Nutritionist Approved Inc. (NAI) is a leader in the field of science-driven nutrition education tools and programs.
NAI's founder, Bastyr University alumna Daniella Chace MSN, CN, (daniellachace.com) is a clinical nutritionist, health educator, and prolific author.
NAI was conceived by Ms Chace while in clinical practice for over a decade in the Sun Valley, Idaho area. During her time consulting clients on various health conditions, she found that there was an overwhelming need for current, science-based information and research on individual diseases. Through collaboration with local doctors, naturopaths and other health professionals, Ms Chace was able to use the tools of clinical testing to verify results of recommended dietary alterations for her clients. Her group store-walks and seminars rapidly filled with clients eager for current nutrition knowledge. The results spoke for themselves with a waiting list for private sessions, and Ms Chace soon needed a more efficient method for bringing this vital information to a larger audience.
In 2004 Ms Chace developed NAI with the mission to amass credible nutrition information to be used as the basis for educational tools. A database was born to accommodate this need, housing the information and creating a streamlined method of culling the studies available, and this became the framework for an effective medical informatics system. Over the next five years an extensive database of medical nutrition studies was fully developed, composed of systematically reviewed research using the highest standard of criteria:
- Peer-reviewed journals
- Medline-indexed journals
- Human clinical trials
- Human epidemiological studies
- Consensus development conferences
- Institute and government guidelines
- Primary research, systematic reviews and meta-analyses
NAI's primary goal is to convey cutting-edge research in the field of health and nutrition. As we comply with the guidelines set forth by the Food and Drug Administration*, NAI's database categorizes each study according to one of the four specific experimental designs they utilize:
- Controlled intervention trials in human populations
- Correlational prospective/retrospective investigations
- Literature review or meta-analyses
- In vitro or in vivo experiments in animal models (flagged as such until human studies are available)
The NAI Database comprises these studies, and it is continually updated, analyzed and integrated by an experienced research team. The NAI Database, in turn, is the source of two innovative nutrition education products: iEat for Life, an application suite for iPhones and Netbooks, and NutriSigns™, in-store signage providing nutrition information to shoppers.
*"Evidence-Based Review System for the Scientific Evaluation of Health Claims," last revised January 2009.