Nutritional Therapy
Good nutrition can make a significant difference to health and energy levels. The food we eat not only provides us with fuel for energy, but also provides the tools and building materials needed by our bodies to break down worn-out and diseased tissues and cells, as well as to replace and rebuild them.
Good nutrition provides vitamins, minerals and other vital nutrients, as well as proteins, carbohydrates and fats. A deficiency in any one of these can cause imbalances or under-functioning within the body, and - if not attended to - can lead at best to a lack of energy and feeling under par, and at worst to pain and ill health.
Incorporating just some of the following into your diet could make a significant difference to your overall health and energy levels. Good nutrition means including plenty of whole foods in the diet, such as wholegrain bread, pasta and rice, as well as at least five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. Good quality protein is also needed, including beans and pulses, as well as meat, fish, dairy and eggs.
Just as important to good nutrition, is the body’s ability to use food efficiently, to be able to break it down and absorb it into our bodies. Many factors, such as poor food choices, nutrient deficiencies, poor digestion and stress all affect the way in which your body uses the food you consume. When we are undernourished we become more susceptible to colds, infections, allergies and other complaints.
Another key aspect of Nutritional Therapy is in improving the body’s ability to get rid of dead cells and other debris, referred to as toxins. The build up of toxins in the body can contribute to ill health and disease. Toxins can come from outside the body via the many chemicals that we are exposed to on a daily basis, including household cleaning products, cosmetics, petrol fumes, additives, preservatives and colourings from processed foods, pesticides and fertilisers sprayed on food and the medicines we take, both prescribed and over-the-counter. They can also come from inside the body as the normal breakdown products of our own metabolism. The liver is the body’s powerhouse when it comes to removing toxins, breaking them down so that they can be excreted from the body.
Lifestyle is also important in Nutritional Medicine, with regular exercise a very positive factor, and smoking and stress potentially negative ones.
As a trained Nutritional Therapist, I can help identify potential nutritional imbalances and how these contribute to your symptoms. This approach allows me to work with people on many levels by addressing nutritional imbalances and supporting the body towards maintaining health
Remember often relatively simple changes in nutrition and lifestyle, together with dietary supplements, can improve overall health and energy levels significantly.