What is Naturopathic Nutritional Therapy?
Naturopathic Nutritional Therapy (NNT) is a distinct form of healthcare combining up-to-date science and functional testing with traditional therapies such as diet, exercise, lifestyle changes, vitamins and supplements. It is guided by the six principles of Naturopathy:
- First do no harm - use the most natural, least invasive and least toxic therapies.
- Identify and treat the causes - look beyond the symptoms to address the underlying cause of illness.
- The healing power of nature - the body has an inherent ability to heal if obstacles to cure are removed.
- Therapist as teacher - educate and empower clients in the steps needed to achieve and maintain health.
- Support the whole person - Look beyond the physical symptoms and consider all factors that influence well-being.
- Prevention - Focus on the promotion of health, assessing risk factors, heredity and susceptibility to disease.
How can it benefit me?
We are all unique!
The way in which our bodies interact with nutrients is equally unique!
We lead very different lifestyles, follow different diets, cope with stress differently and have different predispositions to illness and/or variations in our genetic code.
Conventional medicine is focussed on alleviating the symptoms of disease, for example, if two patients complain of heartburn they would likely find themselves with the same prescription for antacids and advice to avoid fatty foods and caffeine.
In NNT there is no "one size fits all" approach and no two people will receive the same therapeutic plan. A thorough case history will be taken to find out "what is causing this symptom(s)?"
Are there nutrient deficiencies, food sensitivities, imbalances in the patterns of eating and food combinations? Is the person suffering from imbalanced gut flora, insufficient digestive juices and/or enzymes, subclinical hypothyroidism? What is their diet, sleep pattern and lifestyle like? A personalised diet and lifestyle plan will then be created, based on what is causing the imbalance, and not the symptoms alone.
Functional Testing
In some instances Functional Medicine testing is recommended to identify cellular and genetic causes of imbalance.
There are many different tests available including:
Food sensitivity testing. If a food you eat regularly causes inflammation, this contributes to chronic health disorders.
Gut testing. Gut problems contribute to chronic health issues. Tests can screen for leaky gut, gut function, parasites, bacterial overgrowth, and autoimmune reactions.
Chemical and metal sensitivity testing. As with foods, an immune reaction to chemicals or metals can trigger chronic inflammatory health disorders.
Adrenal testing. Adrenal testing reveals the relationship between your health and stress handling.
Hormone testing. Hormone imbalances profoundly affect health. Testing screens for excesses, deficiencies, feedback loops, and how well you metabolize hormones.
DNA genetic testing. Genetic testing delivers insight into disease risk and genetic metabolic variations that affect health. An example is the MTHFR variance.
