What is Nutrition Therapy?

Although I am English, I trained as a Registered Nutrition Therapist in the UK because I couldn't find the same kind of training in France and the kind of personalised functional approach we have to nutrition is not very common here. As a result of the training I have received I am accepted as a member of the British professional body, BANT, that guarantees a high standard of training in a Nutrition Professional. I have not found a similar professional body in France. So what is Nutrition Therapy? This is how BANT describes it: 'Nutritional Therapy is the application of nutrition science in the promotion of health, peak performance and individual care. Registered Nutritional Therapists 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.' This is what we do during/after a consultation:

o Evaluate and assess diet, health, nutritional status and therapeutic requirements for a client with a health issue, through taking case histories, assessment and screening.

o Educating, counselling and offering a client informed choice regarding healthcare, screening, dietary strategies, supplement regimes and other therapeutic options considering their social, cultural and ethical influences.

o Negotiating and implementing nutritional therapy programmes to help a client maximise health, prevent disease or overcome illness.

o Researching the evidence-base to determine and justify a persoanlised nutritional strategy

o Research diagnostic and functional tests and implications of results

o Research, design and develop protocols and nutritional strategies to support client wellness.

o Writing client reports to explain findings and recommendations

o Keeping client records concisely and in-line with established standards and the professional codes of conduct

o Communicating individual nutritional care plans to other health care providers

o Evaluating nutritional programmes and monitoring client health and nutritional status

o Answering client queries I hope this description of what a nutrition therapist does and how we can help in your health goals helps you decide if this nutrition approach is suitable for you. Please make an appointment for a free 15m chat if you have further questions.