I have some really exciting news.
In fact, I’ve been sitting on this news for awhile now, quietly waiting behind the scenes for it to unfold. But now that it’s official and everyone at work knows, I feel like I can finally talk about it out loud.
I’m going back to school for dietetics.
This has been such a long time coming. Honestly, I’ve been talking about this for years. In fact, last year I applied, and was accepted into the program, but my own fear of failure (and a global pandemic) held me back. And so I deferred. Not starting school last September showed me just how badly I wanted this.
And so I’m making the leap. Over the last year I’ve completed the necessary science prerequisites (that my high school creative self refused to take), I’ve talked to people in the program, and I’ve really thought about what I want my future to look like.
Which brings me to the bulk of this post. As I started to tell people that I was going back to school to become a dietitian, quite a few people were puzzled. (And not just because I’ll be a 29 year old undergraduate student.)
No, a few times I got met with: “I thought you were already a dietitian.”
Me: “No, I’m a nutritionist.”
Them: “Isn’t that the same thing?”
As it turns out, there is a lot of confusion between the two fields, so I thought I’d take this time to break down the differences, why they matter, and what you should be looking for when seeking out professional nutrition advice.
Nutritionist vs. Dietitian: What’s the Difference?
Before we start, I want to quickly mention that I’m Canadian, living in Ontario, and that regulations vary across the country and across the globe. That being said, I find a lot of the differences do tend to be the same, even if you live in the US or Australia. But as a disclaimer, I’m talking specifically about where I live.
Dietitians and nutritionists are often used interchangeably. But they are different. I’m not necessarily saying that one is better, but as someone who is already a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, about to embark in an undergraduate degree to become a dietitian, I think I have some valuable insights.
How To Become A Nutritionist
So let’s talk about nutritionists first, because I already fall into this boat. The term ‘nutritionist’ is an unregulated term, which means anyone can use this term, regardless of their education. You could do a 1-year program, like I did, or a 3-day workshop, and call yourself a nutritionist. (With the exception being in Alberta and Quebec, where I believe only dietitians can use the term nutritionist.)
Of course you would hope that anyone calling themselves a nutritionist would have the knowledge and skillset to back it up. But this isn’t always the case. There are a lot of people who are not necessarily qualified to be giving nutrition advice that call themselves ‘nutritionists’. I would argue a lot of influencers and people on instagram fall into this category.
But here’s where it gets extra tricky. In case, you’re thinking, “okay, fine, I’ll stay clear of nutritionists”, it’s not so simple. A lot of nutritionists actually have the same nutrition education as dietitians. To become a dietitian, which I’ll talk more about in a minute, you need to complete an accredited undergraduate program and then complete an internship. The problem is, the internship is unpaid, and often expensive to pursue. And spots are limited, and not everyone gets in. This means there are so many dietitians-to-be who don’t end up getting the credentials, even though they have the same education.
Dietetic students aside, there are plenty of nutritionists, including holistic nutritionists, who actually have backgrounds in science (like biology, or health sciences), and then realized later in the game they wanted to work in nutrition, so they further their education by taking holistic nutritionists or health coaching programs. This is great, because it means they’re able to sift through the scientific literature and call out BS.
Honestly, there’s a lot of good nutritionists out there. There’s a lot of ways to become an expert in the field of nutrition. Which is why I think saying that ‘nutritionists are bad’ isn’t super helpful. However, I would argue a lot of these people already have a background in health or science.
Which brings me to my own experience with being a nutritionist.
Why I Became A Nutritionist + My Experience
I knew I wanted to be a nutrition expert in my second year of university, while I was studying for my English degree. But living in Ottawa, the only dietetics program available was offered in french. I speak decent enough french, but definitely not enough to pursue a science-based degree.
Moving at that time was out of the question. So I looked around to see what other options were available. That’s how I found the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, a 1-year program in holistic nutrition. And so that’s what I did.
The Good: I learned so many nutrition theories, and I was taught some basic sciences to help me understand nutrition (things like biology, chemistry, anatomy, pathophysiology). These classes were basic, which was perfect as I had zero sciences in my back pocket. As a sponge eager to soak up everything I could, I loved this program while I was in it. I struggled with disordered eating prior to enrolling, and deepening my nutrition knowledge really helped me to regain my footing.
