Despite rising awareness of alternatives in health, this is a question I get asked a lot. Within the bubble of fellow nutritionists and alternative health practitioners, it’s easy to forget that there’s still plenty of people (the majority?) who have never come across such an idea, let alone used a nutritional therapist to help them with their health. You may also be scratching your head, thinking it’s something to do with diet, but there’s so much more to it than that. Unlike a dietician, a naturopathic nutritional therapist will take a holistic, whole-person approach to providing safe, high-quality, and efficacious health advice – looking beyond diet into lifestyle and considering other modalities for healing such as herbs or somatic therapies. And where modern medicine with its hard-to-get 10-minute appointments and focus on symptoms rather than causes, many people suffer with untreated and life-debilitating chronic complaints that never seem to get better, or retreat and then resurge – often at times of stress or difficulty.

A word about the money. Yes, the overall price tag may seem a little high, particularly if you are used to getting free-at-the-point-of-use healthcare as we do in the UK. You may think that you can do it yourself armed with the internet. You may even get somewhere with this. But I am going to explain what exactly goes into the process of nutritional therapy and hopefully you will see that there’s a lot more to it than a google search. In a similar way, you can do a workout video on Youtube. But there’s a risk you might injure yourself. Or just not do it. A personal trainer – that you have to pay for – will get you motivated, hold you accountable and make sure you’re exercising in the correct way for your body and the results you want to see. Just imagine what a nutritional therapist can do for you when it comes to your health and overall quality of life. Feeling well and getting the most out of all areas of your life is kind of priceless, and while no responsible therapist should over-promise – I can honestly say I’ve never seen it not work on some level, and sometimes the results are breathtaking.

While it might be possible to deliver some generic health advice that may hit a few bases when it comes to health, a nutritional therapist is going to do so much more for you than simply advise some B vitamins and omega-3s – though they may well form part of the plan! A typical consultation could last up to 2 hours while a therapist like me takes a deep dive into all your body’s systems and takes a thorough history of your health from birth until the moment you step into the virtual or actual space with them. If you’re taking any supplements or medications, or even if you did in the past, your therapist would need to know. This is because it could indicate either a nutritional deficiency (a side effect of many medications) or an imbalance of some kind, and may have a part to play in your overall health picture. Things like the circumstances of your birth, or any past traumas or childhood illnesses, though in the sometimes-distant past, are more relevant to your current health than you might think. Your therapist will know this and will sensitively endeavour not to leave a stone unturned in building your health story.

So, after this detailed case history is taken, and with a mind on your specific health concerns – we usually focus on one or two to begin with – there is a LOT of behind-the-scenes work that goes into constructing the perfect plan for you. This is where the years of training, writing essays and revising for tricky exams comes in, as well as clinical experience with other clients.  A properly credentialed therapist will have a wealth of knowledge into the intricacies of the body’s systems and how they impact each other, and the ways in which food and lifestyle can either optimise or interfere with good health. We are constantly updating our knowledge by attending webinars, talks, conferences, reading papers, and just chatting to other therapists to gain best practice – Continued Professional Development or CPD is taken very seriously in this industry. We all want to do our absolute best for you.

We will research any medications you may be taking and make sure any supplement recommendations are safe, or even the best combination, as some act synergistically to produce even better results. We will research any health conditions you have, even if these are not your presenting complaints. We will make sure to advise you on testing, either through your health provider (think: blood test) or through a private company e.g. stool or genetic testing. And when the results come in, we will work with you to interpret and act upon them in manageable and appropriate ways. While a nutritional therapist cannot diagnose or prescribe in the same way a doctor can, they can provide letters to take to GPs that often yield very quick results in terms of getting a health complaint taken seriously.

And once all the research is done, a nutritional therapist like me will put together a plan that focuses on getting you back to optimal health. This includes dietary, lifestyle and supplement recommendations, or referrals to other practitioners if appropriate. Not just what you eat, but how, why, when – and even occasionally where – will all be considered. How other things like exercise, mindfulness, detox techniques etc can also provide wonderful benefits that work with the food to nourish your body and mind. Your particular life circumstances will be taken into consideration too so the plan delivered will be realistic and achievable.

There will be recipes, information handouts, book recommendations even, if that’s your jam. You will be given recommendations for the best quality and affordable supplements – those that actually do something – and support to get hold of them. You will be supported to make these changes with regular communications, and you will be followed up with at least one other consultation to see how you are doing and provide further advice. Indeed, some people go on to see their nutritional therapist for years, dealing with health issues when they arise, but then doing so on a more ‘maintenance’ basis – optimising a much-improved health picture. There really is no substitute for the therapeutic relationship and finding someone who ‘gets it’ – and you – is worth its weight in gold.

As a postscript: Yes, AI can come up with a plan, but frankly, it might be terrible as in ineffective, or worse, unsafe. A bot isn’t going to examine your tongue or fingernails either, or note how bright your eyes are or how warm your skin is when you shake its hand. It doesn’t have a hand. My advice? Don’t use AI. Come to me – or someone like me – instead!

If you’d like to know more, or have a free, no-obligation chat please message me at jop.naturalnutrition@gmail.com. I’d love to help you