From: Kevin Kelly <kkelly@rrnet.com>

Subject: Re: Zone diet (30:40:30 protein/fat/carbo diet): Fat loading: the

next magic bullet?

Jerry Vonderharr writes:

> I can understand why dietitians might be threatened by something

> like "The Zone" diet. Empowering people to take control of their

> own health puts the entire field of dietary counceling in jepardy.

> It's akin to the Silver Amalgam controversy in Dentistry;

> it's hard to admit that what you've been doing (placing toxic

> amalgams or prescribing low fat/high carbo diets) has been wrong.

Jerry, your comments are unprofessional and out of line. Dietitians

are not threatened by good information and we are not wrong about the

low fat high carb diet. As a profession, we educate people on how to

take control of their health by establishing adequate dietary habits.

Because you say we are threatened, I get the impression you feel

dietitians like to keep people dependent on them so that

patients/clients keep coming back. This obviously makes for a good

source of income. Dietitians do not practice this way.

I know many chiropractors who I get along with very nicely. I have

also read books on chiropractic. I believe in the chiropractic

profession and I think chiropractors are an important part of health

care. I meet people all the time who say that chiropractors want you

to keep coming back. They think that chiropractors pad their income

by making people dependent on them. Because I believe in your

profession, I tell people that this is not the way most of the

profession works. I tell people they cannot put all chiropractors in

the same category because of one bad experience. I think your

profession has come a long way because chiropractors have gained

public respect and crediblity in the eyes of the insurance industry

and other health professionals. It is my observation that

chiropractors were viewed as nothing more than quacks 10-15 years ago

because chiropractors felt they could solve all health problems.

There is nothing wrong with a low fat high carb diet. I will probably

never convince you otherwise. You and I have a common core of

knowledge about the human body and then we go our separate ways. Even

though I know much about the nervous system, spinal column, etc., I am

not qualified to be a chiropractor. To start with, it is unethical

and the laws prevent me from giving out chiropractic advice. As

dietitians, we will never know everything about nutrition just like no

chiropractor will ever know everything about his/her profession.

Dietitians have a solid nutrition background and we should be the

first source of nutrition information. We are the ones who have

appropriate degrees, have passed a national registry exam, and are

licensed in the states requiring licensure to provide nutritionl

counseling. As a group, we work hard to stay current and are open

minded about advances in nutrition. It sounds like you are

sterotyping dietitians based on a bad experience or ancient history.

This list is a wonderful exchange of information and all of what is

brought to the list must be sifted through for accuracy by all of us.

I enjoy reading the list and it is easy for me to figure out fact from

fiction. The same would be true if there was a list for

chiropractors. I would not know how to separate all of the

misinformation because I don't have the extensive knowledge base

chiropractors have. I would rely on my chiropractor friends to help

me. Health care is a team concept. Each of us relies on the other

for his/her expertise whether it is a pharmacist, physician, nurse,

etc. Each of us should stick to what we are qualified in. Straying

outside of our specialty does nothing but undermine each individual

profession and the health profession in general.

Kevin Kelly, Licensed Registered Dietitian