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Frequently Asked Questions
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How many sessions will I need with the nutritional therapist to see an improvement?
How will I know if my condition has improved?
What if I can’t cook or have no time, or travel a lot?
Will I be given supplements?
Are there any other additional potential costs?
Do you cater for cultural or religious dietary requirements?
Will I be criticised for my current diet and lifestyle?
What’s the difference between a nutritional therapist, a nutritionist and a dietician?
How many sessions will I need with the nutritional therapist to see an improvement?
This varies from client to client but usually people will notice improvements quite quickly, that is within 10-12 weeks. The average number of consultations a person needs is three, spread over 12 weeks. Sometimes a client may need only two visits or sometimes they may need more than three sessions. Your ability to make changes also affects the number of visits you need to achieve your goals. Stubborn conditions such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME or Inflammatory Bowel Disease/Crohns Disease are likely to take longer than often straightforward conditions such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and PMS.
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How will I know if my condition has improved?
At your first visit the severity of your main symptoms is recorded. Tracking over subsequent visits allows you to see if there is tangible progress. If you consult your nutritional therapist about hypertension (high blood pressure) your nutritional therapist will monitor this at each visit. If appropriate (e.g. in high cholesterol or in bowel disease) laboratory tests at the outset and after several months can be used to track progress.
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What if I can’t cook or have no time, or travel a lot?
We will tailor a programme that fits in with your lifestyle and abilities, whether that is providing very simple meal ideas that can be made in minutes, providing bought-in and ready-made options (and where to source them), or providing tips and advice for eating out.
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Will I be given supplements?
Supplements are no substitute for a healthy diet but high quality vitamins and minerals may help alleviate your health problem while you work on improving your diet. Using supplements can sometimes work faster than diet/lifestyle measures alone.
Some people with digestive issues, the elderly and women going through the menopause, have impaired ability to absorb minerals such as zinc and chromium and so may need extra levels over and above those needed by others. Your nutritional therapist will always discuss cost with you before suggesting a supplement and will tailor your programme to suit your budget and personal preferences.
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Are there any other additional potential costs?
If appropriate your nutritional therapist may suggest some independent laboratory tests or tests which can be organised through a GP. A test can pinpoint the exact problem quickly, allowing targetted, specific action on your health problem.
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Do you cater for cultural or religious dietary requirements?
Yes, we can tailor specific programmes for, e.g. kosher, vegan, Muslim, indian subcontinent. Meal and menu ideas can also cover e.g. Middle Eastern, Asian etc. dietary preferences and traditions.
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Will I be criticised for my current diet and lifestyle?
Our aim is to provide a non-judgemental and supportive environment for our clients. During a consultation we explain how some of your current choices may be affecting your specific health issue. Our aim is to work from where you are now and to put an easy, staged, plan in place and help you to achieve it. When we ask clients to be as truthful as possible filling out the 3-day food diary it is because this is a valuable tool for assessing your intake of nutrients and anti-nutrients. Nobody has a perfect diet 100% of the time (even nutritional therapists!) but the aim is to improve very specific aspects of your diet affecting your individual health concern.
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What’s the difference between a nutritional therapist, a nutritionist and a dietician?
A dietician works within a state sector typically in a hospital and is qualified to give advice on diets for people with specific medical requirements. Diets provided by a dietician are usually intended to manage medical conditions.
Nutritionists are qualified to provide general information about food and healthy eating, but not about special therapeutic diets. They often work in an advisory capacity to the food industry or hospitals. Nutritionists are not trained in clinical practice.
A Nutritional therapist is qualified to provide tailored dietary and lifestyle advice for those who want to find safe, natural solutions to a specific health concern. They undertake clinical training as part of their qualification. Properly qualified nutritional therapists are subject to the code of ethics and regulations of the British Association of Nutritional Therapists (see "useful links") until such time as the Irish association is up and running. Nutritional therapists work in private practice.
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