Past chats

Here's a list of all our past chats. You can look back at the chats in full here.

June 2024: Dietitians Week - A career in dietetics

1. What first attracted you to a career in dietetics?
2. What was your experience of studying dietetics?
3. How did you find your first job role?
4. What has been your proudest career moment ?
5. What top tips do you have for those just starting out?

June 2023 Dietitians Week – The Faces of Dietetics

1. How can dietetics benefit from a diverse and inclusive workforce?
2. Share your tips on reaching ethnically and culturally diverse communities
3. How can we embrace more equality, diversity and inclusion in the profession?
4. Tell us about the specialism, setting and style you work in – to help us celebrate the different ‘faces’ of dietetics.
5. How can dietitians actively support inclusive workplaces?

October 2022: Diet and the gut microbiome

1. What is a healthy gut microbiome?
2. Is it possible to improve/ optimise our gut microbiome through our diet including pre/probiotics?
3. What does the evidence say about the impacts of having an unhealthy microbiome?
4. What are microbiome tests and is there a role for them?
5. Share your favourite resources for CPD/ learning and keeping up to date on microbiome research!

Catch up on what we discussed here: #GutMicrobiome

June 2022: Dietitians Week - Working With Brands

1. What are the benefits and risks to working with brands?
2. How do you calculate the price for your services, based on your self-worth?
3. How can you ensure you get what you want during negotiations?
4. How can the BDA support dietitians who want to start working with brands?
5. Share your top tips of how to successfully collaborate with a brand

Catch up on what we discussed here: #WorkingWithBrands

March 2022: Healthy Hydration

1. What fluids count towards our daily intake – are some healthier than others?
2. From babies to older adults hydration is essential. What are the risks of not drinking enough each day?
3. How can employers play a part in encouraging #HealthyHydration ?
4. What impacts can ageing have on our ability to maintain hydration across our lifespan?
5. Share your favourite practical resources and top tips that promote #HealthyHydration

Catch up on what we discussed here: #HealthyHydration

January 2022: Plant-rich Eating

1. What are the key health benefits of eating a more plant-rich diet?
2. Is there a need for more prescriptive guidance on what a plant-rich diet entails?#Can some plant-derived foods have a greater impact on gut health or heart health?
3. How can meat-eaters be nudged to a more plant-rich diet?
4. Is there a place for plant-rich processed foods in our diets?

Catch up on what we discussed here: #Plant-Rich Eating

June 2021: Processed Foods

1. Processed food: what defines one?
2. What positive or negative nutritional impacts can processed foods have?
3. What key aspects should we consider when choosing processed foods?
4. Share your favourite hidden gems which deliver on affordability / easy prep, / nourishment
5. What are the biggest myths surrounding processed foods?

Catch up on what we discussed here: #ProcessedFood

April 2021: Living Better with IBS

1. What is IBS and how do you know if you have it?
2. What are some of the difficulties of living with IBS?
3. How can we manage IBS through diet?
4. Aside from diet, what other factors can help with symptoms?
5. Any recommendations on reliable resources to help people live well with IBS?

Catch up on what we discussed here: #IBSDiet

January 2021: Vegan diets

1. What is the difference between a plant-based diet and a vegan diet?
2. What does the evidence say about the pros and cons of a vegan diet?
3. What advice would you give to someone planning to go vegan for veganuary?
4. Any good vegan resources or tasty recipes to share?
5. What tips can you share for practical and long-term sustainable eating?

Catch up on what we discussed here: #VeganDiet

November 2020: Immunity

1. Which foods and nutrients do we currently need to focus on in the UK for supporting overall immunity?
2. What strategies work in encouraging people to have enough Vitamin D?
3. The gut microbiome seems important in immunity; how can diet help?
4. How can the general population be more ‘vaccine ready’ through nutrition?
5. Share your meal tips and store-cupboard essentials for key nutrients to support immunity?

Catch up on what we discussed after the chat: #Immunity

October 2020: Cholesterol Lowering

1. Can a dietary approach support cholesterol lowering?
2. What specific diet and lifestyle changes are proven to lower cholesterol?
3. Share research on dietary approaches that have been proven to lower cholesterol
4. Any tasty practical tips for incorporating cholesterol lowering foods into day to day life during National Cholesterol Month?
5. Is the consumer trend on plant-based eating reflected in your patient community?

This chat on #dietandcholesterol was kindly supported by Flora ProActiv.

Catch up on what we discussed here: ##DietAndCholesterol

September 2020: At Home & Healthy

1. How have our diets changed since UK lockdown?
2. Can people have a more healthy diet whilst working from home?
3. What are your tips for managing mealtimes working from home
4. What are your healthy snack ideas for the home office?
5. Following the UK lock down experience can we expect any changes to improve the Nation’s health?

March 2020: World Kidney Day

1. What are the most important dietary and lifestyle factors for looking after our kidney health? Share your best links to the evidence
2. What are the biggest myths surrounding diet and kidney disease?
3. What opportunities are there for dietitians to promote kidney prevention messages in day to day practice?
4. WWhat resources are available to support discussions about kidney health with patients/clients? (websites, apps, recipes)
5. Which kidney related strategy docs, policies, briefing papers & guidelines have caught yr attention recently & why?

