Would you like to reach your health potential?
We offer personal consultations with the aim of identifying your biological and nutritional imbalances; and teach you how these may be contributing to your symptoms of ill-health. A detailed case history will be taken and, where appropriate, laboratory tests will be recommended.
A personalised, and achievable, nutrition programme will then be prescribed to meet your individual needs. This may include dietary supplements.
Nutritional Therapy – what is it?
Many of us lack the basic raw materials (from food and drink) to function at our best. Intensive farming, pollution, stress, stimulants and an over-reliance on processed foods are just some of the reasons for us being deficient in vital nutrients.
As a result, we may start to get energy slumps, headaches, poor digestion, cravings for sweets or stimulants, or just feel generally sluggish. If this is you, learning how to eat well can be a vitally important addition to whatever medical treatment you are undergoing. And it’s also worth considering that some award-winning scientists believe that long-term, sub-optimal nutrition is a key factor in today’s ‘epidemic’ levels of chronic disease. These are conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, auto-immune conditions and mental health problems. The following links give a flavour of the discussions in the scientific journals Paper 1, Paper 2.
But Nutritional Therapy is not only about understanding the basics of healthy eating. Foods that are good for one person may not be good for another and many of us feel that we are not in optimum health, even though we are eating a supposedly ‘healthy’ diet. If a medical condition is suspected, you should see your GP. But sometimes, symptoms may be exacerbated by exposure to toxins (from bacteria, parasites, allergies or chemicals), or because of factors like impaired digestion or absorption, a hormonal and/or brain chemical imbalance or an overburdened immune system.
We work closely with you, on a one-to-one basis, to identify any such potential imbalances that may be contributing to your specific health problems and preventing you from reaching optimal health and peak performance.
What to expect from a consultation
Lorraine Nicolle uses a Nutritional Health Framework that recognizes that an individual’s state of health is the result of the interaction between his/her genetic inheritance and the factors (such as diet) in his/her environment.
Before your first appointment you will be required to complete a questionnaire and you may be asked to seek medical advice to investigate any potential underlying disease.
At the initial consultation (allow an hour), a detailed picture of your life story will be taken. This will include your health history, your family history, current and previous medications, psychological and emotional factors, exercise, stress levels, dietary habits and any symptoms of ill-health. These are just some of the many factors that will be discussed in-depth.
In certain circumstances, laboratory tests may be recommended. These enable a more targeted and individualised nutrition programme to be devised and they can also help to monitor your progress as you work through the programme.
You will then be given personalised:
- Explanations of dietary and lifestyle factors that may be contributing to your symptoms
- Recommendations of appropriate dietary and lifestyle changes.
These will be backed up with guidelines on foods that you should add to your diet and any that you should avoid. Where appropriate, menu plans will also be provided.
Any dietary supplements recommended will be tailored to your specific needs and if you are on medication, a check will be made for any potential drug-nutrient interactions. (Please note that dietary supplements are not a substitute for healthy eating or for medical drugs). Sometimes supplements are not prescribed until the second consultation (usually 45 minutes), after the results of any laboratory tests have been analysed.
Some people may only need two consultations, while others, who may have more deep-seated issues, may feel the need to come back more often, in order to meet their nutritional health goals.
Occasionally, individuals experience reactions like headaches, skin eruptions or bad breath during the initial stages of nutritional intervention. These are quite normal and this period is usually followed by a sense of well-being and increased energy.
Is Nutritional Therapy for me?
- Do you want to find out if you are getting all the nutrients you need?
- Are you looking to optimize your energy levels?
- Do you suffer from symptoms of ill-health?
- Are you keen to have a healthy old age?
If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, it may be worth considering nutritional therapy.
Like all nutritional therapists, Lorraine Nicolle recognises that each person is an individual with unique requirements; and she takes time to define a personalised nutrition plan to meet your particular needs, rather than simply rely on a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
How does it work?
Nutritional therapy is the application of nutrition science in the promotion of health and peak performance. It aims to identify potential nutritional and biochemical imbalances and to help you understand how they may be affecting your current state of health.
The types of body processes that are analysed for potential imbalances include:
- The digestion and absorption of food and nutrients
- The processing of toxins by the liver
- The control of blood sugar levels
- The regulation of hormones, such as sex hormones, adrenals and thyroid
- Immune and inflammatory processes
- The metabolism of nutrients to produce energy
- The creation and accumulation of oxidative stress
- The regulation of brain chemicals.
All these factors are taken into account when the developing your personal nutrition programme.
The nutrition programme is created only after listening to your needs, to ensure that you are given goals that are truly realistic and achievable, taking into account the particular pressures and demands of your life.
Laboratory testing
In certain circumstances you may be recommended to undergo one or more laboratory investigations. These enable a more targeted and individualised nutrition programme to be devised and they can also help to monitor your progress as you work through the programme.
Typically, a test will involve a sample of your breath, blood, saliva, urine and/or stool. Many samples can be taken at home. Occasionally, you may be asked to attend the laboratory to provide your samples. A range of UK and international medical laboratories are used.
There are many different types of test that may be considered, such as:
- Digestive and gut function analyses
- Allergy and food intolerance tests
- Assessments of nutrition status
- Stress response tests
- Status and metabolism of sex hormones
- Cardiovascular risk factors
- Inflammatory drivers
- Toxic load, including mycotoxins, and detoxification capacity
- Diabetes risk factors
Lorraine Nicolle will interpret your test results and provide clear, realistic nutrition recommendations.
She is also licensed to undertake and interpret nutrigenomic tests to evaluate variations in genes that can modulate markers involved in many areas of health and disease.
What are the underpinning belief systems of Lorraine Nicolle Nutrition?
When considering whether or not to see a complementary health practitioner for the first time, it can be helpful to know about the belief systems upon which the therapist is basing his/her practice. Lorraine Nicolle uses a scientific, evidence-based approach to nutritional therapy. She bases her practice on the following principles.
- That each client is biochemically different from the next, and thus has individual needs
- That the nutrition intervention should be geared towards helping the person, rather than simply targeting a disease
- That the ability of the body to respond to a changing environment and to buffer new and changing ‘stressors’ is crucial to health
- That the body functions as a network of interconnected systems, rather than as individual organs functioning autonomously
- That health is a positive vitality, not merely the absence of disease
- The promoting organ reserve now, is necessary for healthier years in later life.
These principles were devised by the Institute of Functional Medicine.