What do Nutritional Therapists help with and how to find one?

You might be someone who gets bloated after every meal. Or someone who feels exhausted by mid-morning despite a full night’s sleep. Maybe your skin flares up regularly, or you’re dealing with unpredictable mood or energy changes.

These are just a few of the reasons people turn to nutritional therapists.

Common concerns supported by nutritional therapists include:

Digestive issues (IBS, bloating, reflux, gall bladder issues, gout etc.)
Fatigue or low energy
Pre diabetes and heart health especially cholesterol
Osteoporosis and issues with bone density
Skin conditions
Female hormonal health (PMS, perimenopause, PCOS)
Stress and mental wellbeing
Autoimmune conditions such as arthritis
Healthy ageing and preventive healthcare
Optimising athletic performance

You don’t need to be diagnosed with a condition to work with a nutritional therapist. Many clients seek support for prevention, performance, or simply to understand their bodies better.

Why People Seek Nutritional Therapy

Many people turn to nutritional therapists after trying multiple solutions—diets, supplements, or private testing—without clarity or consistent results. Others feel dismissed by standard medical care or overwhelmed by conflicting online advice.

Nutritional therapy offers a structured, evidence-informed approach to identifying patterns and making progress that lasts.

It’s ideal for anyone who:

Has symptoms that don’t have a clear medical diagnosis
Feels like they’ve tried everything but still don’t feel well
Wants to optimise health before issues become problems
Prefers natural, lifestyle-based strategies alongside medical care

How to Find a Qualified Nutritional Therapist

To ensure you’re working with a properly trained practitioner:

Look for CNHC registration – this confirms they are qualified and regulated
Check for BANT membership – this indicates high standards of ethics, education, and science-led practice
Use BANT’s Find a Practitioner tool
Visit the CNHC public register to verify credentials

Discover the Value of Working with a BANT-Registered Nutritional Therapist

Nutritional therapists play a vital role in bridging the gap between general wellness advice and personalised healthcare. They take time to understand how your diet, genetics, environment, and lifestyle interact and use that insight to guide tailored, evidence-based recommendations that help you feel better, for longer.

Generic nutrition tips and one-size-fits-all plans can fall short. Working with a Registered Nutritional Therapist puts your individual needs at the centre. For many clients, it’s the first time their symptoms, history, and goals have been fully explored and connected into a clear plan.

This approach supports symptom improvement while also helping you reconnect with your body, increase daily energy, and take charge of your long-term wellbeing.

If you’re ready to stop guessing and start understanding what your body really needs, a Registered Nutritional Therapist could make all the difference. Please feel free to get in touch or book a call via my website.

What qualification dose a Nutritional Therapist have? Are they different from a "nutrionist"?

In the UK anyone can call themselves a “nutritionist”. The title is not legally protected so regardless of training anyone can call themselves a “nutritionist”.

However, Registered Nutritional Therapists including me are:

Fully trained in nutrition science and functional medicine
Required to register with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC), a PSA-accredited regulatory body
Members of professional organisations like BANT (British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine)
Required to follow a strict code of ethics and maintain Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

This level of regulation ensures clients are receiving safe, evidence-based advice from a qualified professional.It’s important to remember that only those registered with CNHC are recognised to deliver one-to-one clinical care.

In my case I trained with the Institute of Optimum Nutrition (ION) in London and gained a diploma (DipION, Distinction). I also did some preliminary training at the University of Westminster.

What does a 'Nutritional therapist' do?

What Does a Nutritional Therapist Do?

Have you been dealing with ongoing symptoms and feel like no one’s joining the dots? Maybe you’ve tried diets, supplements, or read endless articles online, yet nothing seems to stick. If this sounds familiar, you might be wondering if a nutritional therapist what could help.

With growing public interest in functional medicine and personalised, preventative care, nutritional therapy is gaining interest. There’s still confusion about the role, who is qualified, and how it differs from general nutrition advice. This blog explains it all.

Nutritional Therapists Offer Personalised, Evidence-Based Health Support

A nutritional therapist applies the science of nutrition and lifestyle medicine to support individuals with a wide range of health concerns. This can include digestive problems, fatigue, hormonal imbalances, immune issues, and more.

They work in a one-to-one setting, assessing each client’s health history, symptoms, diet, lifestyle, and environment to identify potential imbalances. Then they create a tailored plan that supports the body’s ability to heal and function at its best.