Honestly, if you are someone who wants to dip your toes in nutrition, or learn for yourself, I think these programs are a lot of fun. They’re also less of a time commitment, and more financially accessible. I’m not here to criticize holistic nutrition, because for a long time, I loved that path. But I will say, that as time went on, I started to notice some serious flaws.
The Bad: the biggest downside to taking programs like health coaching or holistic nutrition is that you do not learn the mechanisms as deeply as you need to to fully understand the science of nutrition. In fact, it’s why I never really took on clients. The level of science you learn is very surface level, and often quite simplistic. I’ve often felt really inadequate speaking about nutrition because of how big these gaps are.
There were a lot of questions I couldn’t confidently answer.
Adding to that, is that a lot of the information taught is wrong. This one hurts to write out. But there are so many theories and protocols that I was taught, that we just don’t have the science to back up. Things like eating an alkaline diet, food combining, or the blood type diet. The science just isn’t there. It was in my holistic nutrition program that I was taught to question vaccines, and told that the MMR vaccine was linked to autism–it’s not, and that myth has fully been debunked.
And worst of all, I’m part of a few holistic nutritionist groups on Facebook, and I often see them asking about advice for clients for things that have nothing to do with nutrition–things like rashes or skin conditions, or more severe conditions like cancer. And the advice in the groups tends to be extreme and unfounded. (“Take a shot of apple cider vinegar.” “You need oil of oregano.”) I don’t mean for this to come off as such a big criticism, but honestly, it’s a little hard not to feel kind of..icky about it.
Adding to my unease is the complete mistrust of the medical community. A lot of alternative wellness professionals are against western medicine. There’s a lot of fear of Big Pharma. While I understand that the system is definitely not perfect, I think there’s a lot of privilege in wanting to do away with modern medicine, which in Canada is covered by health insurance.
Don’t get me wrong: you can be cautious of the advice doctors give, especially when it seems like their solution is a prescription for a symptom, with no plan to get to the root cause. But for me, this caution lead to a total fear of the medical community.
I had my own experience with this years ago, when I got my first UTI. Instead of going to the doctor, I decided to treat it at home with cranberry juice. The thought of taking antibiotics (and wiping out my microbiome!) kept me from going until things got really bad. By the time I finally caved in, I was crying because the pain was so bad. A few days of antibiotics set me back to normal. Even after I felt better, I felt so guilty for “caving in”. This was also a time when I refused to take ibuprofen when my menstrual cramps got bad. Instead, I’d just cradle myself crying.
There’s also this attitude that I find with health coaches or nutritionists, where they feel like the expert on everything. But, as I’m learning, the more you know about any given subject, the more you realize we don’t have enough research to back up a significant amount of claims being made. No where in my holistic nutrition program did I learn about disease management. That makes sense: it would be unethical to do so. And yet there’s a lot of nutritionists offering advice as though they are medical professionals.
Of course, this isn’t everybody. And like I said, there are a lot of nutritionists who really know their sh*t. My point is, that when you have an unregulated term like ‘nutritionist’, you don’t really know what you’re going to get. You don’t really know what qualifications they bring to the table. It’s kind of a mixed bag.
Which is why I recommend that if you work with a nutritionist that you do your research. There are a lot of really great ones out there. For example, Erin Holt is a nutritionist with an undergraduate degree in nutrition, along with extra functional nutrition training, and she is my role model for good science and nutrition advice. And she isn’t a dietitian. I don’t believe you need to be a dietitian to be an expert. But I’m starting to think it helps.
How To Become A Dietitian
Way back when I was studying holistic nutrition, I thought dietitians were kind of snotty. To me, they felt irrelevant: fuddy-duddies that the world of science was leaving behind. They were gate-keeping the term ‘nutritionist’ (and making people like me feel inadequate) and it felt like if you weren’t part of their club, you weren’t qualified to talk about nutrition.
Years later, I understand their frustration.
Becoming a dietitian is an arduous task. It requires a Bachelors of Applied Science in nutrition, which is 4-years of science-based courses, such as biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and anatomy. It might seem similar to a health coaching or holistic nutrition program. But instead of a 1-year program, it’s four. It’s a lot more in-depth. Beyond that, you also learn about food accessibility, different cultural attitudes around food, and more about disease management.
