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Featuring guest: Laura Schoenfeld RD.
http://www.lauraschoenfeldrd.com/
http://www.ancestralizeme.com/
The Ancestral RDs podcast http://theancestralrds.com/
30 Day Guide to the Paleo Diet
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Really nice discussion about the education & credentialing issues. I think Robb’s idea about multiple different medical organizations (as opposed to just the AMA) is really interesting. I mean, the fact is, there are MDs with the perspective of Davis, Perlmutter, Westman, Phinney, and, let’s not forget that Robert Atkins was an MD … and then, there are MDs with the dietary perspective of Neal Barnard and Caldwell Esselstyn. They all have the same credential, but wildly different opinions on food and chronic illness. That doesn’t mean credentials are meaningless, but even when someone *has* fancy letters after their name, what does that really mean, when the approaches they recommend are so different? Even just in my grad program, we all left with an MS in human nutrition, but I’ll tell you what: there were people in my program I wouldn’t trust to run a lemonade stand, let alone help someone with one foot in the grave reclaim their health and vitality with dietary recommendations. And how is the consumer to know whom to trust, when we all have the same degree?
Really, it seems like formal education is only the beginning. I think most MDs, nutritionists, dietitians — or any other professional, for that matter — a carpenter, a chef, an electrician, a cop — would probably say that the piece of paper they got when they left school was the *starting point.* The vast majority of learning happens on the job, largely while you’re flying by the seat of your pants, faking total confidence, and praying no one notices! 🙂
As for the recent comments from the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics’ on the report from the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, I did a pretty detailed breakdown on that a couple of weeks ago: http://www.tuitnutrition.com/2015/05/AND-comments-on-DGAC-report.html
P.S. Laura, judging by the number of comments on your post on Chris Kresser’s site about undereating, I think it’s safe to say that’s a huge issue in the Paleo/ancestral health world, *especially* among women. It is *so hard* to convince women — young women, especially — that they need to eat more! I wonder when it all went so wrong…This 1200 calorie a day thing has got to go! Anyway, thanks for bringing attention to it.
And thanks also to both of you for the “shocking revelation” that you’re not perfect! As a nutritionist, myself, I have to remind myself that being up a few pounds once in a while, or feeling blue for a couple of days, or just not being the absolute shining beacon of perfect physique and moods every second of every day, does not negate the knowledge I have, nor does it disqualify me from being able to help others. Like you said, it seems like people expect the pros to have everything dialed in at all times. Um, hello. Actually, it seems like, for many of us, our best learning experiences come from when things *aren’t* going so well, and we have to evaluate & try new approaches. If anything, those hard times make us better practitioners.
Thanks for your great comment, Amy! Having credentials definitely does not guarantee that someone is able to do ANY job well, let alone a medical job.
This post was very inspirational and insightful to a soon-to-be graduate of Bsc in Human Nutrition from lil ol’ New Zealand. Thanks Laura and Robb
Laura mention being part of a paleo dietitians group on FaceBook. As a paleo RD myself, could I get the name of that group and join?
Really loved this podcast as well! Thanks Robb and Laura. I myself am a Naturopathic Doctor in Ontario Canada and really loved the comments regarding there is a no “one size fits all” approach. This is something that our profession in general prides itself in, treating the patient as an individual. From a personal perspective as well I love the N = 1 experiment and have evolved from a nutritional and exercise standpoint throughout my career by doing so. Unfortunately I see many people stuck in the dogma of “Paleo” or “CrossFit” instead of being guided to make some more liberal choices within those templates that are right for their individual bodies. Thank-you both for providing information and insight to perhaps let people know it is OK to do so!