Why I’m Not “Passionate”

I can remember my Mom telling me, maybe two years ago, that I just don’t appear to be passionate about food and nutrition. Her point wasn’t to be rude…in fact, it ironically stirred me into a somewhat passionate discussion about why I am the way I am. The reason that this came to pass was that my Mom had just been speaking to a very passionate young woman, who was talking about her Paleo diet (and her, I believe, one year of education in nutrition).

When my Mom told me that she followed a Paleo diet, I couldn’t keep my cynical facial expression to myself. Why wasn’t I as excited and passionate about a certain diet as this woman was about hers? Because no. Just no. As you can see, I am in fact guilty of shutting down when having these types of conversations, because I get frustrated.

It comes down to a saying that I’ve heard a few times now amongst my peers – Dietitians aren’t sexy. I may not be a dietitian yet, but in this scenario I identify with them because of our common educational backgrounds. To become a dietician, you must complete a 4 year Bachelors Degree in Nutrition, followed by a 1 year Dietetic Internship, and finally, write a national exam to become registered. An increasing number of nutrition professionals are also getting their Masters degree, which is what I am currently working on (along with my Dietetic Internship, as it is an integrated program).

Essentially, my education, particularly my Masters, encourages critical thinking…or, in a sense, cynicism. We critically appraise sources of information, and never take things for face value, even if they are “published journal articles”. Our practice is evidence based. I’m not saying everything about the profession is perfect (for example, I think that Canada’s Food Guide leaves a lot to be desired, and don’t even get me started on measures like BMI)…but we are trained to provide scientifically backed advice. Because of this, we won’t tell you things like:

“You must switch to veganism. Nothing tastes as good as vegan feels” *while toting a green smoothie in a mason jar*

“If you want to lose weight, all you have to do is eat these superfoods every day!” *Side note: I don’t believe in such things as superfoods*

“To lose those last ten pounds, just make sure you NEVER eat these five foods”

“All you have to do is switch to a Paleo/Atkins/Gluten-free/No Carb diet”

We won’t tell you these exciting, definitive and over simplified solutions, that you probably want to hear. To me, hearing people promote fad diets is like the equivalent of hearing nails on a chalk board. We will not promote weight loss pills, and unless you have an underlying health condition, such as Celiac disease, we won’t tell you to never eat certain foods.

We have read the research on all of the above. We probably either know that the above suggestions in fact do not work, or are all around unhealthy. No lifestyle should include absolutely forbidden foods. Sure, we will advise you to eat certain foods on a less regular basis, but it’s never a good idea to tell someone “you must never ever eat candy again” *cue outrageous candy cravings*. I understand how alluring the certainty of “this is the best diet ever” can be…but that’s usually just not sustainable or healthily balanced.

I consider myself a scientist who wants to help people – I want to help you be happy with your relationship with food, and enjoy what you eat while being happy with your body and health. I am passionate. But it can be difficult for me to express that when I am competing with the plethora of very trendy and enticing, but often very damaging, nutrition misinformation that exists today *damn you Dr. Oz*.

Seriously, please don’t ever converse with me in a manner that starts “Well Dr. Oz said that…”

🙂