Is Your Nutritionist Too Fat To Fish?
This morning, like every morning, I tried to avoid reading my email first thing, because if I get hooked on a good story, I can easily lose track of time and I don’t end up getting enough done. But I couldn’t resist this morning, and I read an email from someone I know who was just diagnosed with Type II Diabetes
This guy John is about 20-25 pounds over his ideal weight and is in his mid-fifties. So he’s not what you would call really fat, but he’s definitely not thin. Part of his problem is he just loves his food and beer a bit too much, and with the Type II Diabetes, he is going to have to cut back, if he wants to stay well.
John weighs about 225-230 and is 6’1″ His email said that his family practitioner recommended a nutritionist for him after she diagnosed him with diabetes. I think John could get back into shape in about three months.
John took his doctor’s advice and made an appointment with the nutritionist. Upon arriving for his appointment he was checked-in by a receptionist who really could be called obese — she was probably 250 pounds and maybe 5’5″
John was surprised to see someone of that weight manning the front desk at a nutrition clinic, but he thought that maybe it was an anti-discrimination thing.
John waited in the waiting room and after about 20 minutes they called him in. When the nutritionist arrived, he was just flabbergasted. She was tall, but she could not have weighed less than 300 pounds, according to John.
She started to talk to John about what might help him with his diabetes, but John really had a hard time focusing. This thought kept going through his mind: “Why is this nutritionist and the woman who works for her so grossly overweight?”
The nutritionist kept talking and was at the point in her demonstration where she was showing John pieces of plastic food to give him an idea about proper portion sizes. But John was too distracted and just could not help himself from speaking out. He asked her, “If you are so educated about dieting and nutrition, how can you be that fat?”
The nutritionist stopped talking and looked stunned. Finally she said, as if she had not heard him, “What did you just say?”
John played along and repeated his question. “How can you be so overweight, when you know all these rules about dieting and nutrition?”
After John repeated his question, the nutritionist flew into a tirade, yelling at John and telling him to leave her office, right this minute. John did as he was told, but he really didn’t think that his question should have brought on all that verbal abuse. The receptionist stopped him as he was leaving and asked if there was anything wrong, and John told her that it seemed as though her boss could not follow her own advice.
John went back to see his family practitioner and told her what had happened. His doctor turned red and tried to hold back, but after a moment she just burst out laughing.
After that, John was told of some rules that he really had to pay attention to.
I recommend, as John’s doctor does, supplementation with pharmaceutical grade fish oil, especially for patients with Type II diabetes. Diabetes really ups the risk for cardiac issues, and although John does not have heart problems right now, his risk level is high. The pharmaceutical-grade fish oil is useful in the treatment of diabetes because it can help control lipid levels, particularly triglyceride levels. These levels are often elevated in patients with diabetes.
pharmaceutical grade fish oil is useful in treating other problems as well. It has been shown to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and some types of cancers, and has been linked to mood improvement and good joint health.
This last benefit is particularly helpful to Type II diabetics, who often suffer from depression caused by the disease.
I think John was absolutely within his rights to ask that question of his nutritionist. How is his situation different from taking health advice from a pulmonologist who thought nothing of smoking?
Nutritionists need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
John told me she had two cases of Diet Coke on a shelf behind her, too (more fat people drink Diet Coke, than any other beverage.)
The lesson here is, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion, especially when you have reason to doubt the advice of the practitioner you are seeing, because of his or her personal habits.