The American Clinical Board of Nutrition (ACBN), a nationally accredited certification agency, now provides a certification examination for physicians and other health practitioners who have made a serious commitment to practicing nutrition-based medicine.

The exam qualifies and certifies practitioners from a wide range of disciplines who demonstrate thorough knowledge of nutrition science and its clinical application for the prevention and treatment of the chronic diseases now exacting such a heavy toll in our country.

ACBN certification is unique in that it is open to all licensable health care practitioners rggardless of primary training; though it evolved out of the chiropractic profession, the organization is inherently multidisciplinary and holds that nutrition should be a cornerstone of all health care disciplines. Since launching the program last year, we have certified practitioners from diverse fields including MDs, NDs, DCs, PhDs, pharmacists, and dentists.

The ACBN is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) in Washington, DC, a federally-funded certification oversight agency functioning within the Department of Health & Human Services. It is the only such nutrition certification program that is recognized by an independent national authority that has no vested interest in the program it is overseeing.

We founded the ACBN out of a strong belief that the nation needs well-trained and qualified health care practitioners who are knowledgeable about nutrition, and willing to make it the center of their practices. Increasing the number of clinicians who practice nutrition-based medicine is essential if we are to slow the onslaught of chronic disorders threatening to overwhelm our health care systems.

Of the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States, five are directly related to nutrition: hypertension, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer. So why are these diseases treated with medications rather than prevented via nutrition? It’s pretty simple: The US model of health care is based on crisis intervention, not prevention. Health care has been financially and politically influenced by vested pharmaceutical interests which have led to a corruption of true health care. Instead, we have a system of disease care.

Congress recently reported that medical costs, which hit $2.1 trillion last year, will climb to $4 trillion in the next 8 years. Certainly this is unsustainable. Several members of Congress have approached the ACBN to consider the “nutritional” model of preventive health care, and its role is the treatment of disease.

Many legislators recognize the paradigm of health care must change from crisis intervention to prevention, and they know that nutrition is central to that change. But up until now, Congress has not heard from a unified organization representing the diverse range of nutrition-based health care professionals. To be sure, legislators have heard from special interest factions representing specific professional sub-disciplines involved in nutrition. But there has not been a clear, unified voice speaking on behalf of the wide range of professionals who utilize nutritional strategies in their practices.

Because it represents nutrition as a science and not the province of any particular specialty, and also because it is recognized by a nationally accredited certifying agency, the ACBN is uniquely-positioned to work with a number of state regulatory boards as well as members of Congress to develop strategies for changing health care delivery in the United States.

A large-scale systems shift toward nutrition-based medicine will require extensive case history documentation, with standards of quality assurance and quality control across the board. We at ACBN are actively engaging in the process of validating, documenting and presenting the benefits of nutritional medicine to legislators. Delivering this message through a unified spectrum of certified health care professionals, accredited by the ACBN, will hopefully assist legislators in the arduous task of changing the health care delivery system.

The ACBN, acting as an agent of social change, will provide the public with the quality assurance that its certificants are held to a high standard of excellence.

While ACBN certified health care professionals may practice nutrition in the unique context of their own professional fields, the commonality of basic nutrition science binds the ACBN as one. Many of our current certificants are the authors of nutrition textbooks, others are professors teaching nutrition, and many are in private practice treating patients.

Requirements to become board certified are as follows:

• Professional degree from an accredited school recognized by the US Department of Education.
• Minimum of 300 hours of nutrition education beyond the primary professional degree.
• Minimum of two years in practice.
• Completion of a publishable article or paper on some aspect of nutrition science.

The ACBN examination consists of two parts: The first consists of the writing of three case histories documenting the complete treatment of a patient from intake and history to final outcome and/or follow up. There is a textbook available that shows the candidate how to do this. The second part is a 150-question multiple choice test. The ACBN also has an online practice examination for those who wish to get a better idea of what is covered on the examination.

In order to maintain certification, ACBN certificants must demonstrate participation in yearly academic continuing education in the field of nutrition.

For further information about the ACBN and the exam, visit our website: www.acbn.org or call the ACBN correspondence secretary, Bonnie Sealock at 540-635-8844.

Arthur Fierro, DC, practices chiropractic and nutrition-based medicine in Harrisonburg, VA. He is president of the American Clinical Board of Nutrition.