Nutritional therapy is:

Personalised – considering your unique biology, history, and lifestyle
Science-informed – based on the latest research in nutrition, epigenetics, and systems biology
Holistic – looking at the whole person, not isolated symptoms

The aim is not to diagnose or replace medical care, but to complement it with targeted nutritional and lifestyle recommendations.

What a Nutritional Therapy Consultation Looks Like

A consultation with a Registered Nutritional Therapist typically involves:

Detailed case history – exploring symptoms, medical history, family history, diet, lifestyle, and environment
Analysis of diet and nutrition status – sometimes supported by laboratory testing
Individualised plan – including food, supplementation, lifestyle changes, and referrals if needed
Follow-up support – adjusting the plan over time based on response and progress

This process helps the therapist and client build a picture of how different factors may be contributing to the client’s health status and how to support improvement in a structured, measurable way.

What to do if you have been told your blood 'fat' ratios are too high.

This blog is version 2 if you like following on from my ‘Know your numbers’ blog. If your numbers reveal that blood fats are too high what can you do?

There is a lot you can do with diet, lifestyle and exercise as well as supplements. I highly recommend working with a health practitioner but I have summarised some of the key initial steps below:

Keep the sugar and processed carbs low,
A low GL Mediterranean diet is ideal
Stop smoking.
Make sure you are eating enough soluble fibre – this helps to bind to cholesterol so it can be excreted from the body.
Eat healthy fats – avocado oil, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts and seeds, wild oily fish
Make sure you’re topped up on antioxidants – think eat the rainbow but also supplementing with vitamin C and fat soluble vitamins is key.
Raw garlic and onion are helpful for lowering cholesterol.
Avoid processed foods they often contain high levels of sugar and trans-fats as they are generally made with cheaper seed and vegetable oils. These oils are delicate (poly unsaturated fatty acids) and can oxidise to trans fats during the manufacturing process or when being re-heated at home.
Avoid trans-fats – this includes ready meals, prepared sauces and salad dressings which often contain them – see point above. Crisps and fried food contain trans-fats. Even home prepped food can create trans fats if we cook with the wrong type of fat such as vegetable oil or seed oils or heat food excessively. If you would like a copy of my handout on which fats to cook with please drop me a line.

As well as the markers in the ‘Know your numbers’ blog https://helenmaxwellnutrition.co.uk/key-health-metrics/ there are a couple of other measurements to keep track of. Your omega 3 fat ratio in your cell membranes is an important marker to keep an eye on which should be between 8 - 12%. In most Europeans this marker is 4% or lower. I have written about this in a separate blog here: https://helenmaxwellnutrition.co.uk/testing-for-omega-3-ratio-in-cell-membranes/.

Your Hba1c marker which measure diabetic risk is also a good marker to monitor. It provides an average of your blood sugar levels over the previous 90 days. Remember if we aren’t burning off the sugar we eat and if our glycogen stores in our skeletal and heart muscle are full then the excess will be turned to fat.

There are numerous key supplements from essential fatty acids, Co Q10 and enzymes such as nattokinase, which can help improve levels of lipids (fats) in the blood. However you need qualified advice to identify the ones most suitable for you and also the correct dose.

Hope this helps to guide you and feel free to contact me if you have questions or are concerned about your own numbers.

Know your numbers

This blog was inspired by an article written by a lady who had a heart attack at the super young age of 42. She did have high cholesterol and some significant family history but it really highlighted to me that ‘knowing your numbers’ is a good thing. I am generally a cautious tester for various reasons. It can make clients anxious and there is often a lot of work you can do just based on a client’s diet and lifestyle questionnaire. However knowing certain key health numbers can also save a life, help with motivation and direct a client’s protocol for maximum support.

HDL cholesterol

Here are the top line numbers we should be aware of and why.

Known as the good cholesterol, low levels of HDL are linked to an increased risk of heart disease. Cholesterol has a metabolic cycle in the body and if this is functioning well your LDL (known as ‘bad’ cholesterol) will be converted to HDL (known as ‘good’ cholesterol) and returned to the liver with any excess being excreted. It’s the overall pattern and clinical picture that matters so if you are unsure what your numbers mean it’s best to talk to your GP or health professional.

