Nutritional Therapy

Nutritional Therapy is part of Complementary Medicine and is the study and application of nutrition science to support the promotion and maintenance of good health, peak or optimal performance throughout all life stages. It is part of preventitive medicine that supports disease management and control in collaboration with the patient’s existing medical health care teams. The educational training increasingly encourages application of the functional medicine model, which enables investigation of different body functions and how they relate with each other to gain a more complete health picture (for more information see the Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM)).

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Nutritional Therapy generally includes personal one-to-one consultations, comprehensive health history taking, dietary analyses, and cellular biochemical laboratory testing to formulate strategies and individualised food and nutrition plans based on the individual’s unique dietary and nutritional needs. Facilitating practical and positive food and lifestyle choices are at the heart of the recommended treatment protocols. This can also include supplements, based on individual testing and latest evidence-based scientific research. A nutritional therapist can work in private practice or be a member of an integrated polyclinic working together with conventional/medical and complementary healthcare practitioners. They can also be involved in public health, groups and community projects to educate and promote healthier nutrition and lifestyle choices. Incorporating neuro linguistic programming (NLP) and life coaching approaches into the therapy, successfully enables more sustainable behaviour and lifestyle changes to achieve your health goals and outcomes.

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Nutritional therapy is different to dietetics, where dietitians use nutrition science to devise eating plans for patients to treat acute medical conditions, predominantly in the hospital environment. Nutrition scientists also call themselves nutritionists, who are however not qualified for clinical practice, unless also holding a nutritional therapist qualification. For more information on the differences between dietitians, nutritionists and nutritional therapists click here.

Nutritional Therapists are not yet required to be statutory regulated (like for example dieticians), however current voluntary registering bodies in the UK are the British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT), the Nutritional Therapy Council (NTC), and the newly set-up Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) which is now administering the regulatory process. Nutritional Therapist can also be on the NHS Directory of Complementary and Alternative Practitioners.