After completing this degree, you then have to complete a one-year dietetic internship and pass an exam to be licensed. After all of this, you can officially call yourself a dietitian and use the initials ‘RD’, or ‘RDN’.
The whole process from start to finish takes about 5 years. So you can imagine the frustration of someone who worked their butt off for 5 years to study nutrition to be met by someone who studied for 6 months, saying they do the same job.
(Ps. You can head to the Dietitians of Canada website to read more about how to become one.)
The Good: the reason to do this instead of (or in my case, in conjunction with) a health coaching program, is that you become a regulated professional. This means that you are held to a standard of ethics, and have the qualifications to make sound dietary recommendations. As an added bonus, in Canada your benefits often cover working with a dietitian, whereas working with a nutritionist is an out-of-pocket expense.
For me, the biggest selling point, and the reason I’m making the leap, is the depth of education you receive. You learn the mechanisms of metabolism and the human body, you learn how to counsel others effectively, you learn about food accessibility, and you learn how to read scientific literature.
I’m a nutrition nerd: I like to read a lot of books and a lot of studies. I do a lot of professional nutrition writing. And I still know there’s a lot I don’t know and understand.
Dietitians are trained to work in clinical and hospital settings. They’re trained to manage disease. They’re trained to help people with eating disorders or liver disease or diabetes. They are trained to help people who are already sick. This to me is the big difference, because I think most nutritionists are trained to treat people who are healthy: They work in prevention.
And while this important work (of course you should aim to be healthy and not wait until the damage is already done), the problem is that people assume that nutrition advice then is harmless. (Which is why you tend to have a lot of people, such as chiropractors, or even doctors–who, by the way do not study nutrition in school—handing out nutrition advice.) But if you aren’t trained in counselling or you don’t understand food accessibility or weight bias, then your advice could very much be harmful. At best, you could give bogus advice that cost people money as they shop for expensive ingredients that don’t really do anything. At worst, you could trigger or worsen disordered eating in the individual, or prevent them from seeking medical attention earlier than they need to.
The Bad: this route is expensive and a lot of work. It’s not for the faint of heart.
I’d also say that, especially when I was in my early twenties, there’s a lot of skepticism around dietitians and “conventional medicine”. In fact, I personally disliked dietitians for a long time because I thought their advice to eat whole grains and drink skim milk seemed outdated. (I still think this: nutrition science is new and always changing, but updating policies, regulations and school textbooks take time.)
For a long time, I resisted dietetics because I didn’t want to argue about my paleo/gluten-free diet with someone who I felt didn’t know the latest research. (As though I, at 20, was the expert. Ha.)
I think this perception is changing. I think social media has played an influence in this. In some ways it’s made dietetics relevant again. If not relevant, then maybe trendy.
Why Am I Making This Change?
To circle back, the reason for my deciding to go back to school, is because I want to work with people more directly. Specifically dealing with ditching diet culture. In the last year, I have really found a love for all things social justice, and that includes the realm of nutrition. I want to help change the discourse around nutrition (which primarily centres around weight loss), and I want to educate people on good nutrition science and debunk everything else. So that is my catalyst driving me forward.
I’ve always tried to act with integrity, and the reason for not taking on clients sooner is because I would never want to promise something I couldn’t deliver on.
It makes me really excited to go back to school. I hope to bring this knowledge to my blog and to my business.
How To Find The Best Practitioner For Your Needs
As a final thought, I don’t want you to think that I think nutritionists are bad, or that holistic nutritionists or health coaches don’t know anything. I’ve known nutritionists who know their stuff, and I’ve seen dietitians who seem to only know the Canada Food Guide.
At the end of the day, you want to find a person who resonates with your goals and your vision. To do that, I recommend checking out their educational background. Ask yourself, what are their qualifications? What makes them the expert? Have they personally been through what you’ve been through? Are they inclusive? Do they understand your struggles and your needs?
I think these questions will help you to navigate through the sea of practitioners out there, and find someone who best suits you.
And who knows, maybe in the future, that person will be me! I’m excited to share this journey with you. Please, feel free to ask me any questions you have!
With love,
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