Nutrition and diet therapies educate people about the connection between food and health. Nutritionists and dietitians promote good eating habits to help prevent disease and to treat preexisting conditions. Proper nutrition also helps regulate behavior, increase energy and boost mood.

In therapy, nutritionists work with a patient's unique biological makeup to plan a diet regimen that will facilitate her return to optimal health. They may educate those with high blood pressure about restricting salt intake, encourage diabetics to take vitamin E supplements to prevent complications and help restore low serotonin levels in alcoholics and patients suffering from drug addiction.

Though many of us are aware that a healthy diet can prevent disease, not enough of us know about the healing power of food. With the right vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and amino acids, people can begin to fight all sorts of conditions from cancer to drug abuse.

For example, vitamin C can be used to help relieve the withdrawal symptoms that drug addicts suffer. And the amino acid tyrosine can be used to treat cocaine addiction. Other foods can provide a boost in daily functioning: oatmeal helps enhance memory, blueberries can heighten motor skills and salmon can improve cognition.

Common Types of Dietitians

Clinical
Clinical dietitians provide services to patients in hospitals and nursing-care facilities. A primary health care physician may refer a patient to a clinical dietitian who can assess nutritional needs and provide an appropriate diet plan for the individual. Clinical dietitians often specialize in obesity, diabetes or renal failure, for example. There are also clinical dietitians who conduct research on nutrition.

Community
Community dietitians work closely with at-risk groups, such as senior citizens, pregnant women and diabetics. dietitians consult these groups about the right foods to eat and what to avoid. Community dietitians also counsel individuals and groups about disease prevention and improving quality of life. Often these programs are government-funded.

Management
Management dietitians administer large-scale meal planning and preparation in health care facilities, company cafeterias, prisons and schools. They are also responsible for budgeting, purchasing and managing personnel wherever food is served.

Consultant
Consultant dietitians work in private practice and may counsel patients about issues such as weight loss and cholesterol reduction. Others test new food products or develop recipes and design menus for restaurants and businesses. And still others work with the media to promote advertising campaigns. Many provide expertise to supermarkets and other food-related businesses, planning sanitation and safety procedures, for instance.

Sports
Sports dietitians work with athletes and professional sports teams to optimize physical performance, prevent injury, boost recovery, increase stamina and manage body weight. Beyond organizing menus and supermarket visits, they also advise and educate athletes about myths concerning supplements and fad diets.

Common Treatment Techniques

Nutrition Counseling
Nutrition counseling helps a patient assess his daily dietary intake and identify areas where change is needed. If a certain food, for example, is aggravating a patient's condition, a strategic menu may be designed to restore necessary nutrients. To further help the patient, information, support and follow-up are also part of nutrition counseling.

Diet Therapy
Diet therapy alters a patient's diet to treat conditions such as obesity and diabetes. This therapy looks into conditions that are triggered by ingesting certain foods. For example, some children who are unable to process synthetic petroleum-based food additives may show impaired learning. Children with ADHD have similar learning impairments. Experts have found that changing their diet may alleviate the condition.

Medical Nutrition Therapy
Medical nutrition therapy follows the evaluation of a patient's nutritional status. Assessment may include a review and analysis of the patient's past medical and diet histories. Therapy can range from minor changes in diet, such as the restriction of fat intake for those with cardiovascular disease, to the use of intravenous or feeding tubes—injecting vitamin C to relieve the withdrawal symptoms in morphine addicts, for example.

Weight Management
Being overweight or underweight can prohibit cardiovascular functioning and endanger vital organs. Nutritionists have designed weight-management programs that assist patients in all aspects of losing (or gaining) weight—including self-control, psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioral treatment.

Nutrition Education
There are numerous health campaigns seeking to educate people about health, portion control, vitamins and tips on recommended daily intake. The "Got Milk" campaign is one good example. Nutritionists have been spreading the word in schools and community health programs.

Credentials

R.D. (Also the L.N.)
All registered dietitians must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with course work approved by the American Dietetic Association (ADA). In addition, they must become accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) through a supervised program at a health-care facility or community agency. Also, the registered dietitian must pass a national registration examination and complete continuing professional education requirements to renew registration. Many R.D.s go on to hold additional certificates in specialized areas such as pediatrics or diabetes education.

You can also become a licensed nutritionist, L.N., but this is offered in only a handful of states.

Last Reviewed: May 12, 2006
Last Reviewed By: Josephine Yatar