October 2019: Nut Power

1. What role do nuts play in plant-based and vegan eating?
2. How do nuts compare nutritionally?
3. What’s the evidence behind nuts and health?
4. Is there a difference between the nuts in terms of sustainability?
5. Share your nutty culinary creations!

June 2019: #WhatDietitiansDo

1. What first inspired you to become a dietitian?
2. Share a recent learning experience from your work as a dietitian
3. How do you work collaboratively within your speciality to improve nutritional outcomes?
4. Share your ideas on how Dietitians can better promote the profession
5. What are you most proud of through your work as a dietitian?

Catch up on what we discussed here: #WhatDietitiansDo

May 2019: Healthy Snacking

1. Does snacking fit into a healthy diet?
2. What would be an ideal snack?
3. What can dietitians do to help keep snacks sensible and not become mini-meals?
4. What advice can we give to balance nutrient-rich snacks and calorie control?
5. How important is snacking for satiety? 

This chat was kindly supported by Almond Board of California. The special guest was Juliette Kellow RD @juliettekellow

Catch up on what we discussed here: #HealthySnacking

March 2019: Malnutrition

1. Discuss the pros/cons of using BMI as a measure of nutritional status.
2. How often do you assess muscle mass as a parameter of malnutrition in clinical practice?
3. What are the most important dietary factors for maintaining and improving muscle mass?
4. How can dietitians contribute towards preventing muscle loss?
5. Frailty is one of the focus areas of the NHS 10 year plan: how can dietitians support these patients?

This chat was kindly supported by Abbott UK.

Catch up on what we discussed here: #Malnutrition

January 2019: Plant Based Eating

1. What does a plant based diet mean to you?
2. Are there any nutritional risks to plant based eating?
3. What does research say about plant based eating?
4. Please share any personal or patient experiences of plant based eating
5. Which recipes or resources have you found particularly delicious or helpful?

Our special guest joining this #RDUK chat was @VegPowerUK

Catch up on what we discussed here: #Plantbased

September 2018: Cancer Prevention

1. What does ‘cancer prevention’ mean to you?
2. Aside from smoking and sun exposure, what other lifestyle factors are most important for cancer prevention?
3. What myths surround the topic of diet and cancer?
4. What opportunities are there for dietitians to promote cancer prevention messages? (i.e. community/clinical/acute..)
5. What resources are available to support discussions about cancer prevention with patients/clients?

Catch up on what we discussed here: #PreventCancer

June 2018: Dietitians Do Prevention

1. What does a ‘prevention based approach’ mean to you?
2. Can we use prevention strategies in more acute dietetic settings?
3. How best can dietitians promote themselves to help deliver on @BDA_Dietitians theme: #DietitiansDoPrevention
4. What are your thoughts / tips on starting ‘healthy conversations’ with patients about wider issues like inactivity, alcohol and smoking?
5. Do you have any particularly good examples of evidence based prevention strategies led by Dietitians?

Catch up on what we discussed here: #DietitiansDoPrevention

January 2018: Veganuary

1. What are the pros and cons of Veganuary?
2. Does current evidence suggest a vegan diet is the same as a protective plant-based diet?
3. Is a vegan diet suitable for all groups of people?
4. What are your key tips for making a vegan diet balanced and nutritious?
5. Share your recipes, research papers or online resources to help make vegan eating simple, healthy and enjoyable

Our guest tweeter is Dr Linia Patel RD.

November 2017: Heart Health and Cholesterol

1. What are the biggest myths about diet and cholesterol?
2. From current dietary evidence, how best can total cholesterol levels be lowered?
3. Which dietary habits work best for seeing an increase in HDL cholesterol levels?
4. Can snacking (or snacks) have a role in better heart health?
5. Can you please share the scientific evidence around almonds and their role in reducing LDL cholesterol as part of a healthy diet?

Our guest tweeter was Lucy Jones RD. This chat was kindly supported by the Almond Board of California.

Catch up on what we discussed here: Heart Health and Cholesterol

September 2017: Meat Advice

1. Does red meat have a role to play as part of a healthy, balanced diet?
2. Are there any downsides to blanket advice on eating less red meat?
3. What are your views on recent research on red and processed meat? Share your best links to studies.
4. From a public heath point of view how can current red meat dietary advice be best shared with consumers?
5. Share your best recipe ideas and cooking tips for red meat.

Catch up on what we discussed here: Meat Advice

This chat was kindly supported by The Meat Advisory Panel.

August 2017: Plant Power

1. What are the health benefits of plant based eating? What’s the evidence?
2. Other reasons for eating more plant based meals?
3. Vegan or vegetarian – what are the options?
4. Any tips for those wanting to make the change e.g. easy substitutions?
5. Any good plant based meal and recipe suggestions?

