What is Nutritional Therapy?
Personalised evidence-informed nutritional therapy
Personalised evidence-informed nutritional therapy is the application of nutrition and lifestyle medicine sciences and scientific medical research in the promotion of long-term health, peak performance and individual care. Nutritional therapy is appropriate for clients looking to improve their health and learn how to support their body systems for continued wellbeing and for clients living with chronic disease who wish to learn about symptom control through optimal nutrition.
As a registered nutritional therapist, I am educated to understand how nutrients, lifestyle factors and biochemical individuality influence the body’s nutritional balance and body systems. I identify and analyse potential nutrient deficiencies or imbalances and understand how these may contribute towards a client’s symptoms and health status.
I provide personalised nutrition recommendations in the form of dietary and nutrition science education to explain the principles of optimal nutrition and how the food we eat interact with our body systems. All nutrition science is explained in layman’s terms. Research suggests that nutrition education strengthens clients’ understanding, commitment and motivation for making dietary changes. I provide personalised nutrition recommendations with example meal plans and prescribe vitamin and mineral supplements together with functional laboratory testing where relevant (see below).
Personalised nutritional therapy is based on the principles of functional medicine and systems biology
Functional nutrition medicine practice represents an integrative approach to diet and wellness which involves assessing the entire body and the body’s various biochemical systems to test and evaluate if any nutrient deficiencies or imbalances may be impacting the optimal function of the body’s systems. Functional testing may be required for the assessment. Science suggests that nutrient deficiencies or imbalances may result in signs and symptoms that can impact an individual’s overall feeling of health and wellbeing.
The aim of functional nutrition medicine practice is to establish the root cause of any signs and symptoms and as a functional nutritional therapist I assess the entire body to evaluate the impact of any nutrient deficiencies or imbalances on for example the cardiovascular, digestive, hormone and immune systems with the aim to restoring a feeling of health and continued wellbeing through optimal nutrition. I work on the basis that one size does not fit all and my recommendations are tailored to my clients’ unique biochemistry and specific nutrient needs.
The importance of practicing evidence-informed nutritional therapy
Scientific evidence and medical research are key tools in my practice of personalised nutritional therapy. Scientific knowledge and principles used to promote and protect health and wellbeing are constantly developing and new scientific evidence emerges frequently. It is imperative that I consider the highest quality and most recent scientific evidence when preparing my clients’ personalied nutrition recommendations to uphold the highest level of scientific research standards in my practice for the safety of my clients. All my nutrition recommendations are backed by scientific research evidence.
I am educated and clinically trained in analysing the quality and relevance of scientific medical research and I have participated in conducting research as part of my BSc (Hons) Nutrition Science degree studies.
What is functional lab testing?
Functional laboratory testing includes blood, saliva, urine, stool and hair testing. Functional testing is a comprehensive and integrative approach to laboratory testing that provides the ability to look at various biochemical pathways in the body simultaneously to assess the interactions between the body’s various systems.
The functional laboratory testing approach provides a deeper dive into your health status by observing the current state of your body systems through e.g. the digestive, metabolic, hormone and immune systems together with your nutrient status to better understand the root cause and the ‘why’ behind the signs and symptoms you may be experiencing.
Functional tests can be ordered through me and I will provide a thorough explanation of the test results when I present you with your personalised nutritional therapy recommendations.