OPTIMAL LEVELS ARE:

Total cholesterol - below 5 mmol/L
HDL cholesterol – 1 mmol/L or above

Triglycerides

High triglyceride levels can indicate elevated levels of fat (lipids) in the blood. This figure is measured with a blood test. Remember that fat in the body is not just from fat in the diet. Any sugar that we eat in the diet that the body can’t immediately utilise for energy will be converted to fat. Sugar in the diet is not just from fruit or added sugars such as honey, syrup, sugar etc. We also convert starch from grains and vegetables to sugar during the digestive process and subsequently to fat if your cells and sugar stores (glycogen) are already full. The more processed and refined the food, the quicker this conversion happens.

OPTIMAL LEVELS ARE: below 1.7mmol/L

Blood pressure

High blood pressure stresses your heart and blood vessels, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Healthy blood pressure is a marker of overall metabolic health. We need to manage stress, exercise regularly and maintain a healthy body fat percentage to regulate our blood pressure.

OPTIMAL PRESSURE IS: 120 /80 mm/Hg systolic/diastolic.

Waist to hip (WHR) ratio

Divide your waist circumference by your hip circumference to obtain your WHR.

WHR measures the ratio of your waist to your hip circumference. It determines how much fat is stored around the waist, hips, and buttocks. It is an easy, inexpensive, and generally accurate way to assess the body’s proportion of fat. This is important as not all excess weight carries the same health risks. It can help predict your risk of heart disease and diabetes when reviewed alongside other health markers.

OPTIMAL ratio is:

Men should be more than 1.0
Women should be more than 0.8

Waist circumference

This is another marker for assessing abdominal obesity which is associated with increased health risks and metabolic conditions such as diabetes and heart problems.

OPTIMAL ratio is:

Men should be less than 102 cm.
Women should be less than 90 cm.

I hope you have found this guide to your top-level health markers useful. Remember no test is perfect and no test can fully convey the complexity of your health. To understand your full health picture there are many factors to take into account including information about your diet and lifestyle.

My next blog will summarise how to improve the body’s blood fat picture.

You can read the full article that prompted this blog here: https://www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/health/conditions/a64363807/young-heart-attack/

Vitamin D – test don't guess.

Picture source https://www.anhinternational.org/campaigns/test-take-vitamin-d/

Forms of vitamin D

There are two major forms of vitamin D from two different sources.

Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is our main source (80-90%) and it is produced in the skin following sunlight exposure but it is also found in foods of animal origin. Technically this makes vitamin D a pro hormone.
Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) is found in foods of vegetable origin and supplements

A whole host of factors affect how much vitamin D our bodies can make including:

how much skin we expose to the sun
the height and angle of the sun in the sky
the time of year
the duration of exposure
the health (and age) of our liver and kidneys
how well we digest and absorb our food especially fats
excess weight seems to reduce our vitamin D levels
levels of inflammation in the body

Sources of Vitamin D in the diet

In the UK our main dietary sources of vitamin D are food of animal origin, foods fortified with vitamin D and supplementation. Naturally rich food sources include egg yolk and oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines.

Food sources	International Units (IU)
Salmon 140g	408
Mackerel 140g	476
Sardines canned 140g	184
Mushrooms 80g (enriched)	128
1 egg	64
Tuna 140g	60
Beef mince 100g	24
Lamb 90g	20
Butter 10g	4

Vitamin D content is taken from British Nutrition Foundation ‘Vital vitamin D’ resource sourced from McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods: Seventh Summary

Role in the body

Vitamin D plays an important role in musculoskeletal health and neuromuscular function because of its’ role in regulating calcium and phosphorus balance in the body. It also helps regulate magnesium absorption. Vitamin D is therefore vital for bone mineralisation, growth and health. It has other roles especially in immune regulation, insulin sensitivity and heart health.

Vitamin D ideal blood levels

Dr Damien Downing, president of the British Society for Ecological Medicine and vitamin D expert, recommends a vitamin D blood level of at least 75 nmol/L for immune support and levels over 100 nmol/L to lower your risk of cancer and autoimmune disease.

How much to supplement

A general guideline for adults over the age of 18 is around 25 mcg (1000IU) but it very much depends on your baseline blood level. It’s always best to do a test as they are quick, easy and economical blood spot kits. A recent study has shown that 20mcg of vitamin D per day was effective at bringing middle-aged and older adults to vitamin D sufficiency over a 4-week period. It’s also best to retest and discontinue once blood levels of 100 nmol/L are achieved. Fat soluble vitamins can be stored in the body and over 125 nmol/L is considered to increase the risk of adverse events.

Magnesium and K2 may also be required to optimise conversion to the active form and hence optimise absorption.

