I get this question a lot, so I thought I would write a short post in order to explain what my chosen profession is all about.

A dietitian is a health professional who works with clients/patients in order to enhance their quality of life and improve their health through food. We keep up to date on current research having to do with food and health and use that knowledge to help people improve their eating. The advice we provide is always tailored to that individual’s specific needs and habits.

Dietitians can be found in a variety of work settings and work with a diverse clientele. Work settings for a dietitian include hospitals, nursing homes, community clinics, the food and pharmaceutical industries, grocery stores, public governance, education, and research. We work with people who suffer from many different health problems such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. But we also work with healthy individuals who are interested in improving their eating habits, or with people at a particular life stage, like pregnancy or breastfeeding. Basically, dietitians are extremely versatile in terms of what we do and who we help.

The difference between a dietitian and a nutritionist

Simply, there may or not may be a difference between a dietitian and a nutritionist depending on where you are located. In Quebec, Alberta, and Nova Scotia they mean the same thing, so someone who calls themselves a dietitian OR a nutritionist must have had formal training and be certified by a provincial regulatory body. In the other Canadian provinces and in the United States, only “dietitian” is a professional title. In those places, anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, even if they haven’t had formal training. In order to be sure that you are choosing a qualified professional, you should pick one who has the initials RD or PDt after their name.

Dietitians of Canada has a great website for those interested in learning more about the profession and in finding a dietitian to work with: https://www.dietitians.ca/