What is Nutritional Therapy?
Nutritional Therapy is the therapeutic use of food and nutrients to bring about positive changes to health and well-being. It is an evidence-based discipline that uses the findings from properly conducted clinical trials, published in respected, peer-reviewed journals, to gauge the effectiveness of a particular food or nutrient for health. In addition to the scientific study of food and nutrients, Nutritional Therapists are trained in anatomy, physiology and pathology allowing them a sound understanding of many health conditions. Nutritional Therapy is essentially a cross between food science and medical science.
Nutritional Therapists ocassionally make use of functional labatory tests to help identify nutritional deficiencies and imbalances in the body and to assist in the formulation of tailor-made nutritional programs. Such tests are generally not available at G.P. practices or are a more comprehensive form of those offered by doctors. Examples of such functional tests include full thyroid screen, gastrointestinal tests and food intolerance tests.
What is the difference between dieticians, nutritionists and nutritional therapists?
Dieticians work principally within the NHS (either within hospitals or the community) and advise people with special dietary needs such as those with diabetes, cancer or kidney disease. They essentially deal with the nutritional repercussions of disease, for example, educating diabetics on the carbohydrate content of different foods or devising a dietary plan for those with kidney disease. Dieticians try to ensure that patients meet the government-defined nutrient intake values (Recommended Daily Allowances or RDA’s) for the various food components such as vitamins and minerals. Dieticians also play a role in health promotion, giving talks to groups on different aspects of healthy eating and lifestyle choices. Their professional body is the British Dietetic Association.
A nutritionist generally does not see people on a one-to-one basis but advises and formulates information for government, public bodies and companies to be used for health promotion. Their professional body is The Nutrition Society.
Nutritional Therapists generally work in private practice (although they can receive referrals from NHS doctors) and see individuals on a one-to-one basis. Like dieticians and nutritionists they use scientific data about food and nutrients, but for them the emphasis is on treating disease rather than simply dealing with the nutritional outcome of disease. They make use of the wealth of scientific data from properly conducted clinical trials that support the use of food and nutrients in the prevention and treatment of disease. Often the doses used in such clinical trials are well in excess of the RDA’s set by the government and, as such, dieticians and nutritionists generally do not apply this information, unless it becomes government/NHS policy. The RDA’s are intended to guarantee sufficient nutrient intake, regardless of individual needs. Nutritional Therapists, however, recognise that many individuals, for various reasons such as their medical condition or their unique genetic make-up, require higher doses of nutrients. Nutritional Therapists also place great importance on the body’s ability to detoxify and eliminate, on colon health and on the state of the immune system as determinants of health.
The professional body for Nutritional Therapists is the British Association for Applied Nutrition & Nutritional Therapy (BANT). The body that ensures that the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for training in Nutritional Therapy are met is the Nutritional Therapy Council (NTC). The Complimenatary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) now holds the national register of complimentary therapists, including those that practice Nutritional Therapy.
Diet v Supplements
Many people are confused as to which plays a greater role in achieving health, diet or supplements? Without doubt, unless the diet is first modified to remove unhealthy foods, and to include nutritious foods, supplements are likely to have little, if any, effect. However, alongside dietary changes, the correct choice of supplements can result in a quicker improvement in health. That said, those same improvements can normally be achieved by diet alone, albeit within a longer timeframe. Unless dietary changes are made, it is also likely that any improvements that have occured will cease once the supplement is stopped, leading to long-term dependency. Supplements are useful in the short to medium term but ultimately the diet should be able to provide the vast majority of nutrients for health. In addition, the levels of nutrients present in many popular supplements are generally so low as to have a marginal effect. A particular nutrient must not only be present in a supplement, but must be present in the correct quantity, to have a therapeutic effect. This may partly explain why so many people are sceptical about supplements.
