Your doctor may suggest that you see a Registered Dietitian when you are diagnosed with diabetes or if you are having difficulties controlling your blood sugar. If your doctor does not suggest this, you should ask him or her for a referral to one.
What is a Registered Dietitian? A Registered Dietitian (RD) is a nutrition professional with education (usually a Bachelors or Masters degree in nutrition) and experience in Nutrition and Dietetics. To carry the RD credential, one must meet the credentialing body’s requirements including schooling, internship and successful completion of an examination.
What can a RD help me with? An RD can help you design a meal plan so that you can control blood sugar, maintain a healthy weight, and your diet is well balanced. You can learn about reading food labels, which foods affect blood sugar, carbohydrate counting, and more. An RD can also help you to trouble shoot problems you might be having with weight loss, blood sugar, and lifestyle changes to care for diabetes.
You can check with your doctor or local hospital for Registered Dietitians in your local area. Also, you can search the American Dietetic Association for a Registered Dietitian:
http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/home_4875_ENU_HTML.htm
Also, the American Association of Diabetes Educators lists Diabetes Educators (some of which are also Dietitians):
