About Nutritional Therapy
Nutritional Therapy is a type of preventative healthcare, focussing on the optimization of physical and mental health and the management of chronic diseases, often with complex multiple causes. This is primarily achieved through personalised dietary and lifestyle changes, and often also targetted supplementation. While Dieticians generally provide dietary advice based on your diagnosed health condition, Nutritional Therapists can provide more personalised guidance, recognising that each individual has unique needs.
My approach to Nutritional Therapy is naturopathic, which means that I work to find the root cause of your issue and then support the body to reestablish it’s normal function as opposed to only targetting elimination of the current symptoms. Learn more about naturopathy here.
What can Nutritional Therapy help with?
Nutritional Therapy contains a wide range of tools to support your body to return to a better state of well-being.
Common presentations include IBS and digestive issues, skin problems, hormonal issues, metabolic syndrome, autoimmune disorders, chronic fatigue and burnout, and fertility issues. However, due to the nature of the naturopathic approach, practically any problem can potentially be addressed.
While I am trained to support clients presenting wth a broad range of symptoms and diagnoses, I have a special interest in digestion and the liver, joint pain/arthritis and the effects of stress. Imbalances in these areas can cause a wide range of further symptoms including but not limited to constipation and diarrhoea, acid reflux, bloating, skin problems, fatigue, chronic pain, allergies, headaches/migraines, raised cholesterol, blood sugar regulation issues, eye issues, hormonal issues, and are also linked to various mental/emotional imbalances such as depression, addictions, worrying and anger.
I do not specialise in sports/fitness nutrition, eating disorders, or weight loss, although my clients frequently achieve lasting weight loss as a side effect of their improved overall health.
What does a consultation involve?
Consultations are available worldwide via online video call or face to face in Tavistock, Devon. Click here for more information about my clinics.
When you first come to see me, I will ask you to fill up some forms beforehand which will cover topics such as your symptoms, any medications/supplements and your health and family history. I will also ask you to give some information on your current diet. I will review these before we meet in person, so that we can make the most of our face-to-face time.
The initial consultation will last around 90 minutes and we will use this time to dig deep into understanding your current symptoms and how they have developed over time, including how your family history has influenced this. I will help you to understand the reason for your current symptoms and together we will agree upon a plan to bring you back to balance as quickly as possible. After the consultation, I will prepare your new health plan, which might include nutritional and lifestyle changes, supplementation and more information.
If you would like a more detailed physical examination and treatment with your consultations, please book a Bowen session.
Supplements may be recommended from the Natural Dispensary, which stock a huge range of natural health products or in some cases direct from the suppliers. For example, I am registered as a practitioner with DR.VEGAN professionals and may recommend DR.VEGAN supplements where appropriate. If you sign up for a package, you will receive a discount on all supplements (for details of the discount, refer to the information on each plan). Supplements are of course optional, but progress can often be made more quickly when supplementation is used. As a naturopath, I always endeavor to keep the use of supplements to a minimum and also ensure that the conditions exist within the body so that they can be properly utilised. I will certainly not be recommending that you take 20 supplements at once like some other practitioners!
Functional private lab testing is available to give us more information on your case where this could be useful or is requested. It is always optional and we can progress without it if necessary.
Follow-up consultations are recommended where we can assess progress and make the relevant adjustments to your plan in order to keep you moving forwards and towards maintaining a good state of health.
For best results I recommend that we work together for at least three months. I offer packages with different options, all of the information can be found via any of the “Book Here” buttons. This gives time for you to implement the suggested changes in nutrition, lifestyle and environment and for the body to react to this and begin the process of healing. It also allows time for the therapy to be adjusted to facilitate deeper results. The appropriate length of time depends on your current health and your health goals. If necessary, we could discuss this via email or on a free discovery call prior to booking.
Would you like to get to the root causes of your health issues?
To understand why you feel this way and what you can do to feel better?
Why choose me as your Nutritional Therapist?
I initially trained in nutritional therapy at the Plaskett College, a 3,000 hour, 3 year training, equivalent to a university degree. Plaskett College was founded by Dr Lawrence Plaskett, whose background in medical biochemistry enabled him to offer a synthesis between many fields that are not often brought together: nutrition, pathology, biochemistry, toxicology, pharmacology, cell biology and naturopathy. Dr Plaskett was one of the pioneers of nutritional therapy, and this course was the original nutritional therapy course in the UK.