References

Aislinn F. McCourt, A.F. et al (2023) Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D response to vitamin D supplementation using different lipid delivery systems in middle-aged and older adults: a randomised controlled trial. British Journal of Nutrition 130 pp.1548–1557. doi:10.1017/S0007114523000636

Bikle, D.D. (2009) Vitamin D and immune function: understanding common pathways; Curr Osteoporos Rep; Jul; 7(2); pp.58-63. doi: 10.1007/s11914-009-0011-6.

SACN (2016) Vitamin D and Health; The Scientific Advisory Committee on nutrition; Available from https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/scientific-advisory-committee-on-nutrition. (SACN)

The 56 names of sugar

Trying to cut out sugar?

This blog is just for your info if you are trying to cut out sugar. Sugar has so many names. This graphic contains 56 names which are basically all sugar. There are probably more by now but this picture might be useful for you to help remember.

Silent reflux - what is this?

Over 112 million people in Europe, about 20% of the population, are estimated to suffer with acid reflux. Acid reflux occurs when acid from the stomach flows back up into the tube running from the throat to the stomach (the oesophagus). This causes a burning sensation known as acid reflux or heart burn.

Silent reflux occurs during the night and is so named as people often don’t know it is happening. One of the most common symptoms is an unexplained need to cough frequently or clear your throat a lot. This is due to the erosion of the protective mucus which lines the oesophagus or irritation and damage to the cell membrane itself.

Both acid reflux and silent reflux are often treated with medication to reduce the level of acid in the stomach. Too much stomach acid is rarely the issue however, it’s more about stomach acid escaping from the stomach, where it belongs. In fact, both conditions often arise initially due to low levels of stomach acid and digestive enzymes, which frequently decline with age. As digestive function declines the bacteria in the gut (microbiome) can become imbalanced leading to dysbiosis, bloating and gas, or conditions such as small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). These issues increase the risk of bacterial fermentation, instead of digestion of food. Fermentation causes gas which can lead to a buildup of pressure in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. If this causes the sphincter at the top of the stomach to open and the acid will reflux, causing burning.

My approach

I am always looking for the root cause of health problems and acid reflux is no exception. There are many steps which can be taken to improve digestion and acid reflux symptoms.

Acid suppression medication from your GP can help with immediate symptom relief and may be needed initially to protect the lining of the oesophagus. It is best not to rely on this long-term however, so we would look to investigate root causes. Is it poor digestive function, bacterial overgrowth or imbalance or are there any structural issues such as weak diaphragm muscles, weak sphincters, hernias, ulcers? Parasites or fungal and yeast infections also need to be ruled out.

Sometimes simple diet and lifestyle changes are all that is required. We will often work to take the pressure off your digestive system whilst starting to improve digestive capacity. There are also some key practical steps that can help such as losing weight, avoiding eating just before bed or avoiding key food triggers such as alcohol, caffeine, spices and chocolate.

Acid reflux symptoms

Common	Less common
Heartburn	Voice changes
Chest pain	Hoarseness
Dry cough	Sore throat
Nausea	Difficulty breathing – asthma symptoms
Thick and bubbly saliva	Teeth damage
Pain in the upper part of the abdomen	Damage to mucous membranes in the mouth

Get in touch

If you would like to get to the bottom of your acid reflux, please get in touch for a free initial chat on 07740 876233. I would love to help you.

References

Holzer, P. (2007) Acid sensing in the gastrointestinal tract; American Journal of Physiology Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology 292(3): G699-G705 doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00517.2006

Eom, C-S. et al. (2011) Use of acid-suppressive drugs and risk of pneumonia: a systematic review and meta-anlaysis. Canadian Medical Association Journal; 183(3) pp.310-319. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.092129

What fats can I cook with?

This blog is a reminder of which fats to use for cooking and which ones are best used cold in salad dressings. It also covers which ones to avoid.

Fatty acids are classified according to the presence and number of double bonds in their carbon chain. Saturated fatty acids (SAFA) contain no double bonds, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) contain one, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) contain more than one double bond.

This table above shows the fatty acid composition of various culinary oils.

You can see from the table above that oils tend to be classified according to their largest constituent. We need to cook with oils which are stable when heated and therefore have a high smoke point. The more double bonds a fatty acid has, the more unsaturated and unstable it will be, especially when heated.

