1. Tell me what is the best vegetable to eat?
All fresh vegetables are best for your diet; it comprises of all essential nutrients like fiber, potassium, folic acid, vitamin A, vitamin C and most important range of anti-oxidant, which can reduce the risk of cancer.
2. Explain how do you continue your education in nutrition, outside of the classroom?
I regularly visit the nutrition society homepage as well as the BDA. I follow a number of nutrition science on twitter and that keeps me abreast of new developments.
A healthy eating pattern is one that provides enough of each essential nutrient from nutrient-dense foods, contains a variety of foods from all of the basic food groups, and focuses on balancing calories consumed with calories expended to help you achieve and sustain a healthy weight. This eating pattern limits intake of solid fats, sugar, salt (sodium) and alcohol. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans consumer pamphlet, Let's Eat For the Health of It (link is external), provides guidance for creating a healthy eating pattern to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and osteoporosis.
4. Tell me should teenagers take a vitamin supplement to meet their energy level up?
It is useless to give a vitamin supplement unless the teenager is on a low-calorie diet. It is always preferable to take vitamin organically from fruits, vegetables and healthy fats.
5. Tell me Is meat bad for good health?
Meat is an excellent source of protein, iron and other essential nutrients. However it should be roasted or grilled instead of frying to derive maximum health benefits.
6. Do you know what should a PKU diet be?
PKU is a genetic disorder called Phenylketonuria. It lacks the enzyme which converts phenylalanine amino acid into tyrosine amino acid, resulting in accumulation of phenylalanine. Excess phenylalanine causes brain damage, so children who have PKU should avoid protein rich food.
7. Tell me what type of education is required to become a Registered Dietitian?
In order to become a Registered Dietitian, you must have a Bachelor's degree and must complete the coursework that provides the foundation knowledge and skills required by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. These courses must be completed at an accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) such as the program at University of Maryland. Once the coursework is satisfactorily completed you will be issued a Verification Statement by your Program Director. You must then be accepted into and complete a Dietetic Internship program. Following completion of the internship, you must pass the Registration Examination for Dietitians in order to be credentialed as a Registered Dietitian.
Teenager's metabolism is higher than an adult; it is advisable to give them a small meal at regular interval rather than large meals at longer duration. It will help them to keep their energy level high all day and prevent them overeating at meals.
9. Do you know what is the good source of iron?
The absorption rate of iron from meat, poultry and fish are higher than iron from plants, in order to get maximum absorption of iron, along with iron rich food you have to take vitamin c like citrus fruits or yogurt.
10. Tell me do peach pit contain cyanide?
Peach pit do contain cyanide in the form of cyanogen glycosides, one hundred gram of moist peach seed contain 88 mg of cyanide. So if you eat whole pit you would consume around 9 milligram of cyanide in the form of amygdalin that is less poisonous.
11. Do you know what types of jobs do Registered Dietitians hold?
Registered Dietitians work in a variety of settings including hospitals and other health care organizations, outpatient clinics, communication and public relations firms, government agencies, and school systems. For more information about careers in dietetics view this video
BMR means Basal Metabolic Rate; it is an energy expressed in calories that the body requires to keep it functioning at rest.
13. What is the salary range in the field of dietetics?
Salaries vary considerably according to the type of position, years of practice, level of education, and area of the country. Every few years, the American Dietetic Association completes a benefits and compensation survey for the field of dietetics. The most recent survey results can be found in "Compensation & Benefits Survey of the Dietetics Profession 2007".
14. Do you know what is the formula to calculate BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)?
The Harris benedict equation
☛ For Men: [13.75 x weight] + [5 x height] - [6.76 x age] + 66
☛ For Women: [9.56 x weight] + [1.85 x height] - [4.68 x age] + 655
From 1941 to 1989, the Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) released the Recommended Dietary Allowances or RDAs. The RDAs are a single set of nutrient specific values. During deliberations in the mid-1990's, the FNB decided to replace this single set of values with multiple sets of values, including: Estimated Average Requirements (EAR), Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA), Adequate Intakes (AI), and Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (UL) for designated age groups, physiologic states (for example, pregnancy), and by sex. These values are collectively referred to as the Dietary Reference Intakes, or DRIs.
16. Explain what should be diet of a person who wants to lose weight?
To lose weight diet should be-
☛ Low in carbohydrate: To lose weight quickly, you can have a small portion vegetables and one piece of fruit per day and consume around 20-50 grams of carbohydrate
☛ Reducing calorie and fat intake
☛ Don't skip meals and breakfast- it will tempt you to eat more and may lead into excess weight gain
☛ Food high in fibre and less in calories
☛ Drink a lot of water through the day and keep yourself hydrate
17. Tell me how many servings from each food group do I need each day?
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
18. Tell me what should be a daily diet for a patient with Type 1 diabetes?
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
19. What is a Registered Dietitian (RD)?
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
20. Explain and list out saturated and unsaturated food items?
☛ Saturated fat: Cheese, butter, deep fried foods, processed oil, fatty meats
☛ Unsaturated or good fat: Fish, olives, nuts and peanuts, vegetable oil
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.
22. Do you know what is the difference between dietician and nutritionist?
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.
23. Tell me when did you realize you wanted to be a Dietitian?
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.
24. Do you know what is good and bad fat?
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.
25. Explain how would you describe your counseling style?
I try to make it client-centred and uncover the reasons behind certain behaviours.
