How Do You Stay Current With Dietary Trends?
In the dynamic world of nutrition, staying abreast of dietary trends is crucial. We've gathered insights from five nutrition professionals, including dietitians and a Senior Fitness Writer, on how they keep their knowledge fresh and its impact on their practice. From harnessing client feedback to embracing intuitive eating principles, discover how these experts adapt to the changing landscape of dietary science.
- Client Feedback Informs Practice
- Engage in Professional Development
- Attend Nutrition Conferences
- Embrace Evolving Principles
- Prioritize Continuous Education
Client Feedback Informs Practice
I learn a lot when my clients inform me about what's current and relevant to them, and then I dive into the available information. Nutrition is something that's always evolving, and everyone has an opinion on it. Therefore, information is always changing or being communicated differently. But what impacts my clients is more pertinent to me to be up-to-date on so I can support and educate them as it relates to truly science-backed, efficacious practices. Outside of my clients' experiences, my colleagues are the best way to stay informed—especially with large-scale trends impacting the industry or populations we serve.
Engage in Professional Development
To stay current with rapidly evolving dietary trends, I engage in a variety of professional development activities. I regularly attend continuing education conferences and webinars, which are essential for gaining insights from leading experts and peers. I also subscribe to reputable journals and newsletters focused on nutrition science and dietetics. Beyond formal education, I participate in professional networks to exchange ideas and experiences with fellow nutrition professionals.
This commitment to continuous learning allows me to integrate the latest research and trends into the personalized advice I provide to my clients, including making informed choices during local and online grocery shopping. For example, recent findings on the impacts of ultra-processed foods have enabled me to guide my clients toward selecting minimally processed options that meet their health needs in a practical way. Staying informed also empowers me to debunk nutrition myths and offer evidence-based recommendations, which are essential for building trust and credibility with my clients.
Attend Nutrition Conferences
I find that attending conferences, such as HEALCon, which is the annual conference for the National Association of Nutrition Professionals, is a good way to stay informed about dietary trends and nutritional practices. Attending conferences like this is helpful for education and to help me remain up-to-date with information I can share with clients and students. I also have a curated set of Google Trend notifications that help me see what's current. That gives me a pointer toward those topics where I want to do a deeper dive on my own.
Embrace Evolving Principles
The ever-evolving dietary trends have not just influenced my practice, but created it. I was someone who struggled to keep up with these fads and never understood that my body wasn't meant to be forced into a certain restrictive way of eating. It led me to believe I was a failure time and time again, and I was tired of feeling this way. I decided to dive into how my body actually uses food for energy, what we need as humans to survive, and listen to my body's responses to food.
From this deep dive, I discovered the intuitive eating practice which, put simply, is to eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. Instead of going towards low-calorie foods, or obsessively counting, I went towards foods that came from the ground and began to notice what my body responded the best to.
The fads will always be there, but what sticks around is real food and feeling satisfied with what is in front of you.
Prioritize Continuous Education
Today, information is more available to us than ever before. Still, it is also very challenging to stay up-to-date with everything because new trends in fitness and nutrition appear practically every day.
I prefer three ways to stay current with the ever-evolving dietary trends.
First, through continuous education and professional development. This includes attending conferences, seminars, and workshops related to nutrition and dietetics. These events often feature expert speakers who present the latest research findings, emerging trends, and best practices in the field.
Such events are ideal for networking. A good network of colleagues is key to exchanging knowledge, sharing insights, and staying informed about emerging trends and developments.
Lastly, I make it a point to read the latest studies published. I want to underline the crucial role of evidence-based practice in our approach to nutrition counseling and guidance, which should give us all a sense of confidence in our work.
