Question:
I am a Registered Holistic Nutritionist.One of my goals is to help people educate themselves about foods. So ....

Hidden food allergies can be responsible for many symptoms of disease,including fibromyalgia!

Answer: This ad was posted in another thread but I thought I would use it as anopportunity to discuss health care credentials.

"Monica XXXXXXX wrote:

Hi, my name is Monica XXXXX and I am a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. One of my goals is to help people educate themselves about foods. So ....

Hidden food allergies can be responsible for many symptoms of disease, including fibromyalgia!

To receive FREE information on which foods are common to be allergic tosend an e-mail to: sucker.com

This sounds good. But how to do you tell the bogus diet counselors from thecompetent? By competent I mean they have a minimum of a bachelors degree innutrition from an accredited college. Advanced or specialized training isdesirable too so ask. Most nutrition programs have a focus these days. WhereI went students have three choices: research, nutrition counseling, or thedietetic tract in either research or counseling. It is not possible to be anutrition professional of any kind with less than a bachelor degree. Mostschools require a minimum of three years of science major level chemistry,a year of human anatomy and physiology, and a few quarters of humanpathology. And, of course, general nutrition courses, food chemistry, foodscience, psychology, general and nutrition counseling, etc etc.

Unfortunately anyone can call themselves a "nutritionist". And in somestates anyone can call themselves a "naturopath" or a "doctor" (Imaginegoing to a naturopath for a pelvic exam and not knowing the man had everbeen taught how to do one!) The title is totally meaningless. Some peopleread a book or two and consider themselves qualified. Others are supplementsalespeople in disguise or do gooders with a message.

A competent nutritionist will have one or more of these credentials:

A state specific designation. Some states have wisely set standards fornutrition practitioners and defined who can use certain titles. Know whatthe standards are for your state. Here in Washington State we have certifiednutritionists (CN). You can only put "CN" after your name if you have aminimum of a masters degree in nutrition from an accredited college and haveregistered with the state.RD -When someone has a "RD" (registered dietician) it means they have metthe qualifications established by the American Dietetic Association. Noteverybody wants to belong to the ADA so don't assume they are the onlyqualified practitioners. The head of the University of Washington'snutrition program is not a RD while the head of Bastyr University's programis. Both are qualified.CNS -Certified Nutrition Specialist issued by the College of Nutrition.Minimum of a Masters Degree in Nutrition and a National Exam.

CCN -Certified Clinical Nutritionist issued by the Clinical NutritionCertification Board. This is the certification most held by physicians.Minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in nutrition or an advanced medical degree.

Member of a professional organization such as the Society for NutritionEducation.

Practitioners can belong to more than one organization. Obviously a "CNS" isalso be qualified to be CN is Washington State. With a little bit of timeand money you could collect a whole string of letters after your name!

Problem is -anyone can legally use these titles. My cat can claim to be aCCN. What you must ask is *who* has certified the them. A person cannotclaim to be a certified by the College of Nutrition if they are not. Howeverthey can legally claim to be a CNS.How can you tell if someone is not qualified?Run from anyone certified or trained by the following:

The AACC -American Association of Nutritional Consultants. This is one ofthose organizations your cat can join. Pay a fee and get a pretty diploma.C.N.C.® Certified Nutritional Consultant from The American Association ofNutritional Consultants To get your CNC you must take a "test" and pay astiff fee but no actual training or nutrition education is necessary.