Integrative and functional medicine treats the patient as a whole – and many who work in the field are convinced this is the future of medicine. The goal is to understand why the patient is ill, and work to fix the root cause, rather than just prescribe a medication to manage their disease.

Similarly, integrative and functional nutrition is a more personalized approach in which a dietitian and patient partner together to heal the root causes of symptoms or an illness. It’s still science-based, but it considers all aspects of a patient’s lifestyle, genetics, and biochemistry, rather than just prescribing a standard diet for their disease.

Using an integrative and function...

The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released the latest edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. These science-based recommendations provide guidance about what and how much to eat to meet nutrient needs for health, and to prevent chronic disease.

Although each version of the Dietary Guidelines adheres to a consistent message of healthy eating, the details in that message do evolve. As such, they’re updated every five years, to account for the latest nutrition research, recommendations from science advisors, and diet trends or attitudes among consumers.

Here’s a look at the major highlights of the 2020-2025 Die...

Food trends come and go. One year, kale is the latest food in the culinary spotlight, being added to smoothies, salads and sold as chips. The next, avocados are America’s sweetheart. While both of these super foods are still in style and highly sought after, a few other ingredients and trends are making their way to your local grocery. Here’s a review of the top 5 latest food trends to look out for.

1. Pea protein- Americans are becoming increasingly concerned about their health and the health of the environment, which is a good thing. As we move away from animal-based products, plant-based proteins remain popular. Pea protein, made from yellow peas, may be found in anything fro...

Have you ever considered starting a food or nutrition blog? It’s easier than you might think, and if you commit some time, energy, and a little bit of money, it can pay off in many ways.

Why Start a Food or Nutrition Blog?

A food or nutrition blog gives you a much bigger platform to share your knowledge and inspire people to eat better. Instead of talking to one patient at a time, or a small group of people about one specific topic, a blog can reach thousands of readers a month. There’s something exciting and satisfying in knowing you have readers not just where you live or work, but also all over the world.

Blogging is also a great way to develop and share your knowledge in an a...

Consumers can’t seem to get enough nutrition information. Nearly every major news outlet, and most online magazines produce health and nutrition content. In addition, there are an estimated 500 million blogs on the internet, and many of them dole out food and nutrition advice daily.

Unfortunately, much of that content isn’t written by RDNs or nutrition professionals. Often, the writers have no formal nutrition training or research skills. In many cases, it’s produced on behalf of a company with a goal of selling their products. As a result, much nutrition information on the internet is biased and misleading, unclear, or in some cases, downright incorrect.

It’s no wo...

Two things will always be true about food and nutrition: dietitians love to talk about it; and the world loves to listen, learn and question everything they’ve ever heard about food and science.

Most of us are comfortable fielding individual nutrition questions but often we’re at a loss when asked to give a longer presentation on a single topic. We worry it won’t be engaging enough, that there won’t be enough to talk about, or that it’s information everyone already knows.

I can’t cite statistics, but I can tell you from years of experience, nutrition talks are one of the most requested and popular topics for groups of all ages and in all settings – fro...

It’s a new year and a whole new decade, which means new resolutions and goals. Whether they’re for you, your business, or you’re trying to help patients navigate the challenges of making changes, it’s essential to have a plan.

New Year’s resolutions or goals in general, are like a road trip to someplace unfamiliar. You know where you’re starting and where you want to end. However, without a GPS to guide you and redirect you when you get lost, you’ll play it safe, turn around, and end up right back where you started.

That lack of a step-by-step plan is a big reason change is so hard for all of us. So, if you find yourself (or your patients) stuck in...

For anyone looking for their first job or their fourth job, meeting a potential employer for the first time can be really nerve-racking. What should you wear? What kind of questions can you expect? Once you’ve gotten your resume through the online application process and into the hands of the right person, you’ll want to shine for the interview. Below are some tips from a few RDs that have been the interviewee as well as the interviewer.

For starters- dress the part. It’s been said before, dress for the job you want, not the job you already have. It’s always better to be overdressed, than underdressed. Obviously, men should not show up in a tux or women in a ball go...

Your professional bio is a written version of your elevator pitch – that 30 second summary of who you are, what you do, and how your services can benefit others. Because it often appears on a website (yours or your employers), your professional bio can reach quite a wide audience.



It’s important to make your bio shine, because it’s a great way to market yourself and your unique expertise. It’s also free advertising, so it’s worthwhile to make the most of it. Here are a few tips to help you write a professional bio that piques your audience’s interest and leaves them wanting to know more about you.

1. 
   

   DO Stick to third person. In most cases, your bio is an int...

Not all dietitians are extroverts. There are many dietitians that would rather work in a research lab or write articles all day than get out in front of an audience and speak. But, if you are one of those people that loves to work a crowd and show off your nutrition knowledge and culinary skills, then doing food demos may be right in your wheelhouse.

Before you pack your cutting board and knives, there’s a few things to get situated before pitching a food demo to a company, mom’s group or other audience. For starters, find out if the group you’ll be teaching has a budget. Will they be paying for your food, prep time and expertise or will you be doing the work pro bono? While...