From Pill to Plate: Adding Nutrition Counseling to the Pharmacist’s Role

Nutrition plays a vital role in overall health and well-being. Among various other factors, inadequate dietary habits are a significant source of the onset of preventable non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. As misinformation about diet and health spreads, demand for accurate and reliable nutritional support is growing.¹ Pharmacists, particularly those in the community setting, are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between medication management and lifestyle counseling with direct health promotion.

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In the July 2025 issue of Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, a team of researchers in Australia explored the extent of pharmacists’ involvement in nutrition counseling and their attitudes toward expanding their roles.²

The study included 107 Australian pharmacists from various clinical settings who participated in anonymous online surveys and semi-structured interviews. About 45% of participants reported providing dietary advice either daily or every 2 to 3 days, and approximately 66% counseled on vitamin and mineral supplementation just as frequently. The study found that community pharmacists were more comfortable and thus more likely to engage in these discussions.²

Overall, most participants expressed a positive attitude toward incorporating dietary counseling into their scope of practice. The pharmacists recognized this as an opportunity for providing comprehensive care, since pharmacists are readily accessible and regularly interact with patients.²

Not surprisingly, only 20% of participants felt their pharmacy degree program provided adequate education in general nutrition. This indicates a critical gap in training that may limit pharmacists’ confidence and effectiveness in nutrition-related counseling.² Additional barriers included time and workload constraints, lack of postgraduate education offerings, and a fear of overstepping professional scopes of practice.² 

Pharmacists occupy a unique position as highly accessible and trusted health care providers. Integrating nutrition education into pharmacy school curriculum and continuing education programs can enhance pharmacists’ clinical roles in chronic disease prevention and management. Additionally, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and increasing public awareness of pharmacists’ roles in lifestyle counseling can further empower and elevate pharmacists’ value and impact.²

REFERENCES

1. Denniss E, Lindberg R, McNaughton SA. Quality and accuracy of online nutrition-related information: a systematic review of content analysis studies. Public Health Nutr. 2023;26(7):1345-1357.

2. Elsayed S, Ibrahim D, Harnett JE, Pace J, Krass I, Gelissen IC. Nutrition counseling in pharmacy practice in Australia: a mixed methods study. Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2025;17(10):102416. doi:10.1016/j.cptl.2025.102416