If you are one of the people who advocates a healthy life in all aspects, it is possible that your vocation is to be a nutritionist. Helping other people achieve good eating habits can be challenging, but when it is achieved, it is undoubtedly an enormous personal satisfaction. Food is health and people do not realize that the vast majority of foods they find in a supermarket are not good for leading a healthy lifestyle.
Little by little people are becoming aware of the importance of food for people's health. You are what you eat after all, right? Yes of course! More and more people are aware of this but lack the knowledge to carry out a good diet, they go to a professional to solve their problems and improve their eating style. The nutrition and dietetics sector is becoming more and more important in our society, and it was about time it did!
In fact, a poor diet can make a person sick over and over again. A good diet is essential for life, in people of any age. If you want to be a nutritionist and help other people to ensure that their diet is correct according to their characteristics and personal circumstances, do not miss how you can achieve it!
Study to be a nutritionist
Before you start to know what you should study to be a nutritionist, you should know what exactly this professional does to know if his work suits you ... or not. A nutritionist not only sets diets and helps people lose weight… he goes much further than this! A nutritionist-dietician is a healthcare professional who is trained to improve people's health through diet, but in order to achieve this… people must heed what they are told.
You will be able to improve a chronic disease treated or even avoid it completely thanks to diet. This professional has the scientific knowledge necessary to know what types of nutrients a person needs and which foods they should consume more frequently to improve their health and quality of life. Know how food interacts in the body and thus contribute to better functioning. What's more, they constitute better public health thanks to food.
You will need to go through the university and have before that, the baccalaureate of science. Careers that encompass nutrition are:
- Nutrition and dietetics degree
- Food Science Degree
- Food science and technology degree
You will also have the option to specialize. This will help you to have a more specific training and to have a much more competitive curriculum in the world of work, something that can open many more doors or create your own work with much more success. Some of the master's or postgraduate degrees that you can study in nutrition are:
- Master in sports nutrition
- Master in Eating Disorders
- Master in pediatric nutrition
- Master in food safety
In total, you will need between 4 and 6 years to properly train as a good nutritionist. A career if you take it at a good pace you will have it finished in 4 years and if you also add complementary master's or postgraduate studies, you will have to add between one and two more years. Time for you to learn everything you need and then develop as a good professional.
Career Opportunities
There are many professional opportunities that you can have as a nutritionist but it will always have to do with the specialization that you have decided to have. For example, if you want to dedicate yourself to the sports branch, to infant feeding, to adults, etc. Depending on the area in which you want to develop professionally you will have more or less options.
You can also be a teacher to disseminate your knowledge with courses on food, nutrition, health ... Or you can also be a researcher and dedicate yourself to this body and soul. You can also open your own nutrition and diet clinic or work in one as an employee. You can also coordinate quality and food safety issues, essential for public health.
As you can see, the options are many and varied, it will depend on how you want your future to be, whether you choose one type of exit or another. What is clear is that you will really enjoy both your learning and your professional development… go for it!