Frequently Asked Questions: Everything you need to know

Nutritional Therapy is the application of the latest theoretical and applied knowledge of nutrition and lifestyle medicine sciences in the promotion of health and individual care. Nutritional Therapy is based on the functional medicine principles and it addresses the underlying causes of disease using a systems-oriented, individualized therapy approach.

In my clinical practice, I use a variety of tools and methods to assess and identify potential nutritional imbalances and see how these may contribute to the c ient’s health concerns. When it is deemed necessary, I use various functional laboratory tests. These tools enable me to personalise my therapy approach.

Nutritional Therapists who have undertaken training at an accredited course (usually at least 3-5 years long courses) ensures necessary training to understand the theory and practice of nutritional therapy. These Nutritional Therapists can then register with the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle (BANT) and only them can use the title “Registered Nutritional Therapist” or “Registered Nutritionist”. This is to ensure high level of care for clients.

BANT - member Registered Nutritional Therapists are regulated by the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). The CNHC holds an Accredited Voluntary Register (AVR) for the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA). The PSA oversees statutory bodies and accredits organisations holding voluntary registers for health and social care occupations in the UK.

By choosing a Registered Nutritional Therapist, registered with the CNHC, you can be confident that your therapist is properly trained, qualified and insured.

Please note: BANT practitioners do not diagnose or treat disease, and recommendations are not a replacement for medical advice; practitioners frequently work alongside medical professionals to support individual’s wellbeing.

Dietitians are trained to work with people with acute medical conditions in a hospital setting. They focus on ensuring the intake of enough nutrients to prevent a deficiency for their medical condition. Whilst registered nutritional therapists are trained to work with people in the community to optimise their health. Registered nutritional therapists focus more on the micronutrients in foods and on understanding the body’s specific needs for these biochemicals so they can use that knowledge as a form of therapy to help optimise cell health with the aim of ultimately focusing on supporting the health of the specific system they are working on with their clients.

Functional Medicine is patient-centered medical healing at its best. Instead of looking at and treating health problems as isolated diseases, it enhances individuals health and wellbeing who may have bodily symptoms, imbalances and dysfunctions.

In my clinical practice, as a Functional Nutritionist, I work based on the Functional Medicine approach. Functional Medicine looks at the individual to determine WHY and HOW illness occurs. Based on the latest science and looking at the person as a whole, it addresses the underlying causes of disease using a systems-oriented, individualized approach to determine appropriate interventions for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases and to restore health.

There is not just one root cause for any condition. It’s multi-factorial and should be looked at as a whole versus one individual part. Being taught based on the Functional Medicine model I will map my clients’ timeline (health history), go through all symptoms, health conditions, environmental aspects as well as genetics to find the multi-factorial root-causes of individual factors underlying the clients’ health concerns.

To be able to guide you through some adjustments in your diet and lifestyle, and for you to understand why we would like to adjust those certain things, it is important to talk regularly. These regular conversations also provide a safe place for you to ask questions you might have thought about since our last appointment.

If we are doing some laboratory testings, I need to interpret the results for you and we might need to adjust your nutrition and lifestyle plan and maybe your supplement plan accordingly.

Our discovery call is conducted either via the phone (with the number you provide me to call you on. (Please make sure you add your country code as well.)) or via video chat.

Any consultations afterwards are via my secure, online client portal (Practice Better). Please make sure you have a working internet connection for online appointments.

Nutritional Therapy consultations consist of a discovery call, an initial appointment and follow up appointments.

During these conversations we explore health and family history, current symptoms, your goals, your or your child’s environment and lifestyle and interpret laboratory/ functional test results (if any or needed). Based on all of the mentioned aspects, we identify and explain those underlying causes resulting in your or in your child’s symptoms. We then agree on a manageable, actionable and practical nutrition and lifestyle programme.

These individual and personalised plans are then adjusted during the follow-up appointments based on the progress of the program.

Based on the pre-consultation paperwork, we spend the majority of the consultation going through your or your child’s health history and medical tests if available. We discuss the current diet and lifestyle and we look at your or your child’s emotional wellbeing.

An explanation of potential key imbalances (if any) identified will be given along with a collaboratively agreed safe diet and lifestyle plan, including supplements and testing if necessary. Any diet and lifestyle plans and handouts relating to our session will be sent out within 48 hours after any consultation.

During consultations, we explore how you or your child is feeling - both physically and mentally -, how you were able to follow the program and why. I may provide further explanations on the “why”, I interpret further laboratory test results if we have done any and we agree how best we can put further steps in place, that suits your lifestyle at that point in time. We discuss any questions you may have and we might adjust the supplement plan if there is one.

It depends on the type of nutritional therapy consultation, but generally speaking initial consultations are 90-120 minutes long and follow-up sessions are 45-60 minutes long.

It is great that you thought about our session! There is a possibility to you a secure chat via the client’s portal (Practice Better). However, please note, direct messages between appointments are intended to clarify questions/concerns pertaining to a current protocol and that direct messages should not be used as an open forum for discussion on matters not pertaining to the current protocol. These messages should contain simple, targeted questions that are able to be answered in 1-2 sentences each; not paragraphs. If further discussion is needed outside of these parameters, you may be asked to schedule a follow-up or hold this topic for a future consultation.

Appointments cancelled with less than 48 hours’ notice and ‘no shows’ will be charged in full.

It is important that you attend sessions regularly. However, if you do need to cancel an appointment please let your nutritional therapist or our admin team know with at least 48 hours notice. You can do this by emailing clinic@generationsuperhealth.com

Please let me know as soon as you realise you will be late. Please try to keep all scheduled appointments and be on time. All appointments end at agreed time, even if you are late. If the consultation could not be finalised, you are responsible to book and pay for an additional appointment.

Nutritional therapy is an individualised approach. Different people inherited different DNA, live in different environment and get in contact with different microorganisms (bacteria, virus, fungi) that potentially could all impact the individual structure of their microbiome , eat different diet and live different lifestyles - some stress more, sleep less, some walk a lot or exercise regularly. These factors all impact our body-functions. With patient-centered approach Registered Nutritional Therapists are trained to find the root-causes of issues. Giving general supplements is still a bandage to a wound or a medication to a disease but it is not always known if that really helps or not. Finding out WHY that certain health concern exists will enable trained and registered practitioners to personalise the program and if necessary, recommend suitable supplements for that certain individual.