Later, I started working as a tutor and teacher for the School of Health’s nutritional therapy 3 year course. As well as the greater understanding that inevitably comes from teaching, this has effectively exposed me to an additional 3 year training in the field, through a different perspective.
Consequently, my nutritional therapy training has encompassed both a traditional naturopathic approach (which has been almost lost today) where one becomes skilled enough at connecting symptoms and history to not require many lab tests, and a more modern functional medicine approach, where a huge range of lab tests can be ordered to gain detailed extra information to inform treatment. As a registered naturopath (ND), I value the traditional approach, but am able to utilise lab testing where appropriate or requested by clients.
I have undertaken a wide range of other training which I often integrate into nutritional therapy consultations where appropriate. You can read about me, my background and training in detail on the about page (click here).
Clients commonly present with:
- IBS, constipation and/or diarrhoea
- Food intolerances or sensitivities
- Other digestive issues
- Skin problems such as eczema or psoriasis
- NAFLD or other liver issues
- Low energy or chronic fatigue
- High cholesterol
- Autoimmune conditions
- Thyroid problems
- Fibromyalgia
- Asthma
…and much more.
Would you like to get to the root causes of your health issues?
To understand why you feel this way and what you can do to feel better?
Frequently asked questions
Are there any other package options? Can I book a one-off consultation?
I can offer customised plans to better suit your needs. Just get in touch to discuss this by emailing me at: michael@reclaimyourhealth.co.uk
Packages are recommended for best results and will work out cheaper, but I can offer a one off consultation if this is your preference.
Are the consultations online or in person?
All sessions can be delivered either online via video call or in person in Tavistock, Devon if this is convenient for you. The choice is yours.
If you wish, you may have some sessions online and some in person.
Is there any support available between consultations?
Reasonable support via our online client platform is included between sessions on all of our packages. This support is intended to cover any issues you may encounter between sessions but does not include major changes to your plan or interpretation of any test results (if applicable), which would be better discussed during follow-up sessions. One off consultations do not include this support, which is partly why packages are recommended.
If you would like extra support in addition to the email support offered, telephone support consultations are possible for a fee. Please contact me at michael@reclaimyourhealth.co.uk for details and to arrange this.
Both email and telephone support are only offered on standard working days. I will endeavour to reply to emails and messages within a maximum of three working days.
Will I need to buy a lot of supplements?
Due to depleted soils and various other factors, it is now difficult to get the optimal nutrition from food alone. In most cases, I will suggest the use of various carefully selected supplements to accelerate progress towards your health goals and help you to reclaim optimal health.
In general, I prefer to minimise the use of supplements, focusing on dietary, environmental and lifestyle changes with the targeted use of only the most important and effective supplements. This makes life easier for you and keeps the costs of supplementation to a minimum.
I will always give options for those on tighter budgets and work with you to find a plan that is suitable for your situation.
Will I need to cut out certain foods? Or eat things I don't like?
Enjoyment of our foods is a vital part of good health, so I would never want you to eat things that you don’t enjoy. In order to reclaim our optimal health, some changes are usually needed, but I will work with you to find ways of doing this that are agreeable and fit in with your lifestyle.
In some but not all cases, you might benefit from the removal of a certain food from your diet that may be triggering your immune system or causing other issues. This is not always permanent, and we can work together on healing the digestive system to deal with a wider range of foods.
Do I need to have any testing done?
Private laboratory testing (sometimes called functional testing) can be a useful tool to get to the bottom of complex health challenges and obtain more detailed information to better inform treatment. However these tests are not always necessary and it is possible to progress without their use. If I feel that a test would be beneficial, I will share relevant information with you and we can discuss the options.
One test that can be very informative is a hair tissue mineral analysis. This is a very reliable test that provides a wealth of information on mineral status, toxic metals (including mercury, arsenic, aluminium, antimony, berylium, cadmium, lea, and uranium), blood sugar balance and metabolic trends, thyroid function, adrenal status and stage of stress, and oxidation rate. The current fee for this is £72.
Some tests will be available free of charge through your GP on the NHS. Examples that I might suggest if relevant to your case include B12, iron panel, thyroid function.
Any testing that you might choose to undertake is charged separately and results will be interpreted during one of our follow-up consultations.
Any other questions?
Please contact me at michael@reclaimyourhealth.co.uk with any other questions and I will get back to you as soon as possible.