FNCE Recap: A Dietitians Rundown on the Best of FNCE 2014

October 28, 2014 | The Health Beat

I just returned from the 2014 annual Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) in Atlanta and I don’t know about you but I am energized! Most people return home from this conference exhausted, but I tend to return home each year energized. I love all the great people I met, the knowledge gained from the sessions I attended and all the new and fascinating products in the Expo hall.

One of my favorite sessions this year was on branding, titled “Creating Fame: The Power of Branding to Elevate Your Career” presented by Yvette Quantz and Thomas Karam and moderated by Sarah Koszyk. This session was well presented and provided many take away points that I will be incorporating into my professional toolkit. The presentation focused on how to brand yourself as a dietitian, no matter the focus of your practice. The also demonstrated how two simple things, “vocal tone” and your “default look”, can determine whether someone will like/trust you within the first 10 seconds of meeting you. This was excellent information to be reminded of since we, as dietitians, deal with patients, clients, vendors and many other groups of people on a daily basis. The session served as a great reminder of the importance of focusing on making a positive first impression. Because we interact with so many new people on a daily basis, the first impression is key to our success. If we fail to impress, it lessens the impact of the rest of our message.

Another favorite for me this year was the expo hall. Come one, who doesn’t like a place where great food vendors and sponsors showcase their products. This year, I especially enjoyed learning about the new natural food products on the market, and the trend of decreasing processed ingredients and additives that are currently in so many of our foods. This is a trend that dietitians have been focusing on for quite some time. It’s great to see it becoming a more mainstream trend. While I believe there is room in a person’s diet for most foods, I also believe it is important to get back to the basics. Because of this, it was nice see so many companies working with dietitians to produce a healthier product for consumers to choose.

For those who were able to attend the 2014 FNCE conference, I would love to hear about your favorite session(s), as well as your favorite part of the expo. For those of you who were unable to go this year, I look forward to connecting next year in Nashville. Finally, for those who are questioning whether it is worth it to attend FNCE in the future, I would definitely recommend it. Although it is a long weekend, I think you will be surprised at how you leave feeling more energized and excited about the future of our profession.

Talk to you soon!

Carrie

Carrie Mark, MA, RD, LD

Chief Acquisitions Director

NCES, Inc.

Turning Your Nutrition Product IDEA in to a Sellable Product

September 29, 2014 | The Health Beat

Have you created a product or written a book that you’re ready to take on to the next step? Being around so many dietitians all the time, we know that many of you have great talent, are very creative and have the drive to create a product aimed at helping people live healthier lives!

At NCES, one of our proudest reputations is that of helping dietitians create the products that they dream of creating. NCES was actually started as a way to distribute a book that had been written by a dietitian who needed an outlet for distributing her book. We have continued that tradition throughout the years as we create and select new products to bring to you at NCEScatalog.com. Roughly 35% of our current vendors are other dietitians that we are proud to work with and support.

Our production team will help no matter where you’re at in the creation process. With our team of dietitians, writers and graphic designers, we’ll help you take your idea from concept to creation. We also provide access to our extensive network of printers, illustrators, packaging specialists and much more.

Lastly, we help you with distribution through NCEScatalog.com and related media outlets. Currently, our combined social media reach is approximately 36,000 nutrition professionals.

Unlike many in this industry, whose success is based solely on selling their own products, NCES is proud to support other dietitians. From carrying products created by other dietitians, like “Super 15” and “Lipo Visuals” to helping dietitians make their dreams a reality, like we were fortunate to be able to do with “Lainy’s Polite Bite”, we love having the opportunity to work with dietitians from across the country and across different specialties.

If you have an idea you’d like to work with us on, please email Carrie Mark or give her a call today at 877.623.7266. Carrie will work with you to get started on your project right away.

I think I’ve said enough about this for one day! But, before you go, listen to what Emma Fogt has to say about it all! Emma wrote the children’s book “Lainy’s Polite Bite” and worked with NCES to turn her story in to a bookshelf worthy book that is now selling at NCEScatalog.com.

Celebrate RD Day with a Little History

March 12, 2013 | The Health Beat

As Americans we love to celebrate. At any given point in the year we are amidst a special month, week or day set aside for awareness, commemoration or remembrance for a variety of causes, events and people. Usually I shake my head in amusement at every passing holiday but my attitude quickly changes at the start of national nutrition month. One day in March, registered dietitians get a chance at recognition and a time to shine. This year, it’s Wednesday March 13th.

Nutrition has long been regarded as an important part of human’s well-being. Over 6,000 years ago the Egyptian people believed that food was crucial to overall health. The ancient Indian and Chinese cultures used food as a form of medicine. One of the founding fathers of medicine, Hippocrates, stated, “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food”. Leonardo Da Vinci compared metabolism in the human body to a candle burning. The now infamous first nutrition experiment done by the British physician, Dr. James Lind in 1747 found that limes prevented the deadly disease scurvy in sailors when included as part of their daily diet. Nutrition, however mysterious, mattered.

The science of nutrition and connection to health has been present much longer than the actual profession of dietetics. The 20th century was a time of great discovery in nutrition. The majority of vitamins and minerals integral to life were chemically isolated and named in the first several decades of the 1900s. As the science matured, the profession of dietetics broadened its reach. Dietitians were formally recognized as a profession in 1967 by the International Labour Office. And, yes, they declared the spelling “dietitian” not the nails-down-the chalkboard irritating “dietician”.

Even before the formal recognition of dietitians, the field was evolving just as fast as the nutritional breakthroughs in the early 20th century. In 1919, the first dietitian, Hallie Corsette, was hired by the US Public Health Service Divisions of Hospitals and assumed the title, “Superintendent of Dietitians”. Mrs. Corsette grew the division to include 85 dietitians whose focus was the food service operations of the Public Health Service hospitals. World War II added more duties to the dietitian’s repertoire, including doomsday preppers and consultants. For example, dietitians partnered with the Civil Defense Mobilization Program to protect the food supply and nourish the population if the United States were bombed. Dietitians were hired by state and local health departments to create nutrition clinics. By 1940 there was enough nutrition research available to establish the RDAs and dietitians subsequently began providing nutrition education to their clients.

As the demand for nutrition experts grew, the need for standardized education and training of dietitians became paramount. In 1974, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly American Dietetic Association) was recognized by the US Department of Education as the accrediting agency for dietetic internships and tasked with coordinating undergraduate programs. The responsibility of accreditation was shifted to the Commission for Accreditation in Dietetic Education (CADE) in 1994.

Registered Dietitians and the profession of dietetics is still in its infancy. Nutritional science is announcing new intricacies about the healing properties of food on a daily basis. Treating disease with a healthy diet comes with the intrinsic benefit of prevention. Medical nutrition therapy is a powerful tool that lacks the laundry list of side effects seen in many pharmaceuticals treatments. As registered dietitians we have every right to celebrate our leading role in combating chronic disease and translating the science into meaningful advice and guidance. Stand up and claim your day!