What if the secret to better health wasn’t in a pill, but on your plate? Today nutritionists serve as the critical force necessary for improving life quality because chronic diseases remain prevalent while dietary choices have become complex. Dietitians serve a purpose that extends past hospital food service as they create public health guidelines while developing technology-powered health solutions and designing personalized wellness strategies. Expert practitioners within this field now use scientific evidence alongside traditional knowledge to design solutions that lead to significant health outcomes.
Dr. Dharini Krishnan Ph.D. R.D., Consultant Dietitian stands as an influential figure who leads the way in nutrition and dietetics. She has dedicated her professional life to uniting scientific progress with technological innovation by developing the first-ever Indian dietetics software and applications. The former National President of the Indian Dietetic Association carries out her work across clinical practice, research, education, and public health initiatives. She uses her expertise to lead groundbreaking advances in nutrition technology while maintaining strong media presence to transform India’s food and health practices.
Let’s delve into the interview details below!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share with us your inspiration to pursue a career in nutrition and dietetics?
I am Dharini Krishnan Ph.D., R.D. I was looking for a course similar to MBBS and found this course in Nutrition and Dietetics very interesting and hence joined it for graduation. Then pursued my post-graduation in the same field. Then worked for propagating wheat in India. Then worked as a dietitian at a corporate hospital and then moved onto teaching post graduate students of Dietetics. Started as an independent consultant. Went onto doing a course in programming and came out with a software and app and website in dietetics the first of its kind in India by a dietitian. I completed my Ph.D. also.
How has the field of nutrition evolved in India since you started your career?
Nutrition was in a very nascent stage when I started. It was more a hospital-based dietitian that people knew off. When I put out my board as an independent consultant, there were doctors in the same area who asked what was it that I was going to do. Today I am happy that people are aware of a dietitian and what an important role food plays in the health of a person.
What do you consider to be your most significant professional achievement to date?
My software DIGEST. I was the first dietitian in our country who studied both these fields and came out with my software. It was the first most exhaustive database of Indian foods and recipes and was updated regularly. It was immensely recognised across hospital and independent dietitians. It was also used by the projects held for TB and HIV care in Chennai. Dr. Saumya Swaminathan was heading the project, and she was very happy, that the Tufts university also used the software for the same project. I supported all my clients with data back up and updating of the software for almost 3 decades. I also did train students of dietetics on the software. It was very encouraging when the girls who had trained got better job offers because they had trained themselves in this software.
Further when I made my app for the public, this was used for research by the University of Southern Queensland and University of Washington, Ellensburg and my company. We came out with many research papers on the diet of school children both in private and government schools.
Can you share a challenging case you’ve worked on and how you approached it?
A client had high creatinine and urea levels, and she was progressing in kidney disease. Doctors were discussing about Haemodialysis for her. She came to me saying please bring down my creatinine levels, I do not want to go for dialysis. At that time, I had started doing integration of Ayurveda and modern nutrition to help my clients better. So, we did a ginger treatment for her. It brought down her creatinine levels with the strict diet which I had prescribed. It has worked wonders for her, and she is till date managing with the diet restrictions and the ginger treatment almost five years since she started it. With this experience we have been helping many renal clients to being down their creatinine levels of course by following protocols of modern diet and external ayurveda treatment.
How do you stay updated with the latest nutritional research and trends?
I attend conferences, I read all journal articles which are published. I am part of many groups where doctors and dietitians share the latest research. I am also member of many societies related to Nutrition, Dietetics and Diabetes to improve my knowledge. I buy the books they publish and always I update myself with the latest guidelines in the field of India, Europe and America.
What role do you think nutritionists and dieticians play in addressing India’s public health challenges?
Dietitians play a very important role. You are what you eat. We as dietitians are there in primary health centres, in government hospitals and part of the FSSAI, private hospitals, schools and independent consultants. We are also there in specialised hospitals like diabetes, obesity, inborn errors of metabolism, kidney disease, cancer and so on to name a few. We are also there to address deficiency diseases. We are a very important part of the health sector taking care of the health and helping in managing people who have diseases. We are also part of preventive health programs to help prevent the non-communicable diseases.
How do you balance traditional Indian dietary practices with modern nutritional science in your recommendations?
Traditional dietary practices have a lot of science embedded in them. For example, let’s take the example of an idly batter or roti dhal. We need to have to combine grain such as rice or wheat or millets with pulses or dhals to get complete protein. Independently grains and dals and pulses are incomplete proteins. When you take them together, they become complete proteins. We can give many such examples where when we look at tradition with the modern nutritional science the answers are stunning. Of course, we need to tweak some proportions in the food groups as our lifestyle has changed a lot as compared to the previous generations.
What advice would you give to young women aspiring to become nutritionists or dieticians in India?
Young women and men are aspiring to become nutritionist or dietitians. Our country needs a lot of help in this area. Please take up the course, equip yourself very well and do your master’s and then take practical experience at least for a year in the specialised field that you choose under nutrition. Then you can branch off on your own. The sky is the limit to the opportunities in this space in India and all over the world today.
Key Achievements
- Leadership in Dietetics:
- Former National President of the Indian Dietetic Association
- Former Chairperson of the Registered Dietitian Board, Indian Dietetic Association
- Former President of the Chennai Chapter, Indian Dietetic Association
- Innovation & Technology in Nutrition:
- First dietitian in India to develop DIGEST, a pioneering dietetics software used in colleges for training dietitians
- Clients included National Institute of Nutrition, Xcode Life Sciences, Army Sports Institute (Pune), CMC Ludhiana, UNICEF-TB Institute (Chennai & Madurai), Tufts University, YRG Care Centre for AIDS (Chennai), Sundaram Medical Foundation, Manipal Care and Cure (across 5 centers in India)
- Developed Nutritracs, an app for calorie tracking, used for research by Central Washington University and the University of Southern Queensland
- Contributed to two research papers and two posters presented at the International Confederation of Dietetic Associations, Granada, Spain
- Media & Public Engagement:
- Running the YouTube channel – Dharini Krishnan’s Easy Diet
- Been a media presence since 1984, featuring in TV call-in programs, private TV channels (3-5 years, 5-6 days a week), and Doordarshan (twice a month for 2 years)
- Regular guest on radio programs (both private and AIR)
- Print media contributor in both English and vernacular publications
- Entrepreneurial Ventures & Research Contributions:
- Founder of companies focused on software development and research in dietetics
- Successfully collaborated with colleges, universities, and research institutions
- Website: www.edigestdoc.com (2001–2011) – A dedicated platform for diet calculations used by dietitians, students, hotels, canteens, and hostels
