The RDN's Role in Cutting Through the Noise

In this episode of Nutrition 411, host Lisa Jones, MA, RDN, LDN, FAND, is joined by Caroline Susie, RDN, LD, to explore how dietitians can cut through widespread nutrition misinformation and conflicting messages. They discuss practical strategies for addressing pseudoscience, leveraging evidence-based resources, and confidently communicating with patients in an era shaped by social media, AI-driven content, and evolving dietary guidance. The conversation emphasizes reframing nutrition with an inclusive, empowering approach that supports sustainable behavior change without shame or restriction.

TRANSCRIPT

Lisa Jones, MA, RDN, LDN, FAND: All right. And welcome back to another episode. With both a new national food framework and the growing role of medication, dieticians are navigating complex and sometimes competing messages. So we are going to be talking about how dieticians can lead with clarity. So welcome back, Caroline, Susie. Gosh,

Caroline Susie, RDN, LD: Thanks for having me.

Jones: This episode, it's called the RDN's role in Cutting Through the Noise. And that's what's so rampant out there, all this noise. How do we cut through? And what do you think about that?

Susie: I mean, I just want to scream it from the rooftops. People get comfortable with putting yourself out there because we need you. We need you. There's so much noise and pseudoscience and fear mongering. We all know it. They use very catchy. I'm in the middle of a grocery store or a Costco or Sam's and we're doing videos and we're scaring the people and we're dropping one research study. It's so frustrating because we know when we go and look at it, we're like, well, this isn't accurate. That study has nothing to do with this. So it's your time to shine. So getting comfortable putting yourself out there to educate and cut through that noise. Oh my gosh, what a service you are doing, what a service you are doing to educate the public.

Jones: Yes. And Caroline, you are known for calling out nutrition misinformation. So what would you say to this? How can dieticians then confidently address conflicting media messages about food, weight, and medications? Let's throw the medications into.

Susie: I mean, having a resource can just make your life so much easier. I think going again to the Academy's website, and I know we talked about this on another episode, but the nutrition fact checks is such a great resource for you. When someone might perhaps be misquoting something about raw milk or maybe something about saturated fat, the academy's done the work for you. You have talking points, you have relevant research to cite, and you can link and have that be a part of your talk track. So A, you're way more educated than any of these wellness influencers are, period. And if you need somebody to pump you up, I will let me know. I will be your hype girl, number one. Number two, you know the science better than anybody else. So being able to confidently go on social media or whatever platform your choice is, blog, you name it, and talk about it, we need you now more than ever.

And again, to help with that, there's some wonderful resources over at the academy. So leverage that, take that, make your life easier, and get out there and help us fight the good fight because we really do. We need all hands on deck for this.

Jones: Yes, yes. And it's so important. Thank you for calling off that website again. This morning I was listening to, I was getting blood work done and in the waiting room, they had this TV that was going no Nonstop with nutrition information, which I thought was very interesting. But the other thing that we haven't talked about, and this could be a whole separate episode, but I just want to touch on it briefly, was they said white bread is bad for you. Don't eat white bread. And what you could do is you can buy your own ... And this person that sounded like that was voicing this was clearly an AI bot that was voicing. They just gave it a script and said, voice this and we're going to put this voiceover behind and have them talk about it. And they said, "You could just make your own bread and it's going to be wheat bread and put different types of weed in it.

Susie: "What?" I mean, Lisa, you don't make your own bread every week?

Jones: No, but it was like ... And everybody in the waiting room, this is 8:30 in the morning and people are like, "Why would I make my own bread? You should have heard that we started a conversation about it. " And I just thought it was kind of comical that now we're even having to compete with artificial intelligence over this.

Susie: Yeah. Well, and again, I feel like AI can't replace a compelling salesperson. And you guys, that's what we are. We're selling science. So put that feather in your cap. You can do this. And I think a lot of times it's always things to avoid if you've noticed that, the five things that you need to cut out right now to avoid this. And I just feel like it's so polarizing. And I love coming from a place of let's be inclusive and what are things to add? And so I think shifting the mindset and reframing to help patients, instead of being scared and traumatized from all the things they're seeing from influencers on the social, help them, help them reframe it and calm that fear and empower them. Think whether it's talking about the new guidelines, talking about a medication or whatever the case may be, when you can reframe and empower to be inclusive, I do. I think it's a game changer.

