Nutritionist, Dietitian, Sports Nutritionist ... Which is it??

I often hear people describe me as a nutritionist and I politely correct them by telling them more specifically, I am a registered dietitian (RD). There is a difference and most don’t understand what the difference is.  In the State of Michigan there isn’t licensure for dietitians, so anyone can call themselves a nutritionist and legally not get in trouble for it.

You could read a book on nutrition, label yourself as a nutritionist, and give out advice.  It is all in how you sell yourself.  Here is a great example of why it pays in time and money to check the background and schooling of any "nutritionist" before consulting them.

Recently, a colleague of mine had several triathletes referred to her when their performance had radically declined after consulting a personal trainer who claimed to be a "certified nutritionist."  The athletes had been given an extremely restrictive diet and they followed it. After they had complained numerous times of early fatique during exercise, the trainer began to belittle them, telling them to “toughen up and just do it."  That’s when they stopped seeing this individual and sought the help of my colleague. 

The athletes were justifiably frustrated, as they had spent thousands of dollars on their bikes, wetsuits and all the equipment necessary to compete in triathlons, yet their performance had been jeopardized due to poor nutritional advice. These particular athletes could have had much better results in their training program leading to much better race performance if they had done their homework from the start and sought an RD who specializes in sports nutrition. 

These triathletes would have benefited from consulting an RD who is a Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD). A CSSD would have taught them how to use food to increase stamina and endurance, and offered ideas for food to eat before, during and after exercise or sport.  The athletes would have learned how to best drink fluids before, during and after their sport as well as make better food choices when buying and preparing foods.

CSSDs are RDs with a minimum of two years of professional practice experience. Many CSSDs hold exercise andor athletic training credentials and most possess postgraduate degrees. They are specialists in sports nutrition who are also qualified to deliver medical nutrition therapy, nutrition consulting that focuses on medical conditions. 

A CSSD would be able to assist athletes who have food allergies or intolerance and want to know the best choices for their condition and how food and medicine can interact. The CSSD will also be able to assist an athlete who has a medical condition such as diabetes, cardiovascular risk factors, compromised bone health, abnormal iron status or gastrointestinal problems such as gluten sensitivity.

If you are seeking nutrition advice to improve your performance, whether you are a novice athlete or an experienced athlete ready to take your performance to the next level, do your due diligence and seek a RD CSSD who specializes in your sport.  If you are looking for a CSSD in your area visit the Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition website: www.scandpg.org  and click on “Find a SCAN RD," or e-mail scandpg@gmail.com for more information.  SCAN is a dietetic practice group of the American Dietetic Association, the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals.

This video gives a good picture of how a sports dietitian can help: http://gambit.blob.core.windows.net/ada/scandpg/resources/FLV/freevideo/scansports.wmv