Catch up on what we discussed here: Plant Power

June 2017: Dietitians Week ‘Nutrition Truths vs Fads’ Chat

1. How can you tell a nutrition truth from a fad?
2. Current trends and why dietitians worry about them?
3. Why are there many grey areas in nutrition?
4. Does the food industry perpetuate fads? How can dietitians work with them to prevent this?
5. Any good nutrition sites or resources you can trust for reliable information?

Read what we discussed here: Nutrition Truths vs. Fads

May 2017: Summer Eating

1. Summer eating can be fun and healthy. Any suggestions?
2. What foods are in season in the summer months and tips on how to prepare them?
3. Any recipes for eating healthily during the summer months?
4. How can we stick to our best intentions when on summer holidays?
5. Any fun ideas for getting the kids involved in healthy summer eating?

Read what we discussed here: Summer Eating 

February 2017: Nutrition Research

1. What was the last nutrition related paper to interest/impress/inspire you?

2. What top tips would you share for critiquing a research paper?
3. How can RDs & RNuts learn from each other and share their innovative practice?
4. What useful research related awards, grants, websites, apps, study days can we share?
5. Which nutrition related strategy docs, policies, briefing papers & guidelines have caught yr attention recently & why?

Read what we discussed here: Nutrition Research

December 2016: Alcohol Awareness

1. How aware are people about guidelines on weekly units of alcohol, or even what a unit is?
2. Are people aware of the calories in the alcohol they consume?
3. What role could manufacturers and retailers play in communicating calories and units more clearly?
4. What role do dietitians & registered nutritionists have in educating people on alcohol calories & our overall health?
5. Are there any good apps or websites which are useful to share, and what else might be helpful?

Our special guest for this was @AmandaUrsell, a nutritionist with over 25 years of experience of working in the area of nutrition. She is also the winner of the HFMA Health Writer of The Year award and twice voted the most influential health professional in the UK.

Read what we discussed here: Alcohol Awareness

This chat was kindly supported by Diageo.

November 2016: Probiotics

Our special guest will be Professor Kevin Whelan from King’s College, London. Prof Whelan’s area of research interest is the interaction between the gastrointestinal microbiota, dietary composition and health and disease. Kevin performs clinical trials in probiotics, prebiotics, fibre and fermentable carbohydrates, with molecular microbiology to measure their impact on the microbiota.

1. Do probiotics have a role within gut health?
2. Is there a research evidence base to support probiotics within gastrointestinal health?
3. Are there any foods rich in probiotics which you would recommend?
4. Probiotics come in many forms, are any better than others?
5. Do you envisage probiotics becoming a staple part of our dietary needs?

Read what we discussed here: Probiotics

This chat was kindly supported by Symprove.

September 2016: Back to School

1. Why does nutrition matter for kids at school?
2. What should kids be eating at school?
3. What about hydration?
4. Any good recipes or ideas for school snacks/lunch boxes?
5. Please share any useful resources or links for parents?

Read what we discussed here: School Food

June 2016: Dietitians Week Food & Mood Chat

1. How does food & drink influence our feelings & mood?
2. We all have good days & bad days but what is the research evidence that links how we feel & what we eat?
3. Which foods positively influence mood?
4. What meals and snacks might a working day of Good Mood Food ideally contain
5. What role does what we drink play in feeling well at work?

Read what we discussed here: Food & Mood

May 2016: Soya foods: are there still controversies?

1. What is the nutrition profile of popular soya foods in the UK?
2. What are the key health benefits of consuming soya foods and drinks from 1+ years? What does the science say? 
3. What are the common soya myths and what does the clinical evidence actually demonstrate?
4. What soya resources have you found helpful/would like to see more of?
5. How can RDs help overcome consumer myths related to soya?

Read what we discussed here: Soya foods: are there still controversies?

This chat was kindly supported by Alpro.

April 2016: Mindful Eating

1. What is mindful eating?
2. How can #mindfulness be applied in helping people change dietary behaviour?
3. Do we only eat when we’re hungry?
4. What are the key steps to mindful eating?
5. How can people find out more about mindfulness?

Read what we discussed here: Mindful Eating

March 2016: Hydration

1. What strategies can hospitals, carehomes & schools use to ensure they are meeting their patients, residents & pupil’s hydration needs?
2. What are your top tips for encouraging people to drink more?
3. How can employers (incl. NHS) play a part in encouraging gd hydration among their staff?
4. What are the early warning signs to look for in those at risk of becoming dehydrated?
5. Where can we find practical information & resources that promote #hydration awareness?

Read what we discussed here: Hydration

December 2015: Food as Medicine

1. What is the ‘food as medicine’ movement about?
2. Any tips on how we can help people connect the science of nutrition to the kitchen?
3. How can the concept of food as medicine be applied to dietetic practice?
4. Many dietitians practice in non-culinary settings. How can they practice culinary nutrition in clinical and community settings without kitchens?
5. Any good resources or tips to learn more about ‘food as medicine’?

We were joined by special guest Amanda Archibald (@FieldtoPlate) from the United States.

Read what we discussed here: Food As Medicine

November 2015: Red Meat: what are the facts?

Read what we discussed here: Red Meat Chat