Episode 162: Nourish review - are dietitians finally accessible?
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Episode Description
In this episode of The Up-Beet Dietitians podcast, Emily and Hannah review the latest diet program, Nourish. You may have seen this on TikTok or Instagram, but Nourish is a program that’s being advertised heavily for easy access to dietitians that’s covered by insurance. The girls dive into the program and assess if the program is worth it or not. Tune in for more!
Tune in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or Substack to listen.
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0:08
Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Yuppie Dietitian's podcast.
Hi, guys.
Welcome back to the pod.
Happy new year, Emily.
It's we're recording this.
It's New Year's Day.
Happy new.
Year tud buds and code.
0:24
Actually, we should have said that in our last episode that came out because we had a new one come out today.
Oh yeah.
So happy belated New Year's.
We're a week behind to celebrate the new year.
To kick us off, we are doing a diet review because we know you guys love those.
0:40
Tell me about something called Nourish today, which maybe this is very niche and only we've seen it because we're dietitians.
I feel like this is going to go like one of two ways.
Like it feels like it's everywhere for us and it's nowhere for anyone else, or it actually is everywhere.
0:57
Yeah, so if this gets like 2 views, we won't be surprised, but hopefully it's us.
Yeah, we are our own target audience as always.
But we've both seen tons of ads for this on Tiktok.
That's why we decided to talk about it.
I had actually, what did I do?
1:15
I like recorded a video or something for them.
Did I tell you about this?
Yes.
I don't think I told you guys on the podcast.
So was it like 2022 or something?
I don't know, a couple years ago I was reached out to by someone at Nourish, not to like work for them, but they wanted like to have him make a few videos that they could like post on their, like their own social media.
1:40
So I did.
They're out there somewhere in the multiverse.
I don't know where what happened or where they're at, but they're out there somewhere.
Actually one of my very loyal followers.
Shout out to whoever this was.
I can't remember who she was.
I apologize, but she was like, I think someone is like scamming you because this Nourish account is posting your videos.
2:00
I was like, no, no, no, it's OK.
They like paid me for that.
Like it's OK.
Oh my gosh that's so funny.
I love how they saw them.
People are seeing Nourish if she saw that video that my face was on.
Yes, shout out to them though because there are scammers out there.
2:18
So yeah.
They were worried about you.
Remember that that TikTok account that was like trying to be me and like posting my stuff?
That was weird.
They still exist, they haven't gotten taken down, they don't post anymore.
But occasionally I'll go on Ted's account, 'cause I they're, they blocked me.
2:36
Of course, I'll go on Ted's account and see if they're still active and it's still there.
Little do they know we have all these backup accounts.
I know I get around.
Today.
So sneaky.
But anyway, we're talking about Nourish today anyway, and New Year, same memo.
2:57
Make sure you subscribe to the YouTube exclusive content on Substack and we're going to get into it.
I hope other people know it nourishes and it's not just us.
Otherwise we'll educate you.
It is, it's been advertised as like having very accessible healthcare, especially with dietitians.
3:21
And that's like their whole thing that we've seen.
And maybe it's our For You page there, but they're really advertising dietitians, which I don't know the last time I've seen any type of company advertised specifically dietitian.
3:39
We've seen licensed dietitian nutritionists.
We've seen certified nutritionists.
We've seen nutrition professionals, never just dietitian.
No, no, they occasionally, like in their marketing, they will use the term nutritionists just to, I think, be accessible because everyone knows what that is, but not everyone knows what an Rd. is.
4:02
But yeah, that's like their whole thing is like dietitians are who they employ and who their clients work with, which my biased opinion is that that is pretty.
Cool, same.
We're like, yeah, finally they keep showing the ads to us.
4:18
I know we really are the talker audience here.
I bet no one has ever heard of them besides.
And you're 1 loyal follower thought you were gonna they were scamming you.
Shout out to them.
Shout out to.
Them if that was you, please message us slash me because I want to thank you again for that you.
4:37
You get an honorable mention as a yeah.
You do for that.
Speaking of though, they they on their website do claim to have helped 1100 thousand plus clients so I guess.
