What is nutritional medicine?

I cannot emphasise enough the importance of healthy eating and living.

Your body runs 24hrs a day, 365 days a year.

Even when you are asleep, your body is hard at work repairing, maintaining and growing.

Its objective is to achieve, maintain or re-establish balance, what the science of nutrition refers to as homeostasis.

Link between balance & quality of health?

The smallest molecule in your body is an atom, atoms make up cells, cells make up organs and organs make up systems.  You have 11 major body systems.

These systems work in tandem 24hours a day, they are interconnected and interdependent.  Their aim is to achieve and maintain balance, balance within, between and across your systems.  The qualities of balance they achieve and maintain determine the quality of your health.

In the simplest terms, the quality of your balance determines the quality of and your ability to work, rest and play.  To do so with energy, a clear mind, an even mood, with vitality and a thirst and a drive to enjoy life.

Why food is more than fuel?

Many of us think about food as fuel, that we consume foods to give us the energy to get through our day.

And that is correct, but it is only part of the story.

Food is converted into a substance called glucose, glucose is akin to petrol for a car, it gives us the fuel we need to think, feel, move, play and sleep.  It gives our body fuel to run its 11 major body systems.

However food is more than fuel.  It comprises nutrients, nutrients that act as building blocks to help us repair, maintain, build and grow elements and components required to run and support the running of our 11 major body systems.

What is Nutritional medicine?

Hippocrates said use food as medicine and let medicine be thy food.

Food contains nutrients, essential nutrients to run your 11 body systems running 24hrs a day, 365 days a year.

Nutritional medicine is focussed on ensuring you are using the right food to run, maintain and optimise the quality of your systems and hence your health.

The aim of nutritional medicine is to:

  1. Prevent the development or progression of poor health.
  2. Treat and redress symptoms of poor health.
  3. Optimise and maximise a medical or pharmological treatment for a health issue.
  4. Optimise the quality of their body’s balance and hence their health.
  5. Reduce their risk of developing poor health.
  6. Help promote and support healthy ageing, through pregnancy, childhood and adulthood

The use of nutritional medicine as a treatment is called nutritional therapy.

What is Nutritional Therapy?

Nutritional therapy is a therapeutic approach to treating health issues and their associated symptoms using a personally tailored eating and living plan. 

  1. The plan is informed by an assessment of your health, your health history, your symptoms, your past or current treatments, your health habits and your goals. 
  2. It is a plan that is monitored and reviewed, to ensure you are making progress and if not to refine and evolve your plan to remain effective. 
  3. It is a plan that is supported with advice, coaching, direction as well as nutrition education. 
  4. The aim of the plan is to help redress your symptoms, to help you re-establish balance in your body, to help you optimise your health.

More than a diet?

There is a lot of information freely available, much of it conflicts, contradicts or confuses.

The body is complex, nutritional therapy requires.

  1. An understanding of the science of nutrition.
  2. An understanding of physiology, biochemistry and nutrition.
  3. An understanding of how the 11 major body systems interconnect to create whole body health.
  4. An ability to translate knowledge into clear, simple, grounded and enjoyable eating and living plans.

 Invest in your health

I encourage you to invest in balance, in the quality of your health.

If you would like to know more, or you have symptoms or a health issue for which you require nutritional support, I would love to hear from you.

Wishing you good health.

ciao Jan