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For nutrition consultants and dietitians: genetic analyses within your profession
As a nutrition professional, you can build lifestyle analyses on nutrition, weight and lifestyle into your counseling. Medical analyses and diet therapy for diseases belong in a physician’s hands and with the professions that work on a physician’s order. In Germany, the titles “Diätassistentin” and “Diätassistent” are protected (Section 1 DiätAssG); in Austria, “Diätologin” and “Diätologe” are protected under the MTD Act 2024. In Switzerland, nutritionists with a degree from a university of applied sciences (FH) may order genetic analyses of physiological traits themselves (Art. 40 GUMV).
The first address for personalized nutrition
Whom do people trust when it comes to eating according to their genes? Researchers at the University of Toronto asked exactly that. In a randomized trial, 138 young adults received either gene-based or general dietary advice. In the survey, the majority, 56%, named registered dietitians as the best source of personalized nutrition – far ahead of medical doctors at 27% (Nielsen et al., Journal of Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics, 2014).
For you, this means: many people look to you to translate between the lab and the plate. The genetic report supplies the vocabulary; you build sentences from it that work in everyday life. To do that safely, you need two things. You need to know what your profession allows you to do, and you need to know where the line to medicine runs. That is what this article is about. How a genetic analysis becomes part of your counseling step by step is covered in Adding nutrigenetics to your practice: 6 steps.
Your title, your limits: three countries, three systems
“Nutrition counseling” can mean many things, from a weekend course to a university degree. The law is more precise. A genetic analysis does not change your professional rules: it becomes part of your counseling and stays within the limits of your profession.
| Country | What the law regulates | What it means for your work |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | Only people with a state license may use the title “Diätassistentin” or “Diätassistent” (Section 1 DiätAssG). Using it without a license is an administrative offense (Section 10 DiätAssG). | The act describes the profession through diet-therapy and nutritional-medicine measures on a physician’s order or within a physician’s prescription (Section 3 DiätAssG). |
| Austria | “Diätologin” and “Diätologe” form one of the higher medical-therapeutic-diagnostic professions (Section 1 MTDG); unauthorized persons may not use the title (Section 3(5) MTDG). | Nutritional-medicine treatment and counseling (Section 7 MTDG), as a rule on a physician’s order; in health promotion and prevention without an order (Section 8 MTDG). |
| Switzerland | Nutritionist (Ernährungsberaterin / Ernährungsberater) is a health profession; the required degree is a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics FH (Art. 2 and 12 GesBG). | Working on your own professional responsibility requires a cantonal license (Art. 11 GesBG). Nutritionists FH may order genetic analyses of physiological traits (Art. 40 GUMV). |
And if you hold none of these qualifications? In Germany, the Heilpraktiker Act draws the line. The practice of medicine (“Heilkunde”) is any professional activity to diagnose, cure or relieve diseases, and anyone who wants to practice it without being licensed as a physician needs a permit (Section 1 HeilprG). Counseling healthy people on nutrition and lifestyle is therefore your field – diet therapy for diseases is not.
In Austria, nutritional-medicine treatment and counseling is part of dietetics, and activities of the MTD professions in human medicine are reserved for those authorized (Section 2(2) MTDG). If you work as a life and social counselor, your trade only covers nutrition counseling if you can prove a degree in nutritional sciences from an Austrian university or a dietitian training (Section 119(1) GewO 1994).
What fits into your counseling – and what does not
Lifestyle analyses fit into your counseling, above all on nutrition and weight, plus sport and performance, stress and skin. Typical examples from nutrigenetics appear in the genetic nutrition test: how the body processes caffeine (CYP1A2), activates folic acid (MTHFR) or handles omega-3 fatty acids (FADS1/FADS2).
Medical analyses do not belong in your counseling. Examples include HLA-DQ2/DQ8 in connection with celiac disease, or HFE in iron storage. In Germany, genetic examinations for medical purposes may only be performed by physicians (Section 7 GenDG). In Austria, analyses of a predisposition to a disease may only be carried out when a medical specialist orders them (Section 68(1) GTG). Switzerland explicitly places analyses of food intolerances and metabolic disorders in the medical field (Art. 37(2) GUMV).
Keep one simple picture in mind: the plate is the same – the question makes the difference. “How fast do you break down caffeine?” is a lifestyle question. “Why do I get stomach cramps after breakfast?” means clarifying a health disorder – and under Section 3 No. 7 GenDG that makes it a diagnostic examination. In that case, the first step leads to a physician, not to the lab.
And pharmacogenetics? In Austria, it is the only medical test the law allows without a physician. Whether it fits your profession is governed by your professional law, and decisions about medication always rest with the treating physician. More in What you may offer: lifestyle or medicine and in the Pharmacogenetics guide.
From genetic report to nutrition plan
Your strength is your clients’ everyday life: food diary, goals, habits. The genetic analysis adds a layer underneath that does not change over a lifetime. An example: if your client’s CYP1A2 genes are impaired, their body breaks down caffeine only slowly. Then the afternoon espresso is no longer a detail but a good starting point for the evening. “Less caffeine” turns into a rule with a personal reason.
