Nutritional Advice

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 wellbeing. And there are other factors, such as 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.

But what exactly is nutritional therapy?

In a nutshell, nutritional therapy 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.’

Importantly all changes are negotiated, so that they are practical and realistic for you personally – it’s important that you go away with a programme you know you can achieve and that you are motivated to get on with right away!Supplements may also be used, to speed up a healing process that 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).

In some cases, for example where the underlying cause of your health concerns is not obvious or where several possibilities exist, diagnostic tests may be recommended. Some tests can be done by your GP (i.e. on the NHS) but others may need to be performed by a private laboratory.

What conditions can it help with?

Improving your nutrition can bring stronger resistance to disease and better health overall, but nutritional therapy may also be helpful for a number of specific conditions, such as:

• allergies and food intolerances
• anxiety and depression?
• age-related issues (e.g. macular degeneration, memory decline)
• arthritis
• asthma and hay fever
• diabetes
• digestive disorders (e.g. bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, heartburn)
• high blood pressure
• high cholesterol
• irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
• inflammatory Bowel (e.g. Crohn’s Disease)
• osteoporosis
• PMS and menopausal problems
• pre-conceptual Issues
• skin conditions (e.g. eczema, psoriasis)
• tiredness and chronic fatigue
• thrush and cystitis
• weight problems