"My food philosophy is all about enjoying life including what we eat and drink by not feeling it needs to be a “diet”, phase or fad but a lifestyle. Mindful realistic individual nutrition can ensure we feel the happiest, healthiest we can and embrace achieving the confidence we look for to achieve our life goals. Not feeling deprived but nourished!

You can feel how you want to on a daily basis by working with the human body not against it. The body has an ability to innately heal and repair itself as long as you supply the tools it needs, good practical nutrition and the right dietary habits.

Using Functional Medicine principles to get to the root cause of my client health issues and working with you at your own pace is why reviewing what you consume and your relationship with eating and drinking has such an impact on all areas of your life.

You don’t have to put your health on hold to get a career and wealthy, and then use your wealth to get healthy. It doesn’t have to be either or.

Make the biggest investment you will ever make in life YOU!"

 

Sarah Anderson 2017

 

What is Nutritional Therapy?

Nutritional Therapy is the application of nutrition science in the promotion of health, peak performance and individual care.

 

Nutritional therapy practitioners use a wide range of tools to assess and identify potential nutritional imbalances and understand how these may contribute to an individual’s symptoms and health concerns. This approach allows them to work with individuals to address nutritional balance and help support the body towards maintaining health.

Nutritional therapy is recognised as a complementary medicine and is relevant for individuals with chronic conditions, as well as those looking for support to enhance their health and wellbeing.

Practitioners consider each individual to be unique and recommend personalised nutrition and lifestyle programmes rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Practitioners never recommend nutritional therapy as a replacement for medical advice and always refer any client with ‘red flag’ signs or symptoms to their medical professional. They will also frequently work alongside a medical professional and will communicate with other healthcare professionals involved in the client’s care to explain any nutritional therapy programme that has been provided.

 

A dietician works with diagnosed patients under the direction of a GP in a hospital, practice or the community.

 

Dieticians base their advice on the Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI) of nutrients. RNI guidelines are based on the amount of a nutrient required to avoid diseases of deficiency. They do not take into account biochemical individuality i.e. the fact that each person is unique and therefore has unique needs.

In contrast, a nutritional therapist typically works in private practice and consults with individuals on a one to one basis, sometimes receiving NHS referrals. A nutritional therapist may work with healthy individuals in order to prevent disease, and those that are ill to ease and minimise symptoms of a developed disease.

A nutritional therapist takes into account the unique dietary needs of each individual and aims to promote optimal health with personalised diet and lifestyle changes and therapeutic supplementation.

This article from the Alliance for Natural Health illustrates the difference in approach of dieticians and nutritional therapists — http://anhinternational.org/2012/01/26/anh-feature-dieticians-and-nutritional-therapists-never-the-twain-shall-meet/

 

What is Functional Medicine?

 

Functional medicine is a personalised approach to health care that recognises a person’s biological uniqueness. Rather than a single treatment for a single diagnosis, functional medicine addresses the whole person not just an isolated set of symptoms.

In contrast to conventional care, which often can focus too much on symptom suppression, without dealing with the cause of the symptom, functional medicine aims to eliminate symptoms by identifying and addressing the underlying cause of a problem.

It is an evidence based field of health care that views the body as an interconnected whole, and recognises the importance of these connections in health and disease. In functional medicine the client and practitioner engage in a therapeutic partnership to explore the interaction between genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors that may influence health and complex, chronic disease. The client is empowered, educated and encouraged to play an active role in the healing process.

 

How is Functional Medicine different?

 

Functional medicine is:

Patient centred: addressing the patient, not the disease. In conventional medicine, patients with the same disease typically get the same treatment. In functional medicine, programs are highly individualised, based on individual client needs, which take into account genetic and both internal (mind, body and spirit) and external (physical and social environment) factors.

Preventative: promoting health as a positive vitality rather than simply the absence of disease. Tests and treatments are designed to promote optimal function, prevent poor health and improve quality of life.

Integrative: combines the best of both traditional Western medical practices using the latest laboratory testing and what is sometimes considered “alternative” or “integrative” medicine, creating a focus on prevention through nutrition, diet and exercise.

