Why You Need a Registered Dietitian, with Laura Kunces, RD
When someone visits Thorne.com, they usually notice the breadth and depth of the many products we offer. Thorne’s commitment to providing the right nutritional supplement for an individual’s given needs is deeply rooted in its history. From meeting basic nutritional support needs to supporting specific conditions, our products are purposeful.
My name is Laura Kunces, Ph.D., RD, and I’m Thorne’s Vice President of Medical Strategy. I have been in the clinical and sports nutrition world as a registered dietitian for more than 15 years.
I started working with Thorne in 2015, and during the past eight years, it’s been a remarkable journey to see how we’ve grown from a small enterprise whose products could only be obtained through healthcare practitioners, to a quickly growing company that delivers products directly to the consumer. The ingredients we use in our high-quality nutritional supplements are all backed by comprehensive clinical testing and are accredited by our top-notch manufacturing practices and third-party certifications.
We like to take what we call a “one-size-fits-one” approach at Thorne. We know each person can have a wide range of needs to be met, which is why we are focused on personalized, scientific wellness. Our modular lineup of supplements provides for a wide range of needs to be met. Many of our products are single-ingredient products so a person can take that nutrient without taking others they don’t need, and so it can be dosed appropriately for each individual. Although one person might need five specific nutrients to have an effective regimen for their health and wellness needs, another person might need five different nutrients that are specific to their health and wellness needs.
But how do you know which nutritional supplements are best for you?
The first step to answering that question is to speak to a qualified nutrition expert, such as a registered dietitian (RD) — a credentialed healthcare professional who has undergone specialized and accredited schooling to understand and respond to both acute and chronic conditions and their prevention. You might have also heard of RDNs ‒ registered dietitian nutritionists ‒ which is synonymous with an RD.
Although the average person usually seeks nutritional help from an RD reactively and less frequently than one should, a visit with an RD should be proactive — twice yearly is best, like a checkup at the dentist — for preventative check-ins and to make sure the body is being taken care of from a nutritional standpoint.
While it’s never too late to begin consulting with an RD, there’s no time like the present to schedule an initial visit. For those who aren’t working with a dietitian and want to seek one who also can help with their supplement routine, Thorne can help individuals find a professional near them, virtually, who specializes in their health concerns or goals. Check out our Find a Professional webpage for more information.
What can an RD do for me?
Why is an RD important in a person’s overall health and wellness journey? An RD can help an individual find the right dietary style, and then support it with recipes, complementary health brands, and physical and digital tools to help maintain weight, cholesterol, muscle mass, brain sharpness, and other metabolic processes that can begin to slip over time without proper early attention.
An RD can also help with understanding bloodwork, and microbiome test results, and introducing other testing, trends, apps, and lifestyle strategies to help achieve goals.
I think what is less known about the RD community is that RDs specialize, just like physicians do. There are pediatric RDs, gastroenterology RDs, bariatric RDs, sports RDs, eating disorder RDs — and the list goes on. As important as it is to see an RD, finding the right one is crucial to supporting and optimizing a person’s health and wellness journey and goals.
What to talk to your RD about
As an RD, I have conversations of all kinds about how to pick the right nutritional supplements. It’s the ultimate personalization question. Many individuals who seek my advice have preconceived ideas of what I might suggest, based on something they heard or read, or advice from a friend. I encourage everyone to wait before taking that advice until first speaking with a professional about it!
So, my response usually starts with questions back to them. The conversation usually goes like this:
· Have you had any clinical or diagnostic testing done recently? If not, start there. If yes, what were those results and what health concerns are you dealing with? What are your future health goals?
· Think about yourself and your family history: Do you have any current or past health issues or does your family have a history of diabetes, heart disease, cognitive decline, etc.? What medications or supplements are you currently taking?
· All follow-up questions are about diet and lifestyle: Do you eat fish three times a week? Do you consume at least 30 grams of fiber every day? Do you get 8 hours of good-quality sleep? Do you have 4–5 servings of vegetables daily? Do you drink alcohol or excessive caffeine or consume too much sugar? Do you move your body at least 150 minutes a week? And why do you do these things? Etc.
Questions like these usually help a person recognize that, indeed, there are areas of their diet or lifestyle that might warrant taking a nutritional supplement to fill a gap or to optimize their physical and mental health.
So, how can Thorne help me get started?
It is important to start with a baseline and evaluate results that indicate what your body lacks or needs, which is why the first question I start with revolves around clinical/diagnostic testing. This is where Thorne and our at-home health tests become a powerful tool.
At Thorne, we are all about innovation, in our supplements and our tests. Thorne helps the consumer figure out exactly what he or she needs through our line of at-home health tests. We introduced our at-home tests with the intention of helping consumers identify areas for upgrade or to monitor their health progress.
For example, take our vitamin D at-home test kit. Many Americans live above the 37th parallel, a line that cuts through California, just above the top of Texas but below Virginia. Above that line of latitude, the sun is less strong in winter months, leaving many Americans at risk for a vitamin D deficiency. Because not everyone will be deficient, that’s where a test comes in handy. Thorne’s Vitamin D Test can not only help identify a low vitamin D level but also monitor for improvement after supplementation begins.
Another great example is our Gut Health Test. The traditional gut microbiome collection process is, frankly, awful: It involves looking at, smelling, and touching a fecal sample during the collection process, which is not comfortable or fun for anyone. To solve this issue of inconvenience and discomfort, Thorne invented, tested, researched, published, and introduced its patent-pending revolutionary microbiome wipe. It’s the same great test but with a way easier collection experience, and it has changed the game for users of all ages, sexes, races, and professions to collect a sample so their gut health can be tested.
Better tests, better data, better health
So why do I encourage people to start with testing? Taking tests means gathering better data about individual personal health and wellness, and having access to better data means making better recommendations for each individual.
To support making and offering the best tests, results, and personalized recommendations, we employ Thorne’s artificial intelligence platform, known as Thorne Health Intelligence, in our research and development process for our supplement line. With the help of this platform, we are constantly reviewing de-identified data from our tests to help enhance our supplement portfolio. Thorne’s data and bioinformatics team analyzes, sorts, and statistically draws conclusions from complex multi-omic data sets like our Gut Health Test or our Biological Age test. (You can read more about Thorne’s AI platform from Dr. Nathan Price, Thorne’s Chief Scientific Officer.)
Coupled with the extensive knowledge of Thorne’s in-house medical team, made up of Ph.D. scientists and researchers, MDs, and NDs, the findings from our AI platform can turn numbers into practical applications, education, and new products.
For the consumer, this means having access to more data-driven solutions and the best possible products and test offerings to help individuals understand their health better and quicker because it changes so frequently with every life stage.
Although Thorne started as just a supplement company, we have transformed into a health technology company to help individuals across every spectrum of health and wellness.
