Experts

[LadyForCamus]

Dietitian here.

‘What the Health’ is an unscientific, unobjective, cherry picked load of crap.  Documentaries like these are exactly the reason we need public trust in experts.  Many people are of the opinion that nutrition science is the one field where experts can’t be trusted, and anyone with an opinion and access to the internet can be an expert.  As an RD, it’s maddening.

One huge problem you have is that for every Dietitian there are a hundred nutritionists and Joe public have no idea that the two

are completely unrelated. Nutritionist is not a protected term, anyone can and do, call themselves a nutritionist and they answer to no one. It's pseudo-science at its worst, it's dangerous bullshit but the punters don't know this.

Absolutely.  Most states now have licensure for the RD title that legally prohibits non-RD’s from dispensing any recommendations that qualify as medical nutrition therapy, but it’s even a problem in those places for the reasons you mentioned.  Much of the general public simply doesn’t know that the term “nutritionist” is unregulated.  In my state of NY, there is no licensure, so it’s even harder to earn public trust.  Another big problem, at least to me, is the amount of money the AND accepts from the food industry.  It hurts our reputation, and makes it that much harder for practicing dietitians on the front line to earn the trust of consumers.