What is Nutritional Therapy?
Nutritional Therapy by its nature focuses on you, the individual. Two people seeking guidance for the same issue will have different programmes, it’s why Nutritional Therapy is so effective. It can still leave you asking the question – how can Nutritional Therapy help me? Firstly some background…
The human body is a set of complex intertwining systems that work in harmony. Modern day living can disrupt these systems which become apparent in gut, immune, skin, hormonal and neurological health. Disruption appears as symptoms of bloating, constipation, fatigue and low energy, difficulty losing weight, low mood or trouble sleeping. You can make changes to your diet and lifestyle to become healthier and help with these kinds of symptoms.
Nutritional science is growing exponentially and so a requirement of the profession is to keep studying and developing ones knowledge. If a therapist is BANT registered this means they are degree educated and have to prove that they undertake the required knowledge development each year to retain their membership. Behind your programme is hours of dedicated research, however at the core of the programme is a genuine desire to tackle symptoms helping to restore natural balance and health. In the right Nutritional Therapist you will find someone who is as passionate about your health as you are and will help you to thrive.
Each client comes with a unique health history and set of symptoms which shapes the programme. If you could resolve half of your symptoms how would that make you feel? How would your life be different?
Below are some common themes and threads which you may identify with so you can see how Nutritional Therapy can help you.
Weight-Loss
Many of my clients are looking for help with weight-loss. In helping to lose weight, a nutritional therapy programme will also aid other symptoms that may be a burden on your physical and mental health. Aside from dietary choices often being at the core of weight issues, many things influence weight such as medication, hormones, sleep and lifecycles such as menopause.
As with all of my programmes, to optimise success you will learn strategies that fit around your circumstances. Yes, the vital health positives for losing weight include heart, joint, hormonal and gut health (to name just a few), but what does losing weight mean to you, in your everyday life?
Is it confidence, increased fitness, energy and motivation…how would these improvements effect you? When they filter through to your daily habits, the knock on effect starts to be measured in other successes in your life. Getting a ‘hold of your health’ can be life changing.
Blood Sugar Balance
In the UK we are amidst a Type 2 Diabetes epidemic. This chronic disease is a result of issues with blood sugar balance which is governed by our master hormone insulin and our stress hormone cortisol. These hormones are influenced by what we eat and how we manage our stress. The good news is, that if you feel like your blood sugar is out of balance, you can take control and change the path of your health. If your blood sugar is imbalanced you may have energy dips and find it hard to wake in the morning and need caffeine or sugar to help you get going. You may also have difficulty with sleep and therefore motivation in the day. Sugar cravings become a problem and you may find it hard to lose weight.
A programme focused on blood sugar balance will tackle your symptoms explaining why they occur. More importantly you will learn what you can do to bring your blood sugars into balance with an understanding of why.
If you could increase your energy levels and improve your sleep what impact would it have on your life? The knock on effect for your overall wellbeing and family life become endless.
Digestive Health
You would be hard pushed to find a Nutritional Therapist that didn’t talk about the impact of the gut on health. Not only is gut health an issue in itself with numerous symptoms, gut imbalance will tend to accompany many other chronic conditions and diseases. The gut is our gateway, it’s where the outside world meets our inside world and our chance to feed ourselves with the right vitamins and minerals that literally make us tick.
Poor digestive health is debilitating and can negatively impact daily life. Gut issues can be painful, they can be embarrassing and more importantly they can lead to more serious health concerns. Symptoms manifest in brain fog, low energy, bloating, constipation, digestive pain, heartburn and/or diarrhoea. The gut is linked to the immune system and connected to the brain via the gut brain axis and for this reason poor gut health can contribute to compromised immunity, allergies and intolerances, anxiety, inflammation as well as skin issues such as eczema, psoriasis and hives.
Do any of these symptoms sound like you? How would it make you feel if you could take away some of those symptoms?
Gut health is complex – what works for one certainly will not work for the other. Explore your gut health and learn how to make it better and then see how other symptoms you may not attribute to gut health improve – there’s a reason why they call the gut ‘the second brain’.
Energy
How is your energy? Do you find yourself accepting your fate as you feel like you are constantly on an uphill struggle with lethargy, lack of drive and low motivation? The above health topics feed into energy levels but there may be other reasons why your energy is less than you desire. Nutritional Therapy can help you find those reasons and tackle them one step at a time.
To improve energy you may need to balance hormones, aid restful sleep, lose weight or tackle gut heath. Does this sounds overwhelming? You can be rest assured that recommendations are backed by science but they will be manageable and in a step-by-step approach.
If you have come to this page seeking help for increased energy levels it is likely you have already imagined your life with more vitality. It can be done, but Rome wasn’t built in a day! If it was easy to attain optimal health in these modern times we would all be bouncing off the walls – but we are not, and we need guidance and the right tools so change can happen and enthusiasm for life can ensue.
