As a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP), I am trained to utilize a unique approach towards restoring wellness through optimizing the Nutritional Therapy Association (NTA) foundations of health. Your body is wise and speaks to you through various signs and symptoms. This could look like struggling with digestive issues such as constipation, diarrhea, bloating or acid reflux. It could also manifest as struggling with energy issues such as waking up tired, hitting a wall by 3 pm or relying on substances like sugar and caffeine to get through the day. Experiencing a host of challenges pertaining to your menstrual cycle is also common. No matter how big your health complications may feel, progress can always be made from clinically assessing and addressing the foundations.
By supporting these foundations we are aiding your body to build defenses to be resilient, to restore homeostasis and to function properly. If the foundations are out of balance, an array of symptoms may occur. When you focus on fixing one symptom without getting to the root cause, you will feel like you are playing whack-a-mole as other symptoms will most likely appear. For example, if taking ibuprofen is your answer to managing period cramps, over time this congests the liver which can create further hormonal imbalances, gut dysbiosis (imbalance of good bacteria) and even acne. This approach of putting a band-aid on a symptom ends up sending you on a wild goose chase.
When the foundations are given the necessary attention and support, it is amazing how quickly symptoms can clear. In conventional medicine we treat the symptom or the part. For example, you go to the cardiologist for your heart, the dermatologist for your skin, the gastroenterologist for your gut. Although these professionals do amazing work and save lives, a giant piece to the puzzle is often missing which is treating the body as an entire system. When one organ or system is struggling, another will likely compensate for support. EVERYTHING is connected in the body and achieving wellness depends upon these foundations functioning optimally and being in balance.
Let’s take a peek into each foundation to comprehend their importance and some symptoms that a person can experience when a foundation needs support.
A Properly Prepared Nutrient-Dense Diet
Nourishing your body with whole foods is the starting point towards optimizing your wellness. The modern diet has strayed far from the traditional diet and many of our health challenges are related to these drastic changes in our food system. Foods have become highly processed and are hyperpalitable, meaning they hit the "sweet spot" in your mouth and immediately tell your brain to have more, even if you are full. This causes us to become over fed but undernourished. Since the 1600's there has been an increase of refined and processed foods which are now marketed to us as healthy, low-calorie and convenient choices (Nutritional Therapy Association, 2020). These foods have hijacked our brains into wanting more, yet never feeling fully satisfied. Your body depends on obtaining essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins and carbohydrates that come from whole foods. Given the chance, your body is wise and can use these nutrients to support healing.
Together we will identify any food sensitivities and discover how your body feels from being fueled with the foods that are right for you. With so many diet claims out there, it can be hard to know what to eat. As an NTP, I help you tune into your body to find out what way of eating is best for you because nutrition does not take a one-size-fits-all approach.
Digestion
You are not what you eat, rather you are what you absorb! That's right, you can follow the most ideal diet but if you are unable to ingest, break down and properly absorb the nutrients while efficiently eliminating toxins, your body will struggle. Digestion is a north to south process, starting in the brain. Learning how to improve digestive health starts with supporting the primary organs involved in digestion.
Supporting the 3 Phases of Digestion:
In addition to processing food, your gut supports metabolism, synthesizes vitamins and hormones and houses 70-80% of your immune system. Supporting your digestive organs, making sure your gut lining is intact and nurturing a healthy terrain for your gut flora to thrive in is key for your overall health.
Common digestive symptoms such as bloating, acid reflux, burping, diarrhea, constipation, intestinal impermeability (A.K.A. leaky gut), stomach pain, foul- smelling gas and nausea can be associated with poor digestive function. It's okay if these occur from time to time, but when the symptoms become more chronic it's a red flag. Once your body can properly digest your food, it can utilize the nutrients to further support other foundations such as regulating your blood sugar, breaking down fatty acids, absorbing minerals and properly hydrating your cells. This is where and how so much healing takes place!
