2009 – Year in Review

Well, it’s that time of year again.  The end of each year always brings various “top 10, 20, 100,” etc. lists that are meant to cause us to reflect on various events that happened or products that were introduced, and how they effected our lives.  It is also a time to think about the future and what we may hope to accomplish in the upcoming year. 

As I look back on this previous year, I am amazed at how quickly it went by.  I can’t believe my first year as a private practice dietitian is almost over!  There are some days when I feel like I’ve been on my own longer than a year, and other days I can’t believe it’s already been a year. 

In 2009, I tried really hard to stay focused on my “core” areas regarding my private practice, which are food allergies/sensitivities and their related conditions, celiac, polycystic ovarian syndrome, sports nutrition and fitness, vegetarian nutrition, and overall health and wellness.  This may sound like a lot of different areas, but when I was working as an outpatient dietitian in a clinic setting, I had to know EVERYTHING about anything that even remotely had a nutrition component to treatment.  Dealing with diabetes and heart disease was a daily event, so staying on top of medical nutrition therapy (MNT) for those conditions was easy.  However, I rarely saw patients with end stage renal disease, liver cirrhosis, cancer, multiple sclerosis, lupus, scleroderma, etc., so making sure my MNT knowledge was current in those areas was much more challenging.  Not to mention that a person’s age also has a huge impact on how you implement MNT. 

By narrowing my focus to a few key areas that I had a huge interest in, I felt I would be better able to stay on top of new research and developments that I could implement in my practice.  This would enable me to provide my patients/clients the kind of “expert” care they deserved. 

Just in my core areas a lot has happened over the past year.  For example, regarding food allergies, there have been breakthroughs in possible treatments for children with peanut allergies, allowing them to be able to consume peanuts. 

People with celiac disease now have a much wider array of processed gluten free items to choose from.  In addition, there are also several applications available for the various smart phones that list gluten free foods and are a tremendous aid when shopping.

In vegetarian nutrition, there had been a vegan omega 3 supplement developed that contained both EPA and DHA (VPure), but it was only available through a company in Europe.  Ordering this product meant having to deal with different currency and lengthy shipping times.  Now there is also a version available out of North Carolina here in the USA.  Both of these products are made from sea algae.  This is a huge breakthrough because previously, vegan omega 3 supplements only contained DHA and/or ALA.  Now, there is no need to use an animal-based product to get all of the types of omega 3 are bodies need. 

One of the most interesting advancements in nutrition technology to me is a new DNA-based test that can help with weight loss.  This particular test determines the ideal percentages of carbohydrate, protein, and fat that a person should consume to manage their weight.  It also determines what level of intensity that person should exercise at.  It is still up to the nutrition professional to determine overall caloric needs and length of time to exercise, but this definitely can speed up a person’s weight loss efforts because now there is no “trial and error” involved in determining if they would benefit from more protein versus more carbohydrate and vice versa.  You can read more about this breakthrough technology here.

I’m sure 2010 will bring about even more advances in nutrition technology.  I look forward to learning about them and bringing them to you in my practice!  I wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!