Abstract: Registered dietitians, RD’s, are well seated to be the drivers of health care reform. The emerging science of nutritional genomics puts nutrition in the forefront of preventative health care with the call for personalized nutrition plans. As a profession, RD’s, are not be accustom to the spot light and the organizations representing the profession have not been organized in their leadership. The problem exists of how to use these scientific advancements to better position the profession in the health care industry. This has created a need for a new set of skills and a clearer vision for the profession. It also calls for RD’s to get creative in networking and marketing. It is an opportunity to work together to advance the profession as a whole.
Keywords: registered dietitian, health care reform, prevention, nutritional genomics, personalized nutrition
The Future of Personalized Nutrition
The discovery of the human genome has invited an exciting and needed opportunity for change in health care. For too long we have accepted that chronic disease is just part of the human condition. We have viewed our genetic make up as a script of life with a predetermined path. Thanks to the discovery of the human genome we now know differently. We are beginning to understand that our ancient book of life is not on a set course. Rather, epigenetic tags are responsive to environmental inputs that determine genetic expression and disease pathology.
Interestingly, this discovery has put the role of nutrition in chronic disease in the spotlight in an entirely new way. Whereas medical conversation has traditionally focused on nutrition as the root cause of disease, we are now focusing on the role of nutrients in the prevention of disease. Nutritional genomic is the new vision of preventative healthcare.
References: Chicagoist.com (2008). Nutrition in Health Care Reform: Chicagoist. [online] Available at: http://chicagoist.com/2009/12/22/nutrition_in_health_care_reform.php [Accessed: 29 Sep 2012]. Corella, D. and Ordovas, J. (2004). Nutritional Genomics. Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics , (5), 71-118. Eatright.org (2012). RDs = Nutrition Experts from the Academy. [online] Available at: http://www.eatright.org/HealthProfessionals/content.aspx?id=6856#.UGiJQb8Xgas [Accessed: 29 Sep 2012]. Fletcherallen.org (2012). About the Center for Nutrition and Healthy Food Systems - About Fletcher Allen - Fletcher Allen. [online] Available at: http://www.fletcherallen.org/about/environmental_leadership/center_nutrition_healthy_food_systems [Accessed: 29 Sep 2012]. Marquart, L. et al. (2006). Continuing Education Needs of Registered Dietitians Regarding Nutrigenomics. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 106 (8), 1242-1245. Nutrigenomics.ucdavis.edu (2012). Information - Nutritional Genomics. [online] Available at: http://nutrigenomics.ucdavis.edu/?page=Information [Accessed: 29 Sep 2012]. Sharp, M. (1993). Commentary on health care reform and opportunities for dietitians.. Journal of the Canadian Dietetics Association, 54 (4), 180-183..