Of course, those interested in nutrition will not only undertake study to help themselves for it is likely that you, our student, will look to apply this knowledge to friends, family or clients. We applaud you for, and encourage you in doing this. Communicating effective and evidence based nutritional theory and practice to someone is one of the most powerful methods you can utilise to help that person improve their health.
If you are looking to do so as a coach, we would strongly advise you to join the BTN Practical Academy for a more in-depth look at coaching and coaching practice, but for now we would ask you to consider the following.
This course is a great example, but we would also recommend you look to textbooks and governing bodies such as the UK Food Standards Agency, NHS Choices, The SACN and the ISSN. The guidelines provided by these bodies are generated using the entirety of the current evidence meaning that you are not liable to falling victim to cherry-picking or misinterpreting research. Looking at primary research, you run the risk of finding one or two studies to back a claim, while being totally unaware of a host of information that indicates the opposite. Evidence based nutrition practice isn’t about being able to back your statement with a research paper, it is about promoting the general consensus from a whole body of information, and it is the job of these governing bodies to do the hard work for you.
Social media, one to one discussions and even public speaking opportunities are great methods that you can use, so long as you provide education and information rather than prescriptive instruction. For example, it would be excellent to relay evidence based information around dietary protein, but inadvisable to simply tell someone how much protein to eat without offering your reasoning, and allowing the person to make their own mind up, having heard pros and cons.
Clinical nutrition which deals with those who fall outside of the WHO categorisation of ‘healthy’ discussed in modules 1 and 3 may have very different needs – similarly those with eating disorders (which are not limited to people who are underweight) will more than likely need a multidisciplinary approach involving a number of professionals. ‘First, do no harm’ is an excellent mantra to bear in mind, while another is simply ‘when in doubt, refer out’. Referral will generally be to a GP, as a first port of call, but a fully qualified dietician or clinical, registered nutritionist may be another worthwhile option. This could be either to hand them over to someone else, or to gain supervision for an intervention you can both work together to implement with an individual.
It is not your role to deal with people who have medically relevant issues, nor is it within your authority to prescribe treatments, so leave that to those who are qualified to do so. Your practice should be inclusive and delivered equally to anyone looking for help, but that must come alongside an appreciation for your limits of practice.
We mention the BTN Practical Academy above, but there are a host of other courses available along with almost innumerable textbooks and resources that can help you progress with your ability. This will help you maintain your competence and expand your ability to help others, which should be your primary objective.
Each individual has a right for you to respect their dignity, for you to remain honest, open and reliable and for you to respect their views. You should act ethically at all times – not only because it’s a legal requirement but because ethical and respectable practitioners are able to more readily instigate change in the individuals with whom they work.