See “Is there a difference between a nutritionist and a dietitian?” for why we believe licensed dietitians provide the best level of nutritional care.

However, if you are trying to figure out who and what to look for when seeking nutrition advice, you’re not alone! We live in a world that has so many mixed messages when it comes to health and wellness, that it can be completely overwhelming!

With that said, we believe it reasonable and prudent to think about the following when you are choosing a nutrition practitioner:

1. Does the practitioner have appropriate training and education for this profession? There are a million nutrition “certifications” but did you know that 95% of them involve less than 1 year of training and most are completed without ever stepping foot into a classroom or working beside another practitioner? Would you trust a physical therapist with a 6 month certification course online, or a doctor who got an online degree? Ask your nutrition practitioner what training they received, where and by whom they were certified and how long they have been practicing. A legitimate practitioner will be happy to tell you. A good rule of thumb: legitimate nutrition practitioners have NO LESS than 4 years of intensive training with additional internship and practicum experience. Many have Masters level degrees and over a year of clinical internship, much the way a licensed counselor would. You are putting your trust in someone to help you improve your health, and you deserve someone with the training to do that.
2. Is the practitioner licensed or certified by a legitimate board agency? For example, dietitians in SC are licensed by the state through LLR, as well as certified nationally after passing board exams, by the Commission on Dietetic Registration. Clinical Nutrition Specialists are certified nationally by the American Nutrition Association. Both require national board exams for certification and periodic recertification to maintain credentials. If the practitioner has no licensing, and no certification from any national board, it is questionable whether they can be trusted to provide legitimate information
3. Does the practitioner use evidence-based practices? This means being familiar with science and research, being able to back up why they do the things they do, and providing clear rationale for their philosophy of nutrition. There is still plenty of room for disagreement in the world of science, but if a practitioner talks about doing nutritional practices that seem completely off the wall, chances are, they are not practicing evidence-based nutrition. Refer back to #1 and you may find out why they are “off the wall”.
4. Does the practitioner have good reviews, or did they come with a good word-of-mouth referral from your family or friends? This is extremely important because no endorsement rings as true as those we love having a good experience. Our practice lives by this, and tries to go above and beyond to provide the very best care to everyone we serve. We take our clients’ trust seriously, and to have those individuals recommend others is the greatest honor for us.
5. Does the practitioner have clinical experience in addressing the nutrition and wellness goals you want to pursue? There’s no teacher like clinical experience in helping a good practitioner become great. Finding a practitioner that specializes in what you are looking for is really important to get the best care.

We hope when picking a good practitioner you can weigh these factors, and whether you give us a call or not – we wish you the very best care for you and your loved ones!

Yes, and no.

Every dietitian is a nutritionist by training, but not all nutritionists go through a similar level of education and training as a dietitian.

Dietitians are trained through a rigorous four-year undergraduate program, combined with a 1000 hour minimum internship/clinical period, where they work with a variety of clinicians in many different clinical, community and food service settings. Upon completion of education, every dietitian-in-training must pass a board-certified exam through the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) to become a registered dietitian. Additionally, every dietitian must complete ongoing certified continuing education to remain credentialed and ensure competency. In South Carolina, dietitians must additionally be licensed and approved by the state to lawfully practice. The educational background of a dietitian is found here:

• Dietitian Education Requirements

Nutritionists, on the other hand, span the gamut when it comes to knowledge of ability. While many nutrition programs exist, with more popping up every day, they are NOT all created equal. Many, many “nutrition” programs available through distance learning constitute no more than mail-order certificate studies, designed to allow those wishing to be “nutritionists” the ability to get a certificate indicating ability, with very little scientific knowledge or training, and no clinical practice hours with real clients. Some of these can be completed in a matter of a few weeks–hardly enough time to gain any real insight into the complex world of nutrition! Consequently, while some who obtain these degrees have achieved extensive nutrition knowledge through self-learning, most have very questionable abilities to go along with their dubious credentials.

