How To Stay Updated With Latest Findings In Nutrition & Dietetics

Nutrition & dietetics science is a nascent science with new developments happening every day. It is very essential to stay updated with the latest findings in nutrition and dietetics to help our clients the best. Before we describe the methods to stay updated, there are few things you need to keep in mind:

• Select Your Topic Of Interest: Its almost impossible to be updated on every aspect of nutrition & dietetics science. So select the topics of your interest and read about them
• Set Aside Time: Yes. Setting aside a dedicated time to read every week is very important to stay updated. Setting aside a specific time makes sure you compulsorily read new updates
• Choose The Correct Source: Internet is flooded with information and it is very crucial that you choose the correct source to update your information
• Understand Basic Concepts Of Research: To understand what a research paper explains, its vital you have basic understanding of research concepts. If you are unaware, take a small course in research methods & statistics 

Best Sources To Stay Updated:

• Newsletters/ Websites/ Blogs: Subscribing to newsletters/ websites/ blogs is one of the most simple methods & effective methods to stay updated. My top 5 picks for the same are: 
• Nutritionists In India Blog (Offcourse our blog is my top pick)
• Nestle Nutrition Website
• HCP Connections
• Science Daily
• Sheila Kealey Updates On Sports Nutrition
• Research Journals: Journals that publish latest research articles are the best source to learn about new findings. Though its not possible to read all research journals, you can follow some top journals in nutrition and food science such as 
• American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
• Journal of American Dietetic Association
• European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
• Journal of Nutrition
• Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition
• If your interests are in the field of pediatrics/ endocrinology/ bone health, you could subscribe to journals specific to these topics
• Magazines For Health Professionals: Subscribe to journals which are meant for health/ nutrition professionals. My top 4 picks for the same are:
• Today's Dietitian
• Dietetics Today (By British Dietetics Association)
• Food & Nutrition Magazine (By American Association of Food & Nutrition)
• Network Health Digest
• Be A Member Of National & International Organisation: By being a member of National & International Nutrition & Dietetics Association, you can stay updated by attending various conferences and seminars organised by these associations
• Attend CNE: Like Continuous Medical Education programmes, Continuous Nutrition Education (CNE) programmes are available. Join these CNE's to pick up a new skill and update yourself
• Social Media & Whatsapp: Nutritionists In India (NII) started from Facebook and we have over 5100 qualified nutritionists & dietitians and we discuss cases, new findings, updates regularly on the group. So if you are a qualified dietitian & still not a part of our group, join today. Apart from NII, there are various social media platforms which you could join to be updated. Also, remember the more you share, the more your knowledge increases. So if you find an interesting piece of information, share it on your social media profile or on your whatsapp group of nutritionists/ dietitian friends. If you start sharing information and new findings with your friends, they will be encouraged to do the same. So as more and more of your friends share updates, the more findings you will learn about

Hope these simple methods help you stay updated with latest nutrition & dietetics research. If you have any more tips and tricks, do share them with us in comments below. 

Dr. Neha Sanwalka

Team NII

Nutripreneur Of Month - Akansha Jhalani Sinha

Name: Akansha Jhalani Sinha

Company Name: Beyond the Weighing Scale

Work Profile: Akansha is a registered dietitians and plays various roles like that of an author, diet consultant, columnist, spokesperson, contributor to national publications, public speaker and clinical nutritionist.

Years of Experience: About 7 years

Mission: Empowering masses to look beyond the digits on their weighing scale when it comes to health and wellness. To educate people about food and to validate a nourishing relationship with what they eat. To unshackle myths around food and wellness, one bite at a time. 

Education: Akansha graduated with a degree in Food Science and Quality Control and post-graduation in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics from SNDT University, Pune. She got certified as a Registered Dietitian in 2012. She has completed a teacher training certification in Ashtanga Yoga for Disease Management from The Yoga Institute, Mumbai. She also holds a certification in Cake Arts and Decoration and is chasing to become an Art Illustrator and doodler. 

Family Background: Despite coming from a big fat mawari family, Akansha's family made sure she developed as an individual and provided unvarying support no matter what she chose for herself. She met her husband in the year 2014 and decided to marry an equally driven and passionate individual. She is married in a family where business models make it to breakfast table conversations. Her in- laws appreciate and encourages her every passing day. 

Work Experience: Before starting her own venture, Akansha has worked with Breach Candy Hospital Trust, Healing Hands Clinic, Care24, Bon happetee 

Journey: After completing her post-graduation, Akansha landed her dream job at Breach Candy Hospital Trust and was associated with the organization for about 2 years. During this period, Akansha started writing for publications and nutrition columns as she found it interesting and it helped her stay updated with trends. This was when "Beyond the Weighing Scale" sculptured. After 2 years, she found herself being agitated as her learning curve at the full time job had come to a standstill and that is something she couldn’t live with. She woke up one day and took the plunge! She quit her dream job knowing there is so much to explore and learn out there. 

