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
John is in his mid fifties and I wouldn't say he is fat, but I wouldn't classify him as thin, either. He is what used to be called "husky," a definition that isn't heard much, these days. I would venture to say he is about 20-25 pounds over fighting weight. He loves food, and he loves beer, and he is going to have to make some changes in his life, if he wants to keep it.
John told me in the email that his family practitioner had sent him to a nutritionist after she told him about his diabetes diagnosis. John is 6' 1" and weighs between 255-230. I think it's entirely possible that John could get in shape within about 90 days.
When John arrived for his appointment with the nutritionist he was greeted by a receptionist who was probably 250 pounds and certainly did not have the height to carry off anything near that weight.
You would think that a nutritionist would not want to have an obese person be the first thing a patient sees when they walk through the door, but John thought that maybe they had to hire her because she was qualified and they didn't want to break any discrimination laws.
He waited for about twenty minutes, before his name was called and he was ushered into a big office. Then the nutrionist arrived, and John was stunned. She was about 5'10", but she weighed 300 pounds and not an ounce less, according to his story.
She started into her routine, and talked and talked, but John couldn't hear anything. His mind kept asking him, "Why are the two people I have seen in this nutrition clinic so fat?"
The nutritionist was showing him plastic food, made to approximate just how much food he should be eating. Finally, when he couldn't stand it anymore, he asked, "If you know all the rules about dieting, why are you so fat?"
There was absolute silence on the other side of the desk, and then she said, "What did you say?" like she hadn't heard him correctly.
So he repeated what he said, "If you know all the rules about dieting, why are you so fat?"
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.
He went back to his family practitioner and told her the story. She kept a straight face on for a minute or two, and then couldn't stop her own laughter.
After that, John was told of some rules that he really had to pay attention to.
Like John's doctor, I am a proponent of pharmaceutical grade fish oil for Type II diabetes patients, mainly because the disease raises the risk for heart problems. John does not have cardiac issues at the present time, but like I said, he is at high risk for developing them, so taking the pharmaceutical-grade fish oil can go a long way towards lowering lipid levels, which often spike in those with diabetes, especially triglyceride levels.
Not only that, but pharmaceutical grade fish oil has been linked to wide range of other health benefits, including reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, improved joint health, and improved behavior and mood.
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 listen to themselves and follow through on what they are talking about, not just hand out diet advice with one hand and eat junk food with the other.
John told me that when he was in the nutritionist's office he had noticed cases of Diet Coke, which, if you didn't know, is the number one beverage that fat people consume.
Never be afraid to get another opinion, especially in a case like this.