I'm Hanna Rifkin, a Registered Dietitian (RD), Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) and Certified Lifestyle Coach.
After accepting that I would not become a Spanish or Italian translator, despite having a B.A. in Italian Studies and passion for romance language and cultures, it was time for another plan. I found myself in sales and the product was always something food related. From olive oil, to CSA boxes, to restaurants - I have always found a way to be near food.
Later, my Mom sent me a job post seeking a Registered Dietitian (RD). I hadn't actually heard of the title Dietitian, so I asked around. Sure enough, I found a few dietitians to interview, and decided this was the move for me. I went back to school - and 5 years later - came out a Registered Dietitian.
I found my first position as an RD in kidney dialysis at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH). The patient population at SFGH has a high percentage of Spanish speaking patients, and I really enjoyed working with them (and everyone else!) Next I accepted a foodservice position as Procurement Supervisor at UCSF Medical Center, Mission Bay. I ordered the food and metabolic formula for the children's hospital and supervised the receiving team who put away hundreds of cases of food every day. I loved my team! However, I realized that working in a clinical setting is closer to who I am. I passed the Certified Diabetes Educator exam, and now work in diabetes / mindful eating / weight management with Sutter Health. I’m lucky to have had the opportunity to work in different roles in my field, and have now found the right fit.
philosophy
You are an individual and I want to empower you via Motivational Interviewing. Let's communicate via Skype, Google chat or Facetime.
philosophy
You are an individual and I want to empower you via Motivational Interviewing. Let's communicate via Skype, Google chat or Facetime.
You are interesting.
Science is interesting.
Food tastes good.
Now throw in more puzzle pieces which make you who you are, and there's a project that when given the right mix of listening, advising, asking and supporting, will yield you meeting an enriched version of self. My philosophy is that everyone has the capacity to improve, it’s a matter of guiding them to meet that goal.
what's in a name
names are nice. apples and oranges have fiber, vitamins, minerals, water and can be easily carried in your backpack. My CD is called apples and oranges (though I don't post about it on this website) and I mention the fruit in a song I wrote called "every other day". also, apples have good texture and crunch and can be used in salads, and other creative culinary adventures.
what's in a name
names are nice. apples and oranges have fiber, vitamins, minerals, water and can be easily carried in your backpack. My CD is called apples and oranges (though I don't post about it on this website) and I mention the fruit in a song I wrote called "every other day". also, apples have good texture and crunch and can be used in salads, and other creative culinary adventures.
I've always kept an apple or an orange in my bag. I often carry an extra piece, so I can share.
From a health aspect, apples and oranges are high in fiber, have relatively good storage capacity, and span across different cultures and classes of people.
Drinking Fruit Juice vs Eating Whole Fruit
Apple juice and orange juice compared to apples and oranges are worlds apart nutritionally, and I enjoy educating on this topic.
After pressing loads of apples in a factory, on one side falls the juice and on the other side falls the pulp. Pulp contains : fiber, vitamins, minerals, glucose and water. Based on those components, you can understand that pulp is good for you. However, the pulp makes it challenging to produce a consistent product. It isn't valuable because it likely won't sell product. The pulp is thrown away. As mentioned before, the pulp has many health benefits.
back to the juice part (see previous paragraph). Fresh juice contains: vitamins, minerals, water, fructose, and glucose. To protect you from any possible bacteria, the manufacturer will boil or pasteurize the juice. Though this process does rid of possibly harmful bacteria, it also destroys the vitamins and other healthy components. So, now with the boiling and fiber tossing, the juice is not what it once was. By the time the juice gets to you, the majority of good is no longer accessible to your body. In fact, the company may now even choose to add vitamins which were created in a science lab. How backwards is that?
Recommendation ➞ Avoid Juice
Instead Carry ➞ Water + Apple or Orange
what is a dietitian
my coworkers all spell it dietician, which is incorrect. It can be confusing to understand what a dietitian does and how they compare to a nutritionist.
what is a dietitian
my coworkers all spell it dietician, which is incorrect. It can be confusing to understand what a dietitian does and how they compare to a nutritionist.
Dietitians work with a person to educate, encourage and help that person decide on changes that will suit their lifestyle, personality and goals. We encourage sustainable changes; changes that will continue without the dietitian.
In a rotation of 55 classrooms in one school district, I asked the students "Has anyone heard of a dietitian?" about 1 in 10 students would raise their hand. I went back to school at age 28 to become a dietitian - because - I hadn’t even heard the word dietitian until age 28 (my Mom tipped me off on a job, and that got the ball rolling).
REQUIREMENTS to become a dietitIan
MS or BS in "Dietetics" or "Nutritional Sciences" at accredited university
+
1200 hour accredited internship
+
Comprehensive Exam
=
REGISTERED DIETITIAN (RD)
Overview of Courses at University (will vary slightly within programs)
Psychology
Anatomy
Physiology
Microbiology
General Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Biochemistry
Nutritional Biochemistry
Human Metabolism
Medical Nutrition Therapy
Food Service and Food Safety
Food Science
Community Nutrition
Potential Work Settings
Hospital, counseling patients and creating care plans with interdisciplinary team
Hospital, managing dietitians
Clinic, specializing in diabetes, dialysis, eating disorders, gastrointestinal, etc.
Eldercare home
Kitchen of a hospital, planning menus and supervising employees
Kitchen of a school district, planning menus, ordering food, managing staff
Startups - they are everywhere
Food laboratory
Research lab or with cohort
Weight loss clinic
High end gym
Private practice
Copywriter for a magazine
Copywriter doing marketing and social media
I have noticed that registered dietitian doesn't resonate much with people. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics added nutritionist to better qualify in 2013.
Each practitioner has the option to say Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) or Registered Dietitian (RD).
It is ultimately the choice of that dietitian whether to add the descriptor nutrition in their title.