Nutritional therapy recognises that the foods and nutrients available to you, impact every aspect of your health and wellbeing – starting even before you’re born. This principle informs the “big picture” approach nutritional therapists use to create personalised nutrition recommendations based on your individual requirements.
Your health is a dynamic reflection of everything you’ve experienced from conception onwards. Your genes, the foods and nutrients you’ve consumed (or not), your lifestyle behaviours, and even the physiological stressors you've faced – they all interact to influence your current health, nutritional status, and your future health potential. Nutritional therapy applies this information to prioritise changes in your nutrition and lifestyle habits that will best support your short-term goals and long-term needs.
How nutritional therapy differs
General nutrition guidelines provide essential foundational recommendations to support health and wellbeing at the population level. They offer a solid starting point. However, when it comes to how your body functions, the way you feel, and your health risks, it's the subtle details that make all the difference.
Your habits, health history, genes, and the environment you live in are uniquely yours. These factors interact in complex ways, shaping your individual needs. As a nutritional therapist, I want to identify and understand these nuanced influences on your health - because they hold the key to providing truly personalised recommendations.
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To understand your needs and create the best plan for you, I consider a wide range of factors, including:
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Your genetics: How your genes might influence your health and how your body responds to food and nutrients.
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Overall system health: How your different body systems, like digestion and immunity, work together and impact your overall health.
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Gut health and microbiome: Evaluating the role of good and bad bacteria and how they might impact your body.
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Nutrients: What nutrients you need and how well your body processes them.
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Dietary habits and relationship with food: Exploring your typical eating patterns, preferences and any social, ethical, religious or cultural influences on your food choices.
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Environmental factors: How things like allergies, pollution, and sensitivities might be affecting your health.
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Lifestyle: Considering the impact of sleep, exercise, stress, and coping mechanisms on your health.
How does nutritional therapy work?
Designing a nutrition and lifestyle plan that suits your specific needs requires detailed information. This includes your health history, dietary patterns over time, relevant laboratory investigations, treatments and procedures, and any factors that might affect your progress, motivation, and ability to make changes.
The nutritional therapy process is designed to gather this information in a structured way and guide you through applying it. As your nutritional therapist, my role is to analyse everything we uncover together and create a plan that is realistic, safe, and tailored to help you achieve your goals.
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Recommendations may include:
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Targeted nutrition: Detailed dietary changes designed to fill in gaps and support your specific needs. This might involve shifting eating patterns, addressing food intolerances, or focusing on specific nutrients crucial for your body.
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Strategic supplementation: Recommendations for supplements (if necessary) to address potential increased requirements or enhance specific functions.
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Lifestyle optimisation: Guidance on sleep, stress reduction, movement, and other habits that directly impact your health.
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Nutritional therapy isn't a one-time fix. We may use advanced laboratory testing to pinpoint specific areas to focus on. It's a process where we'll continually refine your plan based on your progress, any challenges you face, and what we learn about your body along the way.
My 15 years of experience have taught me that making lasting changes takes time. Regular follow-up sessions are an essential part of the process. They allow us to:
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Identify important patterns: Monitor and detect how you respond to certain foods, activities, or stressors over time – patterns essential to making the right adjustments.
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Refine and adapt your plan: taking into account your body's responses and any challenges that arise.
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Build knowledge: Understand the reasoning behind the recommendations. This helps maintain motivation and empowers you to make healthy choices long-term.
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Psychological support: Address habit change strategies, emotional eating patterns, or work on your overall relationship with food.
Follow-ups provide the ongoing support and information you need to understand how your daily choices – from food to sleep to stress management – impact your overall health and well-being. This makes it easier for you to create the lasting changes that help you feel your best throughout your life.
Beyond just treating symptoms
If you're living with a chronic condition, it is important to keep in mind that nutritional therapist doesn't offer a quick fix. We are all used to going to a doctor to receive a pill to either cure a disease or manage its symptoms. Dietary supplements can sometimes be useful, but they're not magic pills that will replace your medication or offset the effects of continued unhealthy lifestyle choices. Nutritional therapy is about making sustainable lifestyle changes that support your long-term health. Each component of your nutrition plan works synergistically, rather than independently.
Proactive approach to health and fitness
Nutritional therapy isn't just for people with diagnosed health conditions. The food you eat can impact on your energy levels, weight, mood, fitness, mental clarity and performance. Whether you're an athlete wanting to boost performance or someone looking to improve overall health, nutritional therapy is a great way to take proactive approach to your well-being and optimise your health for the long term. The information in your nutrition plans and the ongoing support your consultations provide can help you make informed choices and improve your quality of life.
Who can nutritional therapy help?
Nutritional therapy can support people with a wide range of health concerns. I often work with clients who are experiencing:
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Low energy, fatigue, or conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and fibromyalgia.
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Mental health concerns like depression, anxiety, or ADHD
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Digestive issues
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Hormonal imbalances
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Skin problems
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Weight management challenges
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Sports performance goals
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And much more...
How quickly will you see results?
Every person and situation is different. How long it takes to see results depends on your current health, your goals, and how committed you are to making changes. Some people notice improvements within weeks, while others may need ongoing support over several months. Nutritional therapy isn't about quick fixes – it's about sustainable, long-term changes that support your overall health.
Is nutritional therapy safe?
Nutritional therapy is generally very safe, especially when you work with a qualified practitioner like me. It's important to communicate honestly about your health history, medications, and any ongoing conditions to ensure I give you the safest and most effective recommendations.
Please note: Nutritional therapy is meant to complement medical care, not replace it. Always work closely with your doctor, especially if you have a diagnosed health condition.
Why choose me?
I'm passionate about helping people reach their health goals the right way – safely and effectively. With over 15 years of experience as a BANT-registered nutritional therapist, I have a deep understanding of how personalised nutrition can support your unique needs. My time as a lecturer and mentor means I'm always up-to-date on the latest research and skilled at working with even the most complex health challenges. Whether you prefer in-person consultations at the Hale Clinic in London or the convenience of online sessions, you can be sure you’re in safe hands.
Take control of your health
If you're ready to improve your dietary habits and would like to find out how personalised nutrition could help you, book a free 15-minute discovery call to discuss your goals and see if nutritional therapy is the right fit for you. You can also read about a recent client's experience, with nutritional therapy after five years living with Fibromyalgia.