Jones: Yes. And I was going to ask you a question, but you kind of just answered it, and that's how patients can avoid the all or nothing mindset. Anytime this new guidance or medications enter the picture, but I love what you're saying about, you're right, because every time you see a headline, it's like, "Oh, we need to avoid eggs or we need to avoid this. " No, it's not a void. It's like, how can I add to my diet? How can we spin that?

Susie: And I think too, somebody wants, I won't take credit for this, but for all dieticians out there, they're doing one-on-one weight management counseling. I'm sure you've all already heard this, but just in case there's somebody out there, when you get a flat tire, what do you do? You fix it. You don't go around to your other three tires and slash them.

And so I think that same concept is when we're trying to maybe incorporate more healthy foods in our diet. You know what? Breakfast was not ideal today. I took my kid out to school and there was a donut party and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, whatever. Okay, well, just get back on the train. Let's get back on it at lunch or snack or dinner. And you know what? You probably had a wonderful time making memories with your kid having donuts. So yay, you love that for you. But I do. I think it's that tire slashing analogy. It really helps shift the perspective of, well, you're not going to do that, so why would you do it here?

Jones: Yeah. And that's such a great analogy too, because you're right. It sounds so ridiculous. And I don't know how many ... When I did used to work with more patients and they would say, "Oh, I already messed up the day, so I might as well just continue. I'm going to go out to Outback now and celebrate, celebrate. And then tomorrow I'll start or Monday I'll start." If it was Thursday, look out because they weren't realistically starting till Monday because they might as well Doing it over the weekend.

Susie: And then for whatever reason, people feel so bad about themselves.

Jones: Yes.

Susie: Like, "Oh my God, you're not doing drugs. Stop it. Get a grip on what's happening here." So I do think it's important to understand that food is more than just fuel. Food is a lot of things and that's how lucky are we? It is culture, it's spending time with our families, it's celebrating things. So I just think it's reframing it.

Jones: Yeah, I love that. Reframing. So what other language helps then keep these conversations? And you mentioned this earlier with empowerment, but realistic empowering and free from shame.

Susie: So I think it's, again, reminding patients that food has no moral value. It doesn't. It's not good or bad. It's legit just food. And it's all about additions, not restrictions. So what are your goals and how are we going to get there? And thinking about what I'm going to add to your diet versus remove all of this, remove this whole food group, remove this or that. And I think that when you, again, shift that mindset, people tend to respond really well to that. And then it's again, your time as a dietician to shine because you can share all those evidence-based recommendations. And again, quiet that the noise out there. And when people feel empowered, it is such a gift to give somebody to have the confidence to fuel themselves and fuel their families.

Jones: Yes. And I think once patients and clients realize that the dietician isn't the food police, they come to you and like, how many times have you probably heard this? They'll say to you, "Oh, thank you so much. I thought you were going to tell me to take away these five foods I love the most." We find out what your current picture is and work around it.

Susie: 100%. We're here to empower you, not patrol.

Jones: Yeah. Yeah. So in your view, what does balanced evidence-based weight management look like, let's just say in this current environment?

Susie: So I think there's a lot of rapid weight loss and a lot of emphasis on living in a thin body because of just where we are. It's a GLP-1 world and it is what it is. So I think it's setting realistic expectations with patients and really understanding what are your goals and tying into what the science says. Hey, intermittent fasting versus low carb versus low fat, like the 24-month mark, we're probably all here the same. So what do you like? What's important to you? How do we keep that into your routine and just how do we help increase your fiber intake? How do we increase your protein intake? I feel that I just don't want anybody to feel bad for enjoying life. We're here once and want it to be a good one. So in that spirit, I do. I think that you can reach goals and not be restrictive about it.

Jones: Yes. That's such a good positive spin on everything. And thank you, Caroline, for your perspective because it highlights the leadership role that dieticians and play in translating the science into something sustainable and human. And that's really why we're all here to be human and to have something that's sustainable. So thank you for that.

Susie: My pleasure.

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