What is a nutritionist?

Nutritionists are specialised medical specialists who deal with nutrition-associated diseases. They analyse and treat nutrition-related problems such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. With the help of a healthy diet and specially tailored nutritional advice, the prognosis can often be significantly better. In this article, you will find the most important information about the field of nutritional medicine and find out what career prospects it opens up for you.

The tasks of a specialist in nutritional medicine

Nutritionists in Germany have diverse and demanding tasks. These doctors are specialists in personalised nutrition plans that ensure, among other things, that the body is supplied with the following: micronutrients, vitamins and minerals. Trace elements should also be included. The supply of macronutrients is just as important: Protein, carbohydrates, fats.

Comprehensive nutritional counselling by a qualified specialist is extremely helpful for a wide variety of problems. After all, a healthy diet has already led to a significant improvement in the course of many an illness.

The tasks of nutritional medicine explained using the example of HIV infection and AIDS

A balanced diet is important when infected with the HI virus. Particular attention should be paid to a good supply of fats and micronutrients, vitamins and minerals in order to strengthen the immune system and optimise the absorption of nutrients.

Nutritional medicine can advise those affected and thus ensure that they are armed against the problems that HIV and AIDS entail.

Finding a good nutritionist in Germany: Not always easy

Nutritional medicine is a sought-after speciality. As this additional further training has only been available since 2018, not everyone affected can immediately find a nutritional physician to help them with diet-related illnesses. At the same time, problems such as obesity, high blood pressure, lipometabolic disorders and many other diet-related illnesses are on the rise, meaning that the need for nutritional physicians is increasing.

According to current opinion, experts therefore believe that there is a high demand for doctors who complete further training in nutritional medicine.

How can I become a specialist in nutritional medicine?

In order to take part in the additional training programme for nutritional medicine, you need a degree in medicine and specialist training. You can have completed this in many different areas in which you are involved in direct patient care.

Knowledge from nutritional medicine can be applied in many medical fields. For example, paediatricians advise patients and their parents on nutrition, and nutritional medicine is also included in the relevant specialist areas for cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and cancer diseases, etc.

The additional further training in nutritional medicine in detail

The additional training in nutritional medicine comprises 100 course hours. These are divided as follows:

• 12 hours "Fundamentals of nutritional medicine"
• 12 hours "Nutritional medicine and prevention"
• 16 hours "Methodology, didactics, organisation and quality assurance in nutritional medicine"
• 10 hours "Enteral and parenteral nutrition"
• 50 hours "Prevention and therapy of diseases relevant to nutritional medicine"

In addition, a further 120 hours are completed in the form of supervised case seminars.

When is it advisable to consult an experienced specialist in nutritional medicine?

If it is possible to improve your health through nutrition and to cure or improve illness by changing your diet, it is worth consulting a nutritional physician. The following examples show some diseases in which these doctors play an important role.

Overweight and obesity

Being overweight and obese increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis and arthritis. Contrary to popular belief, a healthy diet consists of more than just reducing calories. A high-fat diet is not always the only reason why body weight is significantly too high.

Nutritional therapy can help to reduce weight and improve health. The amount of carbohydrates, fats and micronutrients is tailored precisely to the patient.

Insufficient intake of nutrients (malabsorption)

A lack of nutrient absorption can be caused by diseases such as inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis). The pancreas produces substances that are important for the absorption of certain nutrients.

Doctors with training in nutritional medicine get to the bottom of the causes of malabsorption and draw up suitable treatment plans.

Chronic diseases

Chronic diseases such as arthritis, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases require a targeted change in diet. Without this, obesity, increased blood pressure, an undersupply of nutrients or other problems would be the result. For this reason, nutritional therapy is primarily aimed at providing the body with the right mix of macronutrients, protein and other important components of food to optimise nutrition and avoid the problems feared.

Postoperative patients

Patients need nutritional support, especially after serious operations. There is a good chance of avoiding certain complications with a healthy diet. In this way, recovery can take place without unnecessary stress and certain illnesses, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and other complaints can be avoided.

Nutrition in old age

Nutrition in old age requires special attention. Older people often suffer from chronic diseases such as arthritis and high blood pressure. Inflammation of the stomach lining (gastritis) is also not uncommon in older people.

Nutritionists draw up individualised nutrition plans to ensure that older people do not have to give up enjoyment and can still live a healthy life without promoting gout, arthritis, chronic intestinal inflammation and other problems.

Food intolerances

Food intolerances such as gluten intolerance (coeliac disease) can be diagnosed using the findings of nutritional medicine and alleviated by changing the diet. This significantly improves the quality of life of those affected by these generally incurable diseases and can prevent secondary diseases.

Ecotrophologists and dieticians as an alternative to nutritionists?

Nutritional medicine is a comparatively young speciality and only relatively few doctors have already completed this additional training. It is therefore very good that ecotrophologists and dieticians are a valuable alternative to specialists in nutritional medicine.

Nutritionists are trained professionals who do not specialise in correctly diagnosing illnesses, but who provide expert nutritional advice and can be valuable contacts for patients.

The dietician's main task is to help patients integrate a healthy diet into their everyday lives. Vitamins, minerals and trace elements, which must be taken regularly in sufficient quantities, are incorporated into appropriate recipes.

Neither ecotrophologists nor dieticians are doctors. However, they can help to maintain a healthy eating style and thus round off nutritional therapy to a considerable extent.

Be careful with the job title "nutritionist"

The term "nutritionist" is not legally protected. Therefore, anyone can call themselves one. Many doctors of nutritional medicine as well as ecotrophologists and dieticians work in nutritional counselling.

It can be particularly problematic if there is no sound training. Such a "nutritionist" can even exacerbate an existing illness. After all, a healthy diet consists of much more than just a balanced mixed diet of macronutrients. It is always important to consider the individual characteristics of the patient concerned. This becomes particularly difficult if the patient's illness is made up of several physical symptoms.