Blood Sugar Regulation
Blood sugar or "glucose" is a form of fuel that impacts how every tissue in your body uses energy. When supporting your hormones naturally, it's always critical to ensure your blood sugar is regulating optimally. Like a thermostat, your nervous system works hard to keep blood sugar levels within a certain range. Certain lifestyle choices, like eating refined carbohydrates and processed sugars, having imbalanced meals/snacks, under-eating, along with mismanaged stress can cause blood sugar dysregulation.
How can we tackle this?
Together we will figure out what ratio of macronutrients works best for your energy levels. I will teach you how to build balanced meals and snacks, helping you to avoid eating "naked carbs." We will ensure you are eating a protein rich breakfast and that you are prepared with healthy snacks to have on hand for when you get hungry. Lastly, we can evaluate how stress and movement play a role in your life. *Blood sugar regulation is important for anyone with a heartbeat, not just those facing Pre-Diabetes/Diabetes.
Fatty Acid Balance
Fats are an essential building block to producing certain sex hormones in the female body. Therefore, it is essential to obtain the appropriate amount and types of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats from your diet. Fats are conjugated into hormone-like substances called prostaglandins, which either act as pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory responses. The body needs both the ability to properly inflame and to anti-inflame in order to regulate healing. The modern diet typically consists of industrialized vegetable oils that are very unstable, leading to oxidative stress in the body. The body needs to be provided with the correct balance of healthy fats. We also need to support your digestion, proper liver function and enzyme production to properly utilize fats.
In our modern diet, people are typically not getting enough Omega 3 fatty acids in ratio to Omega 6.
Mineral Balance
Minerals must be obtained from our diet as they play many roles in the body, such as:
Without adequate levels of minerals in the body, hormonal health can really suffer. The thyroid, adrenal glands and sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone, are all dependent on calcium as a
cofactor (Nutritional Therapy Association 2020). Having minerals present is also critical for ensuring you are properly absorbing your water on a cellular level. Supporting mineral balance is more complex than just taking a multi-mineral and calling it a day. How your body absorbs and utilizes minerals can also be dependent on other foundations like eating a properly prepared nutrient-dense diet, ensuring your stomach is producing enough acid to break down and absorb minerals and even regulating stress levels to prevent mineral depletion (good-bye magnesium). It is important that we take a very bio-individual approach to determine which additional areas may need support depending on what signs and symptoms you present.
Hydration
Water is the most abundant nutrient in the human body, making up 55-60% of our total body mass (Nutritional Therapy Association 2020). Properly hydrating with clean water is often overlooked and can easily be neglected during a busy day. The lack of water becomes an internal stressor for the body and causes an increase of stress hormones like cortisol. As little as 2% of dehydration can cause unpleasant symptoms.
We will figure out the right amount of water you need based on your body weight, activity level and climate that you live. In order to ensure your body is absorbing the water, we will prioritize electrolytes by making sure your diet is rich in minerals. This can be most helpful during your period especially if you experience cramping. Other signs of dehydration include headaches, back pain, cravings and migraines.
In addition to these six core foundations, we also have to consider your sleep patterns and stress management. How you are moving your body also plays an important role in your overall wellness. Optimizing your foundations is key for creating an environment within your body to promote restoration and healing. You can take all of the supplements or try all of the detoxes and cleanses in the world, but without supporting your foundations, it's like you are trying to build a house on a mound of sand. You need a strong foundation first.
References
Nutritional Therapy Association. (2020). Basics of Nutrition. Retrieved from https://nutritionaltherapy.instructure.com/courses/217/pages/bon-%7C-core- reading?module_item_id=15094
Nutritional Therapy Association. (2020). Mineral Balance. Retrieved from https://nutritionaltherapy.instructure.com/courses/217/pages/mb-%7C-core- videos?module_item_id=15145
Nutritional Therapy Association. (2020). Hydration. Retrieved from https://nutritionaltherapy.instructure.com/courses/217/pages/hyd-%7C-core- videos?module_item_id=15155
Comments