faulker053

"Such crazy thoughts in that Aussie article!" Do you think that if only you do the right thing —eat a healthy diet, exercise, get enough sleep—then you will achieve your dreamed of weight, live free of disease and live happily ever after? This, dear readers, is a fairy tale.  If you believe that eating nutrient packed, low calorie foods is solely responsible for whether or not you get cancer, or arthritis or MS, think again. And don’t be fooled by the preaching of Dr. Fuhrman in his book, Eat for Health , that health equals nutrition divided by calories , period. Health is not such a simple equation. And no, eating whole grain, veggie packed meals won’t protect you from an eating disorder either.  If you think that eating 'right' ensures thinness, as was recently emphatically suggested in a popular newspaper article in Australia, it is yet another fantasy. And if you torture your overweight self with the belief that you must lose weight--at all costs, and that your ...

Processed, white bread, with sweet, unsalted butter. Yum! Yes, that’s white bread—homemade by my bread machine, in fact (with my husband’s assistance)—and that indeed is real butter on top, added by yours truly. It was part of my lunch, together with my favorite  lentil soup . And, a piece of salted almond dark chocolate, along with a cup of tea I’m still sipping on. A reality program of what RDs really eat? Not quite. Rather, I’m compelled to respond to an article that makes showing up at dinner parties with my real identity as a Registered Dietitian quite challenging! I stumbled upon 9 Ingredients Nutritionists Won’t Touch as it was retweeted by some RDs on Twitter. Exaggerated statements about foods that dietitians wouldn’t dare eat plastered the article, so I thought I'd clear the air for the sake of people like Brian (not his real name), a blog follower struggling with an eating disorder. He saw this Dietitian's response, which read “An irresponsible piece overgene...

RDs? Nutritionists? Trainers? Finding healthy, sensible advice to change your relationship with food. Don't let me teach you to juggle! And don't let some clown pretend to be a nutrition expert! I thought about doing a spinal adjustment on my overweight patient with back pain, but then I realized “Hey, I’m a dietitian, what am I thinking ? I have no expertise in this!” Ok, I’m kidding. I wouldn’t dream of guiding clients in areas I am not qualified (although I have made suggestions about stress reduction I would never consider myself a replacement for a therapist). Educating clients on target heart rate and setting realistic exercise goals based on their current health is one thing, but I wouldn’t instruct them on bench presses. Subtle mistakes and misinformation could lead to major problems. So why don’t other provider types feel the same way when it comes to doling out nutrition information? Take chiropractors for instance. What extensive training qualifies them to tell yo...