I am not a nutritionist

February 16, 2020

What do I mean I am not a nutritionist? I have master's of science in nutrition!

I am not a nutritionist | suzyandco.com


For friends and family who know me and for those who have been following me for a while, it might seem weird for me to say I am not a nutritionist.

Unfortunately, but also fortunately, legislation was passed in New Jersey. There was a law licensing nutritionists and dietitians stipulating who could use the term nutritionist.

Despite the fact that I have Master's degree in Nutrition,
I can no longer call myself a nutritionist in the state of New Jersey. This is because I am not also a registered dietitian.

You may think I am upset about this and I think it is unfair. Obviously it is not ideal, but I am not that upset about it. The reason is because there are so many people now, without any degree whatsoever, calling themselves nutritionists or some title with the name nutrition in it - nutrition coach, nutrition educator, nutrition mentor. A Lot. I see them all the time on instagram.

Now they may giving out solid advice. But there are way more giving out pseudo-science. Or their information is biased because they are selling something or have a vested interest in telling you a certain way to eat or a certain product to take.

New Jersey is actually protecting their citizens from people, both the ones biased and the ones who may have only the best intentions.

So the unfortunate part for me is that I can no longer call myself a nutritionist unless I further my education and credentials. But I really am ok with that. I have been very frustrated and rolled my eyes countless times and the diet/health/wellness industry. I think this was very much needed and will hopefully make a small difference in the amount of "experts" out there giving nutrition and diet advice.

The good thing is that I can still talk about nutrition and food and intuitive eating here on this site and I can still counsel people with diabetes and teach diabetes classes because I am a Certified Diabetes Educator as well.

My unsolicited advice for you

Even if you are not in New Jersey a huge take-away I have for you from this post is to really take what you hear about diet and nutrition with a grain of salt. I know how hard it is to get through all the information and noise to find out what you really need to be doing for your health. And even experts have different opinions. But if you can find a few reputable people to follow, that really know what they are talking about, that look at trends with a skeptical science eye, and treat people as individuals, that is the person you can put trust in. Most times that will be a dietitian, although those of us with Master's may know a thing or 2 also. :)

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