Widney Health

Nutritional Therapy

What is Nutritional Therapy?
Nutritional Therapy is the application of nutrition and health science which enables individuals to maximise their health potential. It uses food as its primary healing tool. Supplements are sometimes required to correct deficiencies and kick-start healing.
Nutritional Therapy works on the body as a whole and can help to alleviate a wide range of conditions using diet and natural remedies to promote good health and an improved sense of wellbeing.

• Increases energy and vitality
• Provides an opportunity to improve your eating habits
• Make noticeable changes to your health and well-being
• Identify strengths and weaknesses of your current diet
• Provides practical and realistic methods of improving your diet and nutritional intake
• Supports patients suffering from chronic illness or disease

How does it work?
Nutrition is the process of nutrients being taken in (usually as food substances) and the body then making use of them. By identifying the different types and amounts of nutrients needed for growth and health, a balanced diet can be used to promote healthy living and reduce the chances of developing diseases. Nutrients are generally divided into five groups: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins, with water as the sixth essential element to a healthy body.
Proteins are essential for repairing tissue and cells and are made up of amino acid combinations. They can be found in meat, eggs and oily fish or as plant protein in cereal, nuts and seeds among others. Carbohydrates are found in foods such as bananas, nuts, grains and potatoes and are used as energy food by the body. Fats are needed for healthy skin and hair, protecting internal organs and preventing heat loss. It is also used for energy and identified by either saturated or unsaturated fat.
Minerals and vitamins are found in food but can be taken as supplements particularly when helping people to recover more quickly from ill health and when playing a role in prevention of disease such as cancers and heart disease. Minerals, such as calcium and iron, help vitamins to work and are needed in small quantities by the body; without them the body cannot function.
As the body is 75% water, it is a vital element needed for the body to exist. Water helps in removing waste products from the body, transporting minerals and oxygen around the body and regulating body temperature. Dehydration from lack of water causes headaches, sickness, dry skin and over a prolonged period death. The body can't function properly without water for more than a couple of days and as it can't be stored, must be replaced on a regular basis.