Nutrition
Nutritional therapy has always been about changing your diet to resolve health problems and to say fit and well. In the last three decades however the concept of ‘functional medicine’ has been applied with bio-chemical testing used to help identify the causes of disease, and the use of dietary supplements as a form of treatment. Both testing methods and supplements have improved greatly in recent years, and a huge amount of thorough, good quality research has proven the benefits of both. The result is that many health problems can be treated much more safely and effectively with nutrition rather than with pharmaceutical drugs.
Many laboratories offer testing, but the most frequently used are www.tdlpathology.com and www.genovadiagnostics.com
At the Glencairne clinic Live Blood Analysis (Hemaview) is offered during most consultations to examine the patient’s blood using a dark field microscope.
Hemaview helps to identify risk factors that may be affecting your blood:
- Low protein diet
- Liver dysfunction
- Poor nutrition (e.g. lack of B12, Iron, Antioxidants)
- Blood sugar imbalances
- Smoking/ Alcohol
- Stress
- Inflammation
- Anaemia
- Immune function
Many patients who seek nutritional therapy have tried mainstream medicine, often for many years, but with little improvement in their condition. At Glencairne it is often possible to find the root cause of a problem by means of testing, a long questionnaire and a 90 minute initial consultation. The nutritional treatment can then be focussed on treating the root cause, instead of using drugs to treat the symptoms.
Commonly treated problems are:
- IBS, IBD, Crohn’s (stool testing available)
- Skin problems (psoriasis, eczema, dry / itchy skin)
- Low energy (CFS, ME)
- Menstrual problems
- Ongoing infections – e.g. sinusitis, Athlete’s foot
Many patient have consultations regularly in order to stay well, not just because they are unwell.