That personal reason is especially powerful with weight. In an internal Novogenia study with 302 people, participants on a gene-based diet lost around 2.4 times more weight than on a standard diet. The logical conclusion: a plan that fits the genes can make it easier to stick with. Still, do not promise pounds – promise better-founded, more personal advice. The recommendations in the report remain logical conclusions.
If you work with personalized supplements, two more rules apply. First: always ask about products your client already takes, and in case of disease, medication, pregnancy or breastfeeding, send them to a physician before they start anything new. Second: food supplements are foods. They may not be attributed the property of preventing, treating or curing a disease, not even in advertising (Art. 7(3) and (4) Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011). How the formula is created is explained in From genetic profile to personalized supplements.
Words that carry: wording for your website and consultations
How you talk about your offer helps decide whether it stays lifestyle. These pairs help:
| Better not | Better this way | Why |
|---|---|---|
| “Diet therapy for diabetes with a genetic test” | “Nutrition counseling for healthy people – with an eye on your genes” | Treating diseases is the practice of medicine or runs on a physician’s order. |
| “Precise recommendations from your genes” | “Personal recommendations that take your genes into account” | Genes are one factor among many; recommendations are logical conclusions. |
| “Your genes determine your weight.” | “Your genes show where some things come easier or harder for you.” | Genes show tendencies, not destiny. |
| “With your genetic profile, you are guaranteed to lose weight.” | “A plan that fits your genes and your daily life.” | No guaranteed results. |
| “Recommended by your nutritionist” on your own supplement | an authorized claim in its official wording | References to recommendations of individual health professionals are not allowed (Art. 12(c) Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006). |
| “Your findings” | “Your report,” “your result” | “Findings” sounds like a diagnosis. |
More on titles, advertising for health services and health claims in Professional law and advertising: titles, claims.
Products and commission: what your professional law says
Many nutrition professionals want to sell more than their time: analysis, counseling and matching products from a single source. That is possible – but your professional law has a say.
- Germany: Section 299a of the Criminal Code (StGB) applies to health professions that require state-regulated training. It is a criminal offense to accept an advantage in return for unfairly favoring another party in competition, for example when referring patients or sample material.
- Austria: dietitians may not promise, give or take payments for referring people; in freelance practice, comparative or unobjective advertising is prohibited for them (Section 39 MTDG).
- Switzerland: anyone practicing a health profession on their own professional responsibility advertises only in an objective, non-misleading way and acts independently of financial advantages when working with others (Art. 16(e) and (h) GesBG).
Novogenia offers three routes: a partner shop with a commission per order and no setup fees, white label under your own brand, or your own product idea. Which route fits your professional law is something to clarify in advance with your professional body, your association or a legal advisor. Show your clients openly what is lab service, what is counseling and what is product. The models in detail: Nutrigenetics as a service: partner and white-label models.
Switzerland: you order the analysis yourself – with clear rules
Switzerland is the strictest country and at the same time gives you the strongest role. As a nutritionist FH with a license to practice, you order analyses of physiological traits such as eating behavior yourself. The Human Genetic Testing Act (GUMG) sets conditions: knowledge of human genetics from your training or continuing education (Art. 34(1)), work in the relevant field (Art. 34(2)), and the saliva sample taken in your presence (Art. 34(3)). A sample kit that your client uses alone at home is ruled out for these analyses (Art. 13). If your profession is not listed in Art. 40 GUMV, you work with a professional who orders the analysis. The country comparison is in Austria and Switzerland: different rules.
Checklist for your practice
- You know which title you may use and what it allows you to do.
- Your offer is aimed at healthy people; diet therapy for diseases runs on a physician’s order.
- You offer lifestyle analyses only; questions about complaints, disease risks or medication go to physicians.
- In Switzerland: your profession is listed in Art. 40 GUMV, or you work with such a professional; the saliva sample is taken in their presence.
- Your clients have been informed and have consented in writing, including to who sees the report.
- Supplements: existing products checked; in case of disease or medication, cleared with a physician.
- Website and label: no healing promises, no guarantees, authorized claims in their official wording.
- Your business model has been cleared with your professional body or association.
How to explain results in the consultation is covered in The consultation: explaining results; the five steps to your launch are described in Launching your offer in 5 steps.
Frequently asked questions
May I offer genetic analyses in my nutrition counseling without a protected title?
May I give gene-based advice to clients who have a disease?
What has changed for dietitians in Austria?
Does the NOVO Academy certificate replace professional training?
May I promote my own supplement with my personal recommendation?
Related: Adding nutrigenetics to your practice: 6 steps · Who may offer genetic tests? · Offer for nutrition professionals
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Request a project →Offer for naturopathsNote: This guide is general information for businesses and professionals and does not replace medical or legal advice. The genetic traits determined in a genetic analysis are well documented (each gene included is backed by at least three independent studies); recommendations derived from them are logical conclusions, not scientifically proven. Regulations can change; errors and changes excepted.