Investigative: practitioners take time with their clients to understand the complex web of interactions in their history, physiology and lifestyle that can lead to illness. Symptoms are addressed by looking for any underlying causes of the problem, which leads to more profound and longer lasting results.

Holistic: treats the body as an interconnected whole, and recognises the importance of these connections in health and disease.

Safe: programs have mild or no side effects, and other unrelated complaints often improve spontaneously.

Participatory: the client is respected, empowered, educated and encouraged to play active role in healing process.

 

What conditions may benefit from Functional Medicine?

 

Functional Medicine practitioners recognise that in order to support one part of the body, all of the other parts must also be considered. This is why practitioners are able to support such a wide variety of health problems, including:

  • Acne

  • Adrenal disorders

  • Anxiety

  • Arthritis

  • Asthma

  • ADHD

  • Autoimmune disease

  • Cardiovascular disease

  • Chronic fatigue

  • Chronic sinusitis

  • Depression

  • Diabetes

  • Eczema/psoriasis

  • Elevated cholesterol

  • Environmental and food allergies

  • Fatigue

  • Fibromyalgia

  • Hormonal imbalances

  • Interstitial cystitis

  • Migraines and headaches

  • MS (Multiple Sclerosis)

  • Osteoporosis

  • Overweight and obesity

  • Stress

  • Thyroid disorders

  • Digestive disorders (IBD, IBS, GERD/Reflux)

  • Metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes, insulin resistance

  • Female health (PMS, Menopause, Infertility, PCOS)

 

Examples of  Functional Tests:

 

TOTAL NUTRITION EVALUATION

NutrEval® provides a framework of core nutrients in 5 key areas: Antioxidants, B Vitamins, Digestive Support, Essential Fatty Acids, and Minerals.

https://www.gdx.net/uk/core-uk/sample-reports-uk/NutrEval-FMV-Sample-Report-NUT06.pdf

STRESS CORTISOL TEST

The Adrenal Stress Profile is a powerful and precise noninvasive salivary assay that evaluates bioactive levels of the body’s important stress hormones, cortisol and DHEA. This profile serves as a critical tool for uncovering biochemical imbalances underlying anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, obesity, dysglycaemia, and a host of other clinical conditions.

https://www.gdx.net/uk/core-uk/sample-reports-uk/ASP-Sample-Report-END01.pdf

 

OPTIMUM NUTRITION EVALUATION

ONE FMV™ nutritional test helps to give an understanding of individual diet and supplementation needs, and offers a personalized functional nutrition assessment covering Antioxidants, B Vitamins, Digestive Support, and Minerals.

Nutritional deficiencies can be a factor of many complex chronic conditions, and ONE FMV™ utilizes an easy first-morning urine collection (called a first morning void) to provide nutritional recommendations based on a patient’s individual nutritional test results. Clinicians commonly use such nutritional testing to determine the nutritional deficiencies that are at the root of chronic conditions.

Symptoms and chronic conditions related to nutritional deficiencies:

  • Mood disorders

  • Depression

  • Anxiety

  • Sleep disturbance

  • Fibromyalgia

  • Fatigue

  • Optimized health and sports fitness

 https://www.gdx.net/uk/core-uk/sample-reports-uk/ONE-FMV-SampleReport-NUT04.pdf

GENETIC TESTING

DNA testing has become increasingly accessible, but testing with your nutritionist gives assurance that the test is reputable and you understand how you can effectively use the results to improve your diet and lifestyle.

The test includes 45 markers which are combined to understand 8 key factors.

  • Nutrient needs, including Omega 3, vitamin D, folate and B vitamins

  • Ability to detoxify

  • Salt and caffeine sensitivity

  • Lactose sensitivity

  • Coeliac risk levels

  • Sensitivity to weight gain based on fat intake

  • The ideal way to eat for your body

  • Antioxidant needs

  • The type and amount of exercise best suited to your genetic make-up

https://www.nutrigenomix.com/sites/default/files/resources/sample-reports/SampleReport-Health-en.pdf

Phlebotomy

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