Akansha at the peak of her career took a gap year to travel, read, live in an ashram for her teacher training in yoga, think, eat good food and see her friends and family. She kept taking freelance projects to keep in touch with the subject and made sure she kept trying new things and reaching out to people. She remembers doing all of it for free as either favors for friends or just because it appealed to her. She learnt and picked up so much about marketing, design, sales and business models by just talking to people and putting herself out there. She is a ferocious reader. Akansha is now collaborating with start-ups to help develop products and segments and loves the intensity that comes along with it. 

Current:

• Akansha and her company provide an ecosystem for budding start-ups to establish their nutrition and health segments
• She has a team of 10 members who work with her remotely from Mumbai as she is based in Pune and her team in Mumbai 
• She takes pride in being associated with 6 promising start-ups currently and provides a start to end solution by developing the segment, managing back end operations, strategizing online and offline marketing, managing community with social media pages and public relations
• In the past 2 years, she has worked with 12 start-ups, developed 2 food tech applications, authored a book, turned into an influencer, curated over 3000 health content pieces and is on her way to launch with 2 other ventures this year
• Akansha is looking forward to the coming year as she has other promising entrepreneurial opportunities coming her way 

Lessons Learnt:

• Knowledge is Power. As individuals and professionals,  she feels that learning is a process that never stops. She want to be that person in the room that knows everything about everything. 
• She learnt through her journey that "if your ship doesn’t get to you in time, you need to swim out to it"
• She cannot emphasize enough on the importance of putting yourself out there and making things happen

Message for Budding Nutritionists

• As nutritionists and dietitians, she sometimes see that we restrict ourselves only to our subject. In this time and age, it is very crucial to study the changing landscape of food and nutrition and to evolve with it 
• Research about what is out there, reach out to influencers and organizations to tell them about yourself and your food philosophy, collaborate with fitness companies and plunge into something that you have never tried before
• The key is doing and making things happen relentlessly
• Your dream job is not just going to walk through that door, roll your sleeves up and unveil what you truly deserve

We wish Akansha All The Very Best For Future

- Team NII

7 Commonly Used/ Worst Excuses For Not Dieting

Diet does not mean you stop eating or eliminate particular foods completely. Diet means mindful eating & choosing the correct food and time to eat a particular food. 

We all have our excuses to not start dieting & go on a healthy diet regime. Here is a list of 7 worst excuses people give for not adopting a healthy lifestyle complied by Ryan Fernando of Qua Nutrition. See how many you've used (or ARE using) and learn how to overcome all seven and if you are a dietitian how to help your client overcome these. 

Picture Source: http://childrensministryonline.com/excuses-are-lame/

1. I hate to cook: Join the crowd! I am no chef either. But the last time I checked I found all sorts of alternate choices out there -- from take-out or delivery to supermarket meals to quick recipes for one in under 10 minutes. Oh, and don't forget Diet-to-Go: the meals come ready to heat and eat and they're delicious too! There's always opportunity to make better choices if we look.
2. There's no way I can give up "     ":  Okay you can fill in the blank with your choice of chocolate, ice cream, potato chips... Go ahead and pick your evil. The truth of the matter is that no real healthy lifestyle asks you to give up anything. Just know there is a big difference between ONE Oreo and THE WHOLE SLEEVE. Learning moderation and rewarding yourself with an occasional treat... well that's just life as it should be
3. I have no willpower: The decision to become healthier is your first step to real change. Looking for the right support system is crucial. Maybe you can find a friend, a neighbour, or a family member to team up with. I am all for a little professional help. Why not consider a trainer, a wellness coach or a nutritionist for some sound advice and motivation?
4. I'll start for real tomorrow: This statement is usually uttered by the dieter who frequently falls off the wagon. Have you ever known anyone who ever started anything "tomorrow" to do well? Every moment is an opportunity to begin again. So what if your your food choices for the day tanked? There's still the opportunity for some good choices over dinner. Begin again. The best time to start is "NOW"
5. I live to eat, not eat to live: There is nothing wrong with enjoying your food. I can relate. I have never met a Mexican food that I didn't like. But the key to enjoying your food is to mindfully eat. Mindful eating means savouring each bite, recognising it and enjoying it -- and stopping when no longer hungry. It's about the quality of each bite rather than the quantity of an entire buffet
6. I hate having to watch what I eat: Yup, this one has been said to me by a client. Sorry, but EVERYONE needs to watch what they eat. It doesn't matter if you are a professional athlete or a child. We may not share the same dietary needs, but no one gets the free pass when it comes to healthy eating. A constant awareness of your food and the enjoyment of what it is you are eating can help lead to healthier practices.
7. I had no idea there were so many calories in that: This is by far my favourite excuse. With all the information readily available today -- not to mention the actual serving size and calorie count of just about everything you purchase -- pleading ignorance is no excuse. I would rather have a client tell me that they made a decision to eat something bad for them than to have them attempt to pass along "I had no idea" excuse. Accepting the consequences of choosing to eat something high in fat and calories is far better than lamely pleading ignorance.

