A degree in nutrition will facilitate your entrance into the medical profession through prescribing foods to help people get healthy.
A Career in Food Science
That morning cup of coffee could be more than a caffeine fix--it could save your life. Recent studies have revealed that coffee reduces the risk of heart disease and diabetes, packing more antioxidants per cup than a serving of blueberries. What you should or should not eat seems to change constantly, making nutrition and food science an appetizing career choice.
What Will I Do as a Nutritionist?
Nutritionists create healthy meal programs for their clients or patients and monitor the preparation of food. They have to stay abreast of new developments in nutrition and food science, since their job is to help people get and stay healthy. Doctors often ask nutritionists to help treat a patient's illness by regulating his/her diet.
Nutritionists can work in a private practice, or in a public settling such as a hospital, prison, or school. Depending on your interests, you could also conduct research in nutrition and food science, perhaps unearthing results akin to the recent coffee findings.
The U.S.'s continuing prevalence of obesity has also created a wealth of unique job opportunities for those with degrees in nutrition in education, marketing, and advertising. Nutritionists are needed to write educational handouts of proper diets and to fine-tune food advertisements to target the health conscious.
Breaking Into the Nutrition Field
A degree in nutrition is one of the best ways to enter the nutrition and food science field.
A bachelor's degree in nutrition is the minimum degree necessary to practice. States have varying standards, so be sure to check out which degree program will allow you to have a professional career.
As the baby boomer generation ages, nutritionists are expected to be in high demand. Employment for those in the nutrition and food science industry is supposed to grow faster than the occupational average through 2014, so now may be the perfect time to put your science-oriented mind to use in the clinic – and the kitchen.
Sources
New York Times article; "Coffee as a Health Drink? Studies Find Some Benefits
U.S. Department of Labor Statistics