Nearly 2500 years ago Hippocrates
said "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy
food". The Ancient Greek physician argued that the
body must be treated as a whole and not a series of parts.
Today the volume of scientific evidence supporting the
importance of diet and nutrition in the prevention and
treatment of disease is growing rapidly.
In essence, the basic principles
of Nutritional Therapy are to identify the underlying
cause of the health concern and ensure the body is receiving
all it needs to repair and rebalance itself. Your body
has an amazing ability to heal itself. Sometimes it
just needs a little push in the right direction to let
it happen.
Nutritional Therapy uses bespoke programmes for diet
and lifestyle to alleviate or prevent illness and promote
optimal health. Recognition that we are all unique individuals
is key to constructing a successful programme, and careful
consideration is given to your unique circumstances.
For example, your environment, lifestyles, exposure
to pollution, stress, exercise levels, genetic variations
and life experience all play a role in shaping your
health and this is before we even begin to think about
food!
Every single part of our body
is constructed from the food we eat, from our skin and
hair to our bones and brain! Food also provides fuel
for our body and enables it to function and survive.
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We need three basic macro nutrients in large amounts:
• Protein for growth,
repair and a healthy metabolism;
• Carbohydrate for energy;
• Fat for insulation, hormone production, nerve
protection and energy.
We also need smaller
amounts of micro nutrients, these include:
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Amino acids
• Essential fatty acids
• Phyto-nutrients (found in plants)
The balance of macro and micro nutrients is essential
to good health and if compromised then systems can stop
working properly, hormones and brain chemicals cannot
be produced and repair processes slow whilst aging accelerates.
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