Naturopathic Nutrition

Introduction

Naturopathic Nutrition is a holistic approach to healing using natural methods to treat the ‘whole person’ physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually bringing them back into balance.

Naturopathic Nutritionists will seek out and advise on ways to remove or reduce the root cause of disease, rather than simply suppressing the symptoms. We believe passionately in taking a holistic approach that alters the view of healthcare from one focused on the management of symptoms to one aiming to improve the persons overall health and wellbeing; it is one of the fundamental differences between the naturopathic approach and conventional medicine.

A Naturopathic Nutritionist is a teacher and educator who aims to empower their client to take back responsibility for their own health and rely less on the orthodox health care system.

Approach

The philosophy of Naturopathic Nutrition is quite simple, stop putting the bad stuff in, start putting the good stuff in, and open the channels of elimination to release the toxic waste, and cleanse, clean and detoxify the body.

We advise on the importance of hydration, and how to implement the correct diet using high-quality sources of nutrition.

We look at supplementation to see where there are nutritional deficiencies and electrolyte imbalances.

We support the process of regenerative detoxification using naturopathic techniques to help cleanse and rebuild the body at a cellular level, and we offer lifestyle advice around environmental chemicals, pollutants and ways to achieve the reduction of stress.

No treatment plan is the same as another as everyone is unique with different health concerns, histories, genetics etc so clients are given a carefully structured bespoke programme. Every part of the treatment process plays a role in helping us to become healthy and vital.

Naturopaths don’t all work in the same way; we are all individuals who find the best approach for ourselves however we all adhere to the following principles

• To work with the healing power of nature, trusting the body’s inherent powers of recovery when obstacles to cure are removed.
• Identify the cause – address the underlying cause of illness rather than just treating symptoms.
• First do no harm – use the most natural, least toxic and least invasive therapies first.
• Support the whole person – assess not just the physical condition but also consider other factors that influence health and well-being.
• Naturopathic Nutritionist as teacher– educate people in the art of self-care and the steps they need to take to achieve optimal health.
• Prevention – act as a health coach to encourage the promotion of health and prevention of disease.

Hippocrates the father of medicine said ‘’The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’’.

Losing touch with food

We humans have moved so far away from our true nature that we have become the sickest species on the planet; for many of us the food we eat is so highly processed, highly refined, genetically modified, and ‘fast’…that it has lost most of its inherent goodness and nutritional value and really doesn’t warrant being called food. We have lost touch with our intuitive knowing about what to eat, how much to eat, when to eat…we’ve lost touch with the circadian rhythms, the rhythms of nature, of the seasons…the natural laws we should live by in order to achieve good long lasting health.

Modern levels of stress

As a society we are living under ever increasing amounts of stress, this may be internal stress, such as repetitive negative critical thoughts we have about ourselves and others, or external stress caused by the media, relationships, work, unemployment, fear about the environment, war etc. Many of us live day to day with a low-level stress which doesn’t have any clear cause; however, whatever the cause of the stress, it negatively impacts our mental emotional and physical health. The stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol are released into our body on an almost continual basis, depleting our adrenal system resulting in adrenal fatigue and exhaustion with often leads to fatigue, depression and anxiety which are now at epidemic levels across the planet. These concerns can be explored and addressed by balancing hormones using natural methods

Our bodies can heal naturally

At the core of the naturopathic philosophy is the understanding and awareness that our bodies have the innate ability to heal themselves. Each one of us is made up of 70 – 100 trillion cells, each cell is an incredible powerhouse, a mini factory creating the energy we need to function, a community of cells that are all working together to keep us alive and well; however we are often consciously or unconsciously working against them through poor diet and life style choices creating toxicity in the body that leads to stagnation and dis-ease preventing the free flow of energy in the body’s humerus ( blood and lymph); but given the right kind of support and raw ingredients our incredible amazing bodies can and will heal themselves….just think about what happens when we cut ourselves, how the skin miraculously knits back together often leaving no mark!

Changing your life gently

Taking a Naturopathic approach can feel very challenging at times, there’s no getting away from the fact that it can be hard to make the changes needed to recover good health and to overcome addictions to food and unhealthy patterns of behaviour. When we are on this journey it can feel very tempting when we are faced with an avalanche of junk food on every supermarket isle, with fast food outlets around every corner when you’re trying your best to begin eating a healthier diet and living a healthier lifestyle!! This is where it really helps to have the encouragement and support of your Naturopath who can help you to stay focused and offer solutions to overcome some of the difficulties you’re facing.

The process is gentle….it may have taken 20 to 50 years to create some of the health problems we are experiencing and so it is important to introduce changes carefully and at times slowly so as not to place the body under even more stress. Nutritional healing enables us to ‘wake up’ to the truth of who we really are and the lives we are meant to be living as we clean up our bodies…