Food for Thought

In this episode, Nadia and Alyssa welcome registered dietitian Kerry Blair, founder of Food for Fuel and known on Instagram as "The Gymnast RD." The conversation explores nutrition topics including orthorexia, the differences between registered dietitians and nutritionists, gut health trends, and vitamin supplementation.

Kerry offers evidence-based insights to help young adults navigate nutrition misinformation on social media and provides practical advice for developing healthy relationships with food and understanding when supplements are truly necessary.

Takeaways

• Orthorexia is a form of disordered eating characterized by an unhealthy obsession with "healthy" eating that leads to restrictive behaviors and fears around food.
• Social media significantly contributes to nutrition misinformation and orthorexic tendencies, with studies suggesting 25-30% of young adults may be struggling with orthorexia.
• In the US, registered dietitians have extensive educational requirements (including a master's degree, clinical internship, and board certification), while "nutritionist" is an unregulated title.
• Gut health is an emerging area of nutrition research, and many trendy gut health products lack substantial scientific evidence to support their claims.
• Vitamin and mineral supplements should be taken based on individual needs determined by proper testing, as excessive supplementation can cause imbalances and health issues.

Chapters

00:00 - 01:41: Introduction and welcoming Kerry Blair

01:42 - 05:04: Kerry’s journey to becoming a dietitian and gymnastics nutrition

05:05 - 08:00: Explaining orthorexia and its prevalence among young adults

08:01 - 10:34: Social media's impact on nutrition trends and diet culture

10:35 - 15:45: Navigating nutrition advice and finding reliable information

15:46 - 19:33: The difference between registered dietitians and nutritionists

19:34 - 23:35: Discussion on gut health trends and probiotic products

23:36 - 33:20: Vitamin supplementation, regulation issues, and third-party testing

33:21 - 35:02: Closing thoughts on advocating for proper nutritional testing