Nutritionist

I rather enjoy public health awareness. In Kilmarnock I was set a task of coming up with and designing a poster about diabetes. My colleague and I were unsure what would be best to put on this poster so we interviewed several patients at the clinic to find out about their current knowledge and it was surprising to learn how little was known.

I try to do as much as I can but tell myself that there are only 24 hours in a day. I will try to prioritise the work that has to be done imminently and leave what can wait until I have more time.

Fat is classified in two categories, saturated and unsaturated. Un-saturated fat is healthy and reduces the risk of heart disease while saturated and trans fat are bad and increase the risk of the heart ailment.

The role of both nutritionist and dietician are same, they both are healthcare professionals and give vital information on healthy eating habits and dietary supplements, dietician can be a nutritionist but not all nutritionist are dieticians. Dietician are registered and nationally recognized while nutritionist is more general.

Niacin is B3 vitamin (egg, peanut, milk) which has a tendency to reduce blood cholesterol, but you are already on medication that is reducing cholesterol, you should not replace it with high intake of vitamin B3 or Niacin.

☛ Saturated fat: Cheese, butter, deep fried foods, processed oil, fatty meats

☛ Unsaturated or good fat: Fish, olives, nuts and peanuts, vegetable oil

Diabetes type 1 diet should include

☛ Variety of food containing unsaturated fats such as nuts, avocados and oily fish

☛ Avoid processed food

☛ High fibre food

☛ Eat more fruits and vegetables

☛ Include beans and lentils in your diet

☛ Reduce or avoid intake of salt, sugar and alcohol

The number of servings you need each day from each food group depends on your calorie needs. To determine your calorie needs and find the number of servings that is right for you

When I was 17 in Biology class. We started the human nutrition section and became interested in vitamins and minerals and the diseases that can be caused by both deficiency and excess.

A Registered Dietitian (RD) is a food and nutrition expert who has met the minimum academic and professional requirements to qualify for the credential of RD. In addition to RD credentialing, many states have regulatory laws (link is external) for dietitians and nutrition practitioners. State requirements are met through the same education and training required to become an RD. For more information on the field of dietetics

I was due to see a Polish man who spoke no English for advice on type 2 diabetes. I was not allowed to use his friend who spoke English as a translator because it was against the trust's policy. In the end I had to use something called a language line where a translator is put on speaker phone in front of the patient. It was extremely awkward but it ended up being one of my favorite consultations.

Caring, empathetic, conscienctious, team player, be able to work independently.

The most important thing in nutrition is moderation and diversity. One must consume all type of foods and in moderate amount, not in excess.

I read a paper comparing the use of low- and high-carbohydrate diets for type 2 diabetes management. Both the LC and HC diets produced comparable weight loss and improvements in HbA1c and several CVD risk markers. LC diet had more favourable effects on triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and glycaemic control as shown by lower diabetes medication requirements and greater attenuation of diurnal blood glucose fluctuation. LC diets with high unsaturated fat and low saturated fat contents may be advantageous for T2DM management long-term.

On twitter and the internet.

About 15- 20% of your daily calorie should come from protein. However, a diabetic patient won't have any difference in their sugar level with high intake of protein, so they can consume food rich protein unless they have CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) related to diabetes.

I think it should be a very open, symbiotic relationship. I feel that dietitians should be in the kitchens more frequently and have good relationships with the staff because they would be more willing to help you if you needed something extra for a patient.