Top 3 Nutrition Resources for PTs

Top 3 Nutrition Resources for PTs

By Dr. Sean M Wells, DPT, PT, OCS, ATC/L, CSCS, CNPT, Cert-DN

Physical therapists (PTs) are unique healthcare providers. They are doctorally prepared, trained for direct and primary care, and work in a multitude of settings. Recently the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) released a new House of Delegate motion stating PTs ought to be more involved with nutrition care and should be trained and educated in nutrition further. Obviously the direct choice for nutrition care would be with a registered dietitian or nutritionist. But what if a PT has the training and legal right to provide nutrition care -- what resources does that PT have to provide optimal nutrition guidance? We will explore the top 3 nutrition resources for the PT!

NutritionFacts.org

Dr. Michael Greger established https://nutritionfacts.org/ with the intent of sharing evidenced-based nutrition knowledge for everyone -- for free! The lifestyle medicine physician has gone to great lengths to provide videos, readings, and even recipes to outline best practices for nutrition and healthy living. The website is commercial free, has a creative common license (so you can freely share the information), and is completely science based. Whether you or your patient’s question is related to how much sugar you should eat or what is the ideal diet for rheumatoid arthritis, you will find NutritionFacts.org to be reliable and factual -- a fresh revelation compared to other websites and quack professionals. 

While you are at it, buy Dr. Greger's book, How Not to Die. All of money he makes from his book goes back to making his free, commercial-free, and evidenced based website better. 

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)

Another fantastic resource for practicing PTs is the PCRM website. Their website offers free nutrition information regarding macronutrients, food patterns, and healthy eating tips. The organization also offers free print-off healthy eating Fact Sheets, which are great for PTs to hand out to patients for education and evidenced-based recommendations. While not as expansive as NutritionFacts.org, PCRM’s website does include several major conditions and recommended dietary changes. For those patients looking to make a change to a more whole-food, plant-based lifestyle, then PCRM Starter Kit is a great way to help encourage them to change their eating habits. Check out the website and organization today and start helping your patients eat better -- even with small, incremental changes.

Dr. Neal Barnard is the president of PCRM and his book on hormones and food is amazing. Check it out today!

American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM)

Other than the APTA, those PTs interested in improving wellness, offering holistic care, or who want to integrate more preventive interventions in their practice, then the ACLM is a must for membership. The ACLM is a College under the American Medical Association (AMA), is science-based, and offers a laundry-list of benefits. The ACLM offers continuing medical education (CME) and continuing education hours (CEH) for healthcare providers focused on such topics as:

• Nutrition
• Weight management
• Alcohol Use
• Emotional wellness
• Sleep health
• And Physical Activity

The programming is well-designed, chock full of research, and can prepare the practicing PT for one of their certifications in lifestyle medicine. Holding a doctor of physical therapy (DPT) and completing 30 hours of ACLM online coursework, or 10 hours of live coursework, will qualify the PT to sit for the Certification in Lifestyle Medicine. Such a certification allows a practitioner to educate patients, where appropriate based on State law and practice acts, on the above topics, which includes nutrition! Such a certification may be appropriate for those PTs practicing in States that require a certification or equal training in nutrition to provide nutrition care.  Whether you are interested in the Certification or merely just taking some courses, ACLM.org is a great place to go and a fantastic organization to belong to as a member.

Of course, if you like the content you see here...well, there is much more to be found in our evidenced-based, board-approved online continuing education courses for physical therapists. Enroll today and progress through our 3 course sequence starting with nutrition basics, then the assessment/prescription process, and finally a specialty focus on select populations and specialized nutrition topics. Complete all 3 courses and earn the title of the Certified Nutritional Physical Therapist (CNPT®). Enroll today and join the movement of PTs wanting to give their patients more! 

Download Your Copy of the Free E-Book:

Learn about the Top 5 Functional Foods to Fight Inflammation and Pain in Physical Therapy. 

Keywords: nutrition, continuing education, online course, PT, diet, APTA, CEH

Disclaimer: The above article is written as opinion piece and does not convey specific legal and/or practice act advice. Readers and participants need to check their State laws, practice act, and other legal restrictions before implementing nutrition interventions or assessments. The consumer of this article and our courses acknowledge that the State laws, practice acts, and restrictions can and do change. The Nutritional Physical Therapy team cannot be held liable for changes, ignorance, or acts of omission to such laws: the student, PT, or person engaged in such nutrition actions are responsible for examining laws and regulations as they see fit.