They've been around.
Yeah.
Yeah, they're not just a scammer, it's speaking.
4:57
Yeah, although, OK, we should probably talk more about what they actually are.
I keep getting us sidetracked.
So like you already said, their main thing is staffing dietitians to provide telehealth.
And based on what they say, I'm assuming they do provide MNT, which those of you who don't know is medical nutrition therapy, which is what makes digestion stand out compared to nutritionists, personal trainers, that sort of thing that we are the only legal people along with I think MD's actually technically that can provide M&T because of this.
5:32
That's where insurance kind of comes in and gets super confusing.
And I'm wondering how it's going to change if others follow Medicare and Medicaid's guidelines.
Cause Emily and I have briefly mentioned this before, I think in a bonus episode, but Medicare and Medicaid have been covering telehealth for M&T for dietitians for a few years now thanks to COVID.
5:54
But they are planning on stopping it slash or putting it on pause.
It's very up in the air right now.
I keep getting updates in my e-mail like every other day about what's actually happening.
But as of right now, Nourish claims that 94% of nourished patients pay $0.00 out of pocket and they accept hundreds of plans in all 50 states.
6:13
They do note that Medicare and Medicaid only accepts a diagnosis of diabetes or renal disease, which is what historically before all those COVID stuff happened.
Medicare did cover for M&T.
And that's why I was saying I wonder if that will change if other insurance follows their guidelines.
6:35
I think it unfortunately will change.
So right now I'm hoping they can like grandfather people in at least to get some type of support.
And I believe that a lot of them pay $0.00 out pocket because often times nutrition counseling is covered, it's just never advertised.
6:53
And with the whole telehealth component, it's gonna.
Be very tricky 'cause our jobs are.
Yeah, yeah.
That's it's insurance is the issue.
Yeah, 'cause like I see lots of Medicare.
No literally I have lots of patients who are Medicare and Medicaid that are covered in person.
7:14
But with this new change telehealth will not be allowed which is so so madding.
Like it just.
It's like they want to make nutrition less accessible.
I I truly don't understand the reasoning because there's they're getting more people being seen.
7:35
I just don't get it.
I don't either.
Doesn't make sense.
But anyway, like I said, a lot of insurance companies tend to like mirror what Medicare and Medicaid do.
And so I wonder how nurse will have to adjust their telehealth, which is like their whole thing.
It's all telehealth.
7:52
Which is nice.
Like it's.
I was gonna say it's like our first positive review, I think because this is a really good concept.
Like we need more of this, especially if it's covered by insurance.
A lot of private practice dietitians don't take insurance, a lot do.
Which I also am curious about how they're going to progress going forward.
8:10
Yeah.
But anyway.
But.
This is a great concept because telehealth is obviously more popular, which is why it's also so stupid that they're going backwards in Medicare and Medicaid.
So anyway, as of right now, this is a great thing and I'm glad it's happening.
8:29
Yes, I really, I feel like it's like we finally have a good thing and I'm so nervous, like it's fine.
We've been doing this for like what, 3-4 years?
This is our very first positive review and still we have to say, well, it probably won't last though, because literally it's too good to be true.
8:46
Yeah, and they do offer like self paying.
Yeah.
Which isn't too crazy.
Yeah, $145.00 a session where like if you really want to see someone for whatever reason insurance doesn't want to cover telehealth and you find someone that you really resonate with or connect with, there are still options for that.
9:12
It's not just insurance only.
And they accept like the they can also, you can also use your HSA and FSA cards, which is like really nice.
Yeah.
Super cool.
If you're accumulating money there, then you can go toward this.
It's a medical need.
9:29
Oh totally is.
I will note that 1:45 session I said is pretty cheap and it is for like private practice dietitian like prices.
But they do suggest, I think seeing your dietitian weekly on Nourish well that that would add up fast.
9:44
Yes.
It was like a one time thing which you probably could do a one time session just to like get your questions answered.
I could see that being a little more feasible, but 145 a week would be pretty pricey pretty fast for most people, which again is why having insurance cover it is so awesome.