The most stable fats are solid at room temperature, so lard etc. Olive oil (virgin/extra virgin) is pressed straight from the seed or fruit without further refining. There is research to show that the phenols in unrefined olive oil protect it from degradation during cooking (Ramirez-Anaya, 2015).

Oils such as rapeseed, sunflower and vegetable are obtained by washing and crushing the seeds, and then using processes such as heating, hexane, solvents, extraction, processing, bleaching, deodorization and peroxide to maximise production volume. As these oils are highly unsaturated (many double bonds) the risk of oxidation from processing is high, either during processing or if used to cook with. Most of these oils are also much higher in omega-6 than omega-3. As our diets tend to be more deficient in omega-3, I focus on hemp and flax (small amount) which have a 4:1 and a 0.3:1 ratio respectively (o-6:o-3) to try to redress this. I also advocate cold pressed and organic versions to preserve quality and nutrient content.

The following table is a guide Whether you wish to cook with animal fats will depend on various criteria including your health and dietary preferences as well as your ability to digest and absorb fat.

Which fat to cook with and which to use for dressings and drizzles

REFS: Del Pilar Ramírez-Anaya, J. et al (2015) Phenols and the antioxidant capacity of Mediterranean vegetables prepared with extra virgin olive oil using different domestic cooking techniques. Food Chemistry Vol 188; pp. 430-438.

Essential fatty acids explained

Image source: https://www.eufic.org/en/whats-in-food/article/the-importance-of-omega-3-and-omega-6-fatty-acids

What they are and how to make sure you eat enough.

There are two fats that humans have to eat as the body cannot make them and they are required for specific functions. They are called omega-3 (ω-3) and omega-6 (ω-6) and known as essential fatty acids (EFA’s) for this reason. They are both polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA’s) which means that they have more than one double bond between their carbon back bone. They get their name from the carbon number where their first double bond appears (see pic).

In the diet omega-3 is found in flax, hemp, pumpkin and chia seeds as well as walnuts. The end products of omega-3 (ALA) that the body requires are called EPA and DHA. Fish already contains both which is why it is such a good source, as the body doesn’t need to convert it. The conversion from other sources is very small and many people struggle with it, hence the oily fish recommendation.

Omega-6 is found in vegetable oils from seeds of corn, sunflower, safflower, cotton and soybeans. It is also found in evening primrose oil, borage, starflower and blackcurrant oils. It is converted to a downstream product known as arachidonic acid (AA). This end product (AA) is freely available in meat, egg and dairy products.

Our intake of omega-6 tends to exceed omega-3 considerably due to the nature of most people’s diets and the relatively recent availability of vegetable and sunflower cooking oils. My parents are over 80 but my mum can still remember how she queued up in the grocers to buy a slab of butter, wrapped in greaseproof paper. Most processed foods and ready-made dressings, sauces and jars also contain omega-6.

Research scientist Simopoulos (2002) believes we historically consumed equal amounts of omega-3 and omega-6, a 1:1 ratio. We now consume 15-16.7 times as much omega-6.

Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are however both important components of cell membranes. During the conversion process they produce downstream products (eicosanoids) which regulate our inflammatory responses. Omega-3 eicosanoids are known to have anti-inflammatory effects. The eicosanoids from omega-3 tend to be more anti-inflammatory and anti-coagulatory than omega-6, which produces both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory versions.

Omega-3 and omega-6 both utilise the same conversion enzyme (delta-6-desaturase) so theories have arisen that one process will deprive the other. A high omega-6 intake is thought to reduce the availability of this enzyme and so diminish our omega-3 conversion. This theory and the concept of an “ideal” ratio in the diet is contested but it is generally thought that a ratio of 4:1 (ω-6: ω-3) is optimum.

The European Food Safety Authority concluded that 250 mg a day of EPA and DHA was adequate. They also found that European intake was too low at between 20-40 mg per day for EPA and less than 100-130 mg per day for DHA.

It’s kind of difficult to think about ratio’s when you are out shopping or planning your menus, so this is the way I tend to advise clients. Providing your digestion is good then generally you can obtain enough EPA and DHA by consuming oily fish 2-3 times per week. Otherwise supplementation is likely the best option.

References

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12442909

https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1461

https://www.eufic.org/en/whats-in-food/article/the-importance-of-omega-3-and-omega-6-fatty-acids

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/recommended-dietary-reference-intakes-nutritional-goals-and-dietary-guidelines-for-fat-and-fatty-acids-a-systematic-review/5C2EDA7CD9C4EAB094F8499B2E122E75