eating without making threats like, “If you don’t start eating right, you will be obese in a year.”
- To acquaint the client with the rules of the functioning of our body in terms of nutrition, fitness, weight loss, maintaining body weight, and gaining muscle mass.
- Give the client an understanding of what products and quantities he needs to form a healthy food basket.
- Make a diet based on the client’s favorite foods, focusing on them and not your taste preferences.
- To convey to the client that the nutrition plan and the consultation with a nutritionist are not medical appointments with a doctor. The nutrition plan is an example that the client himself can adjust, taking into account the knowledge that the nutritionist gives him. The consultation itself and all advice are advisory.
- Consider the attending physician’s recommendations (for example, in case of allergies or intolerances) when compiling nutrition. But do not treat yourself;
- To bring the client to the result, accompanying and giving recommendations on the way to the goal and making this path comfortable regarding nutrition.
- Help the client choose sports nutrition and dietary supplements (in cases where it is really necessary). At the same time, explain which supplements work and which don’t, the rules for taking supplements, and how to take supplements into account in the diet.
- Give the client an understanding of what to do when the collaboration with the nutritionist ends. How to further build your nutrition.
- Give an understanding of what to look for on the product label and how to understand the composition of products.
- Help with keeping a food diary in writing or an application.
- Answer the client’s questions about building a diet according to his lifestyle.
- Act within the framework of international nutritional recommendations.
What qualities should a future nutritionist have?
Here is a small model of competencies that a nutritionist requires. There is nothing supernatural about them.
- Possession of knowledge (matrix of health).
- Technical skills (creating presentations, maintaining websites, conducting mailing lists).
- Communication and organizational skills.
- Oratory skills (the ability to express thoughts and take people to a new level of understanding and awareness of the problem).
- Sales skills (writing sales posts, letters, the ability to speak the language of the client’s pain).
- Skills to lead clients to the result.
- Skills of upselling and additional touches.
How to become a nutritionist
In our country, the profession of “nutritionist” is gaining popularity. People pay more attention to their diet and consider eating tasty and healthy to fill the body with useful substances. In addition, people know that the absence of extra pounds equals excellent health, so they strive to maintain a normal weight. This creates a demand for experts who help choose a diet based on the health characteristics of a particular person.
Nutritionists are invited to the staff of private clinics, beauty and health centers, and fitness clubs where people who keep fit and monitor their weight apply.
A nutritionist provides professional nutritional advice that is scientifically proven to increase life expectancy.
