A registered dietitian (RD) has completed accredited university coursework, a supervised clinical internship, and a national board exam, and must keep up continuing education to stay credentialed. "Nutritionist" has no single legal definition in most states, so training varies widely. I am an RD (trained at UCSF) and hold a PhD in nutrition science from Oregon State University, where I studied how food compounds affect exercise performance.

An RD who focuses on digestion and the gut microbiome: the trillions of microbes living in your intestines. My job is to translate a fast-moving research field into food changes you can actually keep, and to be honest about which parts of that research are solid and which are still early.

No. Dietitians do not diagnose disease. If your symptoms suggest something that needs a medical workup (unexplained weight loss, blood in your stool, persistent pain, or symptoms that wake you at night), I will refer you to a physician first. For diagnosed conditions, I work alongside your medical team on the nutrition side.

I start from position statements and systematic reviews, then individual trials, then mechanistic research. When the evidence is early or mixed, I will tell you that, and we will treat the change as an experiment and track whether it works for you.

A stool sample is sequenced to estimate which microbes are present and in what proportions. Think of it as a single snapshot of a busy street: it shows who was there that day, but not a full medical scan. In 2024, an international panel of 69 microbiome experts concluded that direct-to-consumer microbiome tests have no proven value in clinical practice yet, and warned against using them to diagnose disease.

Then why do you use it?

I use it as one input among several, never as a diagnosis. Alongside your diet history, symptoms, clinical labs, and goals, it can help us spot patterns (for example, low fiber-fermenting capacity) and track change over time. I will not tell you a test "proves" you have a condition, and I do not recommend stopping medications or starting treatments based on a stool test alone.

Item descriptionWell-chosen nutrition improves both performance and recovery. That is the joint position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine, which also recommends that athletes work with a registered dietitian for an individualized plan. Personalization matters because energy, carbohydrate, protein, and fluid needs shift with your sport, training phase, body size, and goals. What I will not promise is a specific percentage improvement; the size of the effect depends on where you are starting from.

It is my program for athletes and high performers. We combine your training load, diet history, clinical labs, body composition, and, where useful, microbiome and genetic data. Labs and your actual intake carry the most weight. Testing data refines the plan; it does not replace the basics of fueling and recovery.

Only when food cannot reasonably cover a need or the evidence for a specific ingredient is strong, and I prefer third-party-tested products for athletes in tested sports. I do not sell or earn commission on supplements I recommend to clients.