What exactly is nutritional therapy?
Hopefully you have already read my first post about why I do what I do- what motivates me, what inspires me, and how I got really fueled for this work. Family, and the health of my family. I wanted to go into a little more detail about what nutritional therapy is and who could benefit from seeing a nutritional therapy practitioner.
I did an Instagram post on this topic a while back, before I had my website. You can see it here.
In this post I broke down NTP-
NUTRITIONAL- We focus on nutrients and are food-first focused. We promote and recommend unprocessed, real whole foods that are nutrient packed (macro nutrients and micro nutrients)and that are prepared and cooked properly. There are times when supplements may be needed temporarily to help support you, as our foods and soils have become less nutrient dense overtime. We may also need supplements if some of our health challenges are not allowing our bodies to properly digest and absorb the foods we are taking in. We are trained in supplement recommendations, only utilize high quality and sourced brands, and can connect you to those specific products.
THERAPY- We believe that our diet heavily influences our health journey and we are trained to uncover nutritional imbalances and provide support and recommendations to find a healthier balance again. We use a holistic approach, combining nutrition with lifestyle factors to help guide you in this journey. We know it is not just about the food, but there are many other influences in our life like work stress, relationship challenges, sleep problems, exercise (or not), environmental toxins, genetics, etc. We focus on your bio-specific, individual factors, (details in your life) because every BODY is different and has different needs. We use assessments, graphs, questionnaires, and in-person/virtual consultations to discuss these factors.
PRACTITIONER- We are certified by the NTA, Nutritional Therapy Association to assess biochemical needs, root cause, foundational issues, and provide personalized nutrition and lifestyle factor recommendations for you. Many of us get further training to be able to dig a little deeper, help support more challenging situations, and to narrow in on a specific niche (I am currently studying to be certified by the Bio Individual Nutrition Institute in Bio Individual Nutrition and Pediatric Bio Individual Nutrition- yay!)
who can benefit from nutritional therapy?
The short answer: just about everyone. Our standard American diet and the majority of foods we find at grocery stores are severely lacking nutrients and this slowly has been leading up to the health epidemic that we are now facing.
FACTS: (from NIH and can be found here)
For decades, the United States has had the highest obesity rate among high-income countries. High prevalence rates for obesity are seen in U.S. children and in every age group thereafter. From age 20 onward, U.S. adults have among the highest prevalence rates of diabetes (and high plasma glucose levels) among peer countries. 1
The U.S. death rate from ischemic heart disease is the second highest among the 17 peer countries. Americans reach age 50 with a less favorable cardiovascular risk profile than their peers in Europe, and adults over age 50 are more likely to develop and die from cardiovascular disease than are older adults in other high-income countries. 1
Older U.S. adults report a higher prevalence of arthritis and activity limitations than their counterparts in the United Kingdom, other European countries, and Japan. 1
For many years, Americans have had a shorter life expectancy than people in almost all of the peer countries.1
Are you surprised? Any guesses as to why this may be? There are SO.MANY.REASONS that I don’t have a big enough soap box to get on to right now…but basically because we are more modern now and have changed our ways. Our healthcare system is focused on treating symptoms and not root cases and prescribing chemically processed medications instead of focusing on diet and lifestyle factors, among other things.
It is also because of our Standard American Diet- SAD. Our normal diet is over processed, laden with chemicals, preservatives, and toxins and stripped of nutrients.
We are also spending more time not moving than moving because of our increased focus on screens. Our soils (and the plants and animals that thrive on them) have become depleted of nutrients because climate change, aggressive industrial farming practices, and deforestation.
Despite our highly modern and industrialized medical knowledge and equipment, we are still sick and not-well. We can do better. We can learn to thrive in our given conditions and in our chosen conditions. And most of us need the support to do that. It’s a lot. It’s overwhelming. Especially if you have a child who struggles with ADHD, anxiety or depression, or your husband has high blood pressure and heart issues, or your hormones and stress are feeling out of control.
Symptoms are not normal. Just because you have them and they are common among others does not mean they are normal. You don’t have to live this way.
I am here for you. I will walk this journey with you. I will support you. I will support your family.
