About Nutritional Therapy

What Is Nutritional Therapy?

In a nutshell it is:

“The application of nutrition and health science to enable individuals to achieve optimum health and peak performance. It can help prevent, alleviate and assist recovery from a wide range of health conditions.”

But what does that really mean?

There are many factors influencing our health. We’ve all heard the phrase “You are what you eat” and clearly it’s true; ultimately, every cell of your body is made from what you eat, drink and breathe in. It’s only common sense then that the quality of what you consume has a significant influence on your health.

Furthermore, the environments we live in and the lifestyles we lead vary greatly; pollution, stress and different levels of exercise can all affect our well-being. Finally there are other factors; the genes we’re born with, and what we’ve been exposed to during our lives.

So, we’re all unique. Nutritional therapy recognises this and tailors a programme for each individual, consisting of dietary and lifestyle changes designed to promote optimum health and/or recovery from illness.

Supplements may also be used, to speed up a healing process which might otherwise take a long time, to provide additional nutrients where digestion or absorption is below par or where needs are greater than normal (e.g. in the case of diabetes).

What Conditions Can It Help With?

Improving your nutrition can bring stronger resistance to disease and better health overall, and nutritional therapy may be particularly helpful if you have a specific condition such as:

Allergies and food Intolerances.
Anxiety and depression.
Age-related issues (e.g. macular degeneration, memory decline).
Arthritis.
Asthma, hayfever.
Diabetes.
Digestive disorders (e.g. bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, heartburn).
High blood pressure.
High cholesterol.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Inflammatory bowel conditions (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis).
Osteoporosis.
PMS and menopausal problems.
Pre-conceptual issues (infertility).
Skin conditions (e.g. eczema, psoriasis).
Tiredness, chronic fatigue.
Thrush, cystitis.
Weight problems.

This list is by no means exhaustive, Nutritional Therapy may help to resolve many different ill-health conditions.

Nutritional Therapy and Conventional Healthcare

It is important to note that Nutritional therapy is not an alternative to conventional healthcare; it is a complementary discipline which means that it can work alongside conventional medicine in the treatment and support of ill-health conditions.

Always consult your GP if you are concerned that you may have a serious health problem or if you notice any unusual or unexpected symptoms.

Nutrition Titles

Nutritional therapists are commonly referred to as nutritionists but in fact the two terms mean different things. Nutritionists normally work in settings such as the food industry, in research and academia, or in government and other agencies. They are not usually qualified to provide individual nutrition advice. Nutritional therapists on the other hand are qualified to provide individual advice and most work in private practice. Dieticians are also qualified to provide individual advice but they work principally in the National Health Service.