Ok, so these are the most commonly heard excuses by Ryan. Have you heard any other excuses? Do share them in comments below.

Team NII 

Nutripreneur Of Month - Shilpa Mittal

Name:  Shilpa Mittal

Company Name:  Shilpsnutrilife

Work-Profile: Nutrition & lifestyle counsellor, Educator, Conducts workshops & seminars

Work Experience: About 20 Years 

Big Achievement: 1^st Indian Dietitian to Launch an android app in India

Mission: Creating healthy nation, through right nutrition advice. To help my clients correct their diet and lifestyle through simple means and methods so that they will carry it all their life.

Education:  Shilpa completed B.Sc. Food & Nutrition  (Merit Rank Holder) from SNDT Ghatkopar in 1995.  Thereafter Shilpa completed M.Sc. Nutrition with 2^nd Rank from SNDT in 1997

Family, Marriage & Children: Shilpa’s parents have always been supportive of her education and encouraged her to do her Masters and work thereafter. Shilpa got married in 2002 and has a very supporting husband and in-laws who have always wanted her to utilise her knowledge and work. She has 2 beautiful daughters aged 9 and 13 years

Before Becoming A Nutripreneur: Before starting her own venture, Shilpa has worked with Dr. Rajesh Parikh (obesity consultant), Dr Aziz Asai (physio and fitness coach), health clubs, VLCC, etc

How Did It All Start: Shilpa had always wanted to start her own venture and opportunity came knocking when one of her friends “Aarti Batavia” was moving to US in 2007 and wanted Shilpa to handle her clients. Shilpa decided to take leap of faith and took up the opportunity and set up her own clinic.

Journey: She set up her clinic and had visiting cards and letter heads designed. She approached doctors on quarterly basis in the beginning to inform them about her clinic, indicating how important networking is in initial days. She also advertised through inserts in local paper, organizing free talks in various local organization, etc. Aatri was always there to help Shilpa in low times and always gave her valuable inputs indicating once again the importance of good friends. Shilpa started slow and did face some difficult times in start but it was all worth in end. As she puts in her own words” “Starting things on your own require a lot of courage, patience, hard work and financial investment, but believe me it is all worth it, when a client comes to you and thanks u for the results, rather making the much needed difference in their life. The level of satisfaction is very high as here only you are involved in the results and no one else.”

In 2009, “Nutrilife Health Management” was born and she started approaching schools for nutritional workshop. This involved mailing across the proposal, fixing meetings with the concern person, explaining the details. The workshop that she conducts consist of seminars on topics ranging from obesity, various types of deficiencies, recipes, healthy eating for kids and parents, and also one to one counselling.

Current:

• Shilpa has renamed her company to “Shilpsnutrilife” i.e. nutri- nutrition life - lifestyle so it's diet and lifestyle makeover.
• She is also the 1^st Indian dietician to have an android app for educative purpose.
• She has been consistently celebrating nutrition weeks for last 5 years by organising various free camps related to nutrition involving lectures, workshop and invites many eminent doctors to deliver lectures during nutrition week celebrations.
• She also conducts healthy eating workshops for kids aged 6-10 years. The best part about these workshops is that Shilpa’s daughter has helped her plan this workshop by sharing their experiences of what their friends like to eat, what their tiffin comprises off and by helping her weave interesting stories to promote the mantra of healthy eating among young children

Lessons Learnt In The Journey: Be very confident of what you say to your clients. Being honest and firm is equally important. Be patience while dealing with them. Connect with them. I learnt a little bit of marketing too. Still a lot more to learn.

Message for budding nutritionists

• Trust yourself completely
• Demand what you are worth of, don't degrade yourself for a few pennies, if you hold your worth right so will the other person do.
• Collaborate and help each other, that's how our community grow only then will all of us benefit
• Practice what you preach as you are the role model for your clients

We wish Shilpa all the very best for future

- Team NII