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Registered Dietitian Day 2012- Who are the Real Nutrition Experts?

ByElena Paravantes, MS, RD

Today is Registered Dietitian Day. Registered Dietitian Day was created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association) to increase the awareness of registered dietitians as the indispensable providers of food and nutrition services and to promote the Academy and RDs to the public and the media as the most valuable and credible source of timely, scientifically based food and nutrition information.

Now the question is: What is a Registered Dietitian? This is an important question as many individuals call themselves Nutritionists, Nutrition Advisors, Nutrition Counselors or Life Coaches and they provide nutrition information and advice without having any accredited nutrition education, and usually only a personal interest in nutrition.

A Registered Dietitian has at least a four-year Bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics (or graduate degree), has completed an internship and has passed a national registration exam with the Commission on Dietetic Registration. They also complete continuing professional educational requirements to maintain their registration.

Not all countries have registration for dietitians, which can make it harder to find out if someone has really studied nutrition or dietetics (and I don’t mean a few seminars). Greece unfortunately is one of those countries, however although there is no registration there are certain academic qualifications that entitle (by law) their holders to provide nutritional assessment, nutrition recommendations, diets etc.
These are:

  • Graduates of the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition Science, University of Harokopio and equitable schools from abroad.
  • Graduates of the Department of Nutrition Dietetics of ATEI of Thessaloniki / Sitia and and equitable schools from abroad.

So if you are in Greece beware of various individuals acting as nutrition experts, when in fact they have no official nutrition education. And if you are not sure, drop me an email and I can assist you.

If you need trusted and accurate nutrition advice backed by expertise, credentials and training contact a Registered Dietitian.

Elena Paravantes, MS, RDN is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist by the U.S. Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). She is an expert on the Mediterranean Diet. She has been active as a clinician, consultant, author and lecturer for 20 years, both in the U.S. and Greece. An expert on the Greek Mediterranean Diet, her interviews and articles have been published in many publications including CNN, U.S. News and World Report, Prevention, NPR, and Shape. Elena has collaborated with a number of organizations including Loyola University, Yale University, University of Missouri, Louisiana State University, and the American College of Greece. Elena earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition and Dietetics and her Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She holds has a Master’s Degree of Science in Health Management.

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