At this point in time, there are (to our knowledge) only a select few agencies besides The Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics & the Commission on Dietetic Registration that have legitimate, rigorous programs for nutrition certification. The following degrees/certifications have a comparable program of training to dietitians:

• Certified Clinical Nutritionist (CCN) – IAACN, at www.iaacn.org and www.cncb.org
• Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) – CBNS, at www.cbns.org
• Diplomate of the American Clinical Board of Nutrition (DACBN) – ACBN, at www.acbn.org
• Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition (BCHN) – HNCB, at http://nanp.org/hncb/becoming-board-certified

While many several different colleges offer programs of nutrition, the qualified ones all have similar criteria:

• Bachelor’s or above education (some of above certifications are only offered to Masters or above)
• Strong science background in physiology, anatomy, biology and chemistry
• Extensive teaching in nutrition metabolism
• Rigorous clinical requirements
• Board certification eligible
• Continuing education requirement to remain certified

While many other certifications, certificates and diplomas exist in the marketplace, if they aren’t credentialed by one of the above organizations, they are not qualified to be performing clinical nutrition and nutrition therapy! Currently, in the state of South Carolina, there is no limitation on the name “nutritionist” so ANY person can use that title. You should always make it your duty to be informed as a consumer and exercise due diligence when screening ANY practitioner. Just because someone calls themselves a nutritionist, does not mean they are qualified to do so!

Rest assured, however, that if you see us or another dietitian, there is a standardized level of proficiency required to use the title, and in some cases, there is much more education added to that title through advanced practice certifications.

No matter who you choose, make sure to choose someone qualified and able to help you!

As a board-certified advanced practitioner in Integrative and Functional Nutrition, Jeremy Ponds uses this approach with his clients to help him provide the very best care on a deeper level than perhaps the standard approach to nutrition counseling.

But what exactly does that mean?

First, integrative nutrition uses a personalized, holistic approach to treat the whole person, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. By looking at the big picture of health, and making recommendations that incorporate the client’s WHOLE life, this approach leads to a more effective outcome and becomes a much more enjoyable and fruitful path for practitioner and client alike.

Functional nutrition is the art of combining integrative therapies with an understanding of the function of the body on a metabolic, biochemical and cellular level to provide evidence-based nutritional therapy for illness and disease. Functional nutrition is focused on finding the root causes of illness or imbalance and helping the body to heal itself by removing obstacles and replenishing needed nutrients.

Jeremy is a practitioner of integrative and functional nutrition and is a member of Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine (DIFM). Information regarding DIFM and their approach to nutrition can be found here:

http://integrativerd.org/

Yes, we do accept insurance and are in network with the folowing:

Insurances Accepted:

1. In Network:
   1. Medicare
   2. Medicaid Fee for service
   3. Medicaid Managed Care Plans: Absolute Total Care, Select Health, Healthy Blue, Molina
   4. Aetna
   5. Blue Cross Blue Shield of SC & NC (includes most Anthem Plans), including PEBA
   6. Cigna
   7. United Healthcare

1. Out of Network: (we will file “courtesy claims” but require payment at time of service)
   1. Tricare (certified but not in-network – some coverage available)
   2. Humana

Keep in mind the following, however, with respect to all insurances:

• Being accepted as a provider in no way guarantees coverage for nutrition services; your plan may have specific limitations that exclude nutrition as a covered service; you are ultimately responsible for payment.
• You as a customer are always responsible for confirming eligibility and benefits prior to time of service; we will be happy to assist in this as able, but the responsibility for coverage and payment remains on you.
• Many insurance policies have limitations on number of visits, and many require you to meet your deductible prior to coverage, as well as charging copays. We will collect these at the time of service.
• For in-network insurances, we are unable to negotiate discounted rates as those are established by our contract.

Specific Insurance Exceptions to note:

• Medicare ONLY covers nutrition counseling if you have a diagnosis of a) diabetes or b) chronic kidney disease; all other conditions are considered non-coverable. For Medicare clients who are not covered, we do offer cash discounts as a courtesy.
• PEBA BCBS State Insurance currently DOES NOT COVER NUTRITION SERVICES for ANY reason. There are no exceptions to this. We are happy to provide cash prices to these customers, and we also encourage you to call your state legislators and complain!

Our cash prices are available when calling to discuss appointments; for any specific questions related to insurance reimbursement, please contact us at billing@pathoflifenutrition.com