the Price of a Nutritionist

The price was the copay cost for a visit to the nutritionist my doctor referred me to.

It's a nutritionist's office. They offer nutritional "counseling" and not much else. If you cancel within 48 hours of the appointment or don't show up, you have to pay the full cost of the consult (several hundred dollars) and insurance doesn't cover it.

At 6'0" and 230 lbs my BMI is a bit above 31, so my wife's doctor (mine being out of town when I went in for my bi-monthly checkup (I'm diabetic and have celiac disease, so I see my doc a dozen times more than most people)) convinced my wife to let him refer me to a nutritionist, because I'm "obese" if my BMI is over 30. This in spite of the fact that I have a 33" waist, visible abs, and disgustingly healthy blood work (even my wife's doctor agreed on the last). I'm not a bodybuilder; I just have a big frame, carry a lot of muscle, and eat clean.

But not according to the nutritionist. I found out about the appointment the day before it was scheduled for. My wife had marked it on my calendar, but I'd overlooked it until then. Once I found out about the cancellation policy, I didn't have much choice but to go.

After I refused to be weighed, measured, or have more blood drawn, the nutritionist tisk tisks at me about my "excessive" weight, saying I'm "too fat" and need to lose about 60 lbs. She then proceeded to lay out a diet based on the USDA's nutritional pyramid, which doesn't work for me at all.

The conversation went something like this:

"You need to eat more whole grains." "Did I mention I was diabetic and celiac?" "Oh, we can control that with insulin. Get on this diet and talk to your doctor about an insulin prescription." "I'm type II diabetic, meaning my body doesn't respond to insulin. And I control my diabetes just fine with diet. Plus celiac means I can't digest gluten." "Well, you need to eat more wheat and whole grains anyway, and the American Diabetes diet says you should..."

I'm not sure how that thought ended, because I walked out, payed my $20 copay at the desk, and left. There's no sense in refusing to pay and getting bills from these idiots. It's far more effective to write a letter to the licensing board about how she was inattentive to my condition and how her recommendations would likely have killed me if I'd followed them. Which, incidentally, I have. Sent the letter, not died having followed garbage recommendations.

"Nutritionist" seems like the new fad profession. They go around and around saying either "eat according to the food pyramid" (for the sake of liability, as it's tough to get sued when you only did what the government told you to do) or "eat as little food that comes in boxes, bottles, and cans as possible. Mostly vegetables, some fruit, some meat, some nuts, some grains" in as many words as possible. I'd avoid them all together unless you really have no idea at all what foods are good and bad for you.

A real researcher in human biochemistry might actually know what's going on when it comes to diet, but, from my experience, you're not likely to find one in a nutritionist's office.