Ginger has had a variety on different roles in her career and has a somewhat non-traditional one now. She specializes in integrative health, oncology nutrition, responsible supplementation, and nutrigenomics. Like a typical entrepreneur (or one I can relate to), she engulfs herself in nutrition, even in her 'spare' time. I am excited to share her interview and I know she's excited to be featured. 

Why did you become a RD?

I got interested in nutrition because of my love of fitness and food but during my schooling and internship, my interest turned towards the clinical and behavior change aspects.

What area of dietetics do you work in? 

I work for a nutrigenomic company in Seattle, I teach students at an integrative medical clinic and I run my blog, Champagne Nutrition.

How would you explain what you do? 

It can be confusing because I do more than one thing! When I tell people that I work for a biotech start-up, they say “oh, so you’re not a dietitian anymore?” I get to explain that dietitians can do a lot of different things; that’s a wonderful aspect about our profession. I also love working with students; I teach and guide graduate dietetic students as they counsel patients. I’m a writer at heart so blogging and writing articles is something I do in my free time. 

I also serve as Immediate Past President for the Chicago Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Chair-Elect of the national Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group and am a Media Representative for the Illinois Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

What are your ‘typical’ daily/weekly tasks? 

The majority of my time I am either prepping for, following up on or actively seeing clients for nutrition sessions. Other than that, I manage a team of dietitians so I have some training and supporting built into my day. I always take time each morning to set my social media channels since this is a huge priority to me and in the evenings I almost always write articles, blog or am on phone calls for the many nutrition-related volunteer positions I hold. Sometimes in my down-time I read nutrition magazines or books - It's all nutrition all the time with me!

What has been your career path? 

I started out working in a large hospital in Chicago on the cardiac rehabilitation floor. When they started doing bariatric surgery, I helped them open an outpatient bariatric clinic. From there I moved to an integrative oncology clinic and now I work at a nutrigenomic start-up company.

What advanced education or special training do you have? 

I have a Masters in Nutrition from Bastyr University, have earned my Weight Management Certifications I and II

and I now have my Board Certification as a Specialist in Oncology Nutrition (CSO).

In an ideal world, what does the industry look like 5 years from now? 

I hope that the dietetic field continues to grow and integrate into general medical practice. Dietitians are THE nutrition experts.  Having a great relationship with other medical providers that refer to us for nutritional needs will be key. RDs also play a key role in sustainability and environmental nutrition, the healthy aging of our population as well as school food service and childhood nutrition, obesity and other chronic diseases and in the community regarding access and safety of the food supply. Dietitians are a critical piece to the health of our population.

What misinformation about RDs would you like to clear up? 

That we judge what other people eat. I want people to stop apologizing to me at dinner parties :) Also that we have a magic bullet – behavior change is hard and takes time and commitment so working with a dietitian over a period of time is a key to success. I can’t simply tell you what to eat when I meet you the first time; nutrition is a complicated science.

What would you like people to know about RDs? 

The amount of schooling, credentialing and continuing education that is required for us to achieve our “RDN” status.

What are you passionate about in dietetics? 

The food aspect and the culture around food. Cooking, recipes, food photography, eating out, food history – that’s the best. I also love talking to people about how to use nutrition to heal themselves; food is powerful medicine.

What is your favourite meal? 

I’m a huge pizza fan. Otherwise, I’m a vegetarian so a spicy tofu noodle dish with lots of broccoli in it would be ideal.

What tip(s) would you give to our readers? 

Reach out to a dietitian today for your nutrition needs! Most every person could benefit from working with a nutrition professional.

More about Ginger:

Website: Champagne Nutrition

Facebook: Champagne Nutrition

Twitter: @GingerHultinRD

Instagram: @champagnenutrition

Pinterest: Champagne Nutrition

Google+: Ginger Hultin

LinkedIn: Ginger Hultin MS RD CSO

Thanks Ginger!