10:03
I know we're gonna just, you know what, there haven't been any changes yet, but with this, So we'll appreciate it while it's here.
I'm sure Nourish is fighting the government and insurance companies and advocating for the importance of telehealth.
10:23
I.
Was thinking that earlier when I was looking them up and doing some research.
I'm like they gotta be in all of the different senators e-mail inboxes just saying hey 'cause I know I have been and a lot of my coworkers have been because this is such a stupid transition.
So hopefully a big company like these guys are doing some heavy lifting for us.
10:45
Yeah, hopefully.
But their main kind of thing like we talked about is they have dietitians on staff access to all these like over 1000, which is crazy.
And you can like sort through them by their their like specialties like choose your character.
11:09
Choose.
You really can.
If you have like gender preferences, specific credentials, it really helps from like a filtering standpoint like say, for instance, like we would maybe I don't I don't know how specifically like like an anti diet approach would be categorized on there, but I.
11:28
Have like intuitive eating as one of the like approaches.
But you could do like intuitive eating.
If maybe you have like diabetes questions or needs you need answered or helped with, you can sort by that.
If you prefer a woman, you can choose a woman.
11:47
If you whatever it is, they allow you to sort through it, which is super nice.
I'm like super nitpicking about like therapists and I feel like this is like this similar energy, which is nice that you can like really categorize them by what you're looking for.
12:05
Yeah, yeah, I was thinking that that too.
Like I know Better Help is not the best service.
I hear a lot of bad things about it, but it seems very similar to that just in terms of like the concept where they have tons of like providers available to choose from.
Find one that fits you the best.
12:21
You can switch it anytime, I'm sure.
So it really is like the Rd. version of Better Help, but hopefully better and not as a terrible experience that I hear from people about Better Help.
Yes, But yeah, I was just now looking at their like find a provider page and they've got like everything like Crohn's disease, hypothyroidism.
12:45
Like you can see if the RT specializes in like sleep, intuitive eating.
This one says research focused.
So I guess they like are into looking at research accountability, all kinds of cool stuff.
So oh, wait, neutral.
That's a cool one.
Oh nice.
13:02
Oh, meal planning.
Oh, like Jewish and kosher diets?
Mediterranean.
Diets.
Oh, that's cool.
So like you can get very very specific which is awesome.
The one thing I have noticed on the Tik Toks is they will go back and forth between posting about like eating disorders and also weight loss, which I don't love.
13:23
It's I think hard to be able to offer both of those services to say, oh, we're weight neutral, but oh, we also offer weight loss support.
But at the same time, they do have 1000 dietitians.
And you can just kind of pick which one would be the best fit for you.
And hopefully you would know that if you're pursuing an eating disorder recovery dietitian, to not pick one that claims to be a weight loss dietitian.
13:47
Yeah.
And I feel like there's gotta be a way to like, vet them first, like where you can eat them and then like if you didn't mesh well, you can.
Deter and hopefully your dietitian too would be like, I actually have noticed that you have some eating disorder red flags.
14:02
Let's get you with Sarah instead.
Should be a better a better fit for you.
But yeah, it's pretty cool.
I'm like, I'm into it.
I'm Yeah, this is a good thing.
Let us have it.
Please let.
Us have.
This insurance company.
14:19
And there are like if your insurance only covers in person services, look around.
There probably are some in your area if you live in a bigger city.
And if you live a middle of nowhere, they probably don't have any private practice dietitians.
But your local hospital likely does have outpatient services and you can just get a referral from your doctor and just get right in there.
14:42
Chances are your insurance covers something.
For dietitians, yeah, you just have to ask.
Insurance isn't really always the most outward about what they cover.
They don't want you to use their services.
No.
Does that cost them money that you give them for our fellow dietitians listening or RDS to be they are hiring?
15:05
I don't know.
I've heard on like different like Rd.
Facebook pages different things about like it's hard to get in and things like that 'cause it's like a pretty cool gig.
I mean flexible schedule, set your own hours, work remotely.
They claim competitive competition.
15:22
Have you heard anything about what that actually?
Feels I've gone down a rabbit hole and I figured I'm hearing like very conflicting things where like you need X amount, it's like base salary with Commission essentially based off of how many sessions you have.
15:42
Yeah and you need to have a certain amount of sessions a week to be considered full time.
And I've heard a lot of people struggle to get enough where like they're now part time and people are having to pick up like side jobs.
But I've seen the average paying being like 38 to like $45.00 an hour, which like isn't that bad but also like competitive but also you need like a consistent patient load.
16:11
That like to like those.
Hours yes, to get that full time benefits I don't know I've seen some people like really love it and I assume they have a full client load and I've seen some people that are like it's I-1.
16:28
I have seen it's like hard to get accepted.
People say that you need like a lot of experience apparently to be hired on someone with like three years specifically said they were denied because they didn't have enough experience from like how many more years and three do you want?
Like 10?
16:47
But the biggest thing really is being able to qualify as full time.
I've seen, which I don't know if like they have to do the marketing for you, but like the people have to choose you.
17:03
So I don't know if like, or I guess maybe I could see it being like, I just want a diabetes specialist dietitian and then they'll randomly pair you up or if you find someone specific you like, you can do that.
But I can kind of see it having like a similar private practice feel where like you need the patient loads should be making Yeah, I had a quick amount of money, but the flexible hours are nice.
17:30
The remotely is really nice, yeah.
Yeah, I just wonder how many of their employees this is like a side gig for them, just a little extra.
That's a lot, yeah.
Little extra income.
Yeah, which wouldn't be bad.
Like if we wanted like, say we were 10 years from now, we're doing podcast stuff and social media full time, but we still wanted to reconnect with the people.
17:55
This would be nice for that.
Yeah, it really would be.
So I don't know.
I haven't heard anything bad about like you being treated poorly, which is nice.
No, from like a client perspective, I've only heard good things.
It's just more like the pay discrepancy.
18:12
Like I haven't seen anything also about like benefits.
It's mostly about like salary I've seen.
Which I mean, that's just the theme, unfortunately for our field is inadequate pay in most, most positions.
Yes.
Which has to do with probably a lot of times insurance not even recognizing us.
18:35
Anyway, that's a whole other episode, although we have dedicated a good. 15 minutes to talk today.
I was like, we still find a way to be grumpy.
We look, we know this is a positive review.
This is a positive named podcast.
Like we're literally called the upbeat dietitians and we're rarely happy.
18:52
You guys, we just like the pun, that's why.
Yeah, and it hopefully sucks people in and they're like, Oh yeah, happy dietitians, good vibes.
And they get here and they're like, wow, those grumpy witches.
They are liars.
They are so not upbeat.
19:09
No, but you know what?
I'm excited for Nourish.
Yeah, we are realists and I'm excited for Nourish.
I hope you're successful.
I just the biggest thing is the telehealth thing.
We're going to see what happens come 2025.
19:25
Well, kind of a short and sweet 1 today.
Guys.
This is like I make a very happy positive review for once.
We don't have a lot of deep diving to do, but it's like look anyone up or going.
Suspicious.
The most we did was the deep dive of the dietitian pays and the disgruntled people there.
19:41
But you know, someone's always going to be disgruntled when it comes to nutrition.
That's so true.
If you guys have used Nourish as a client or a dietitian, let us know.
Leave a comment.
Otherwise, TikTok is just pushing it on us, maybe because we're dietitians and maybe they're really spewing out the big bucks for those marketing ads at least.
20:04
We've got like new and everything like everywhere new.
This is not a new review.
We've talked about this, but they got to be paying some big bucks they're.
Everywhere, yeah.
They, I feel like those big businesses put like the majority of their money into marketing and nothing else.
20:23
Thanks for listening guys, this was fun.
We'll see you next week and be sure to go check out the bonus segment on Sub Stack.
We're gonna be talking about new year resolutions, maybe new year perspectives, how we'll be this new year.
20:42
We'll see what 2025 has in store.
Maybe a little more upbeat, we'll see.
Maybe, but otherwise, have a good rest of your day.
We'll see you next week.
Bye, guys.
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