The purpose of nutritional therapy is to bring about positive health changes through a modified diet. Patients often work with a nutritional therapist after being diagnosed with a chronic condition that can be managed or treated with lifestyle and dietary changes. We also help nutritional therapy patients who have recently learned that diet has a significant impact on psychological challenges like depression or degenerative joint conditions like arthritis.
Dietary changes can have a significant impact on your psychological wellness, inflammation, digestion and many other bodily functions. Nutritional therapy can be used to help with:
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Detoxification
- Immune system improvements
- Regulating weight
- Managing chronic diseases or alleviating their symptoms
- Improving stress or reducing chronic fatigue
What Does Nutritional Therapy Entail?
As with many of the wellness services offered by Optimum Health Rehab, your nutritional therapy starts with an in-depth discussion of your lifestyle, diet and your unique health problems. We’ll pay close attention to symptoms and when they manifest, with an emphasis on attempting to find connections between your diet and when your symptoms occur.
For example, fried foods, refined carbohydrates, sugary drinks and red meat are all known inflammation triggers. If you’re an arthritis sufferer who is seeking non-invasive relief for your inflammation and chronic pain, it’s likely worth your time to discuss dietary changes with a nutritional therapist.
The links between your diet and symptoms aren’t always obvious. An experienced nutritional therapy team can help you accurately track your diet and discover connections. Once we understand exactly how your diet is affecting your health or condition, we can go about finding sustainable dietary solutions.
Nutritional Therapy Works Best When It’s Sustainable
Unsustainable diets often share some of the same characteristics. Eliminating entire food groups or excluding your favorite foods likely won’t work for you. Your nutritional therapists should look for realistic solutions.
Modern food technology has made this a lot easier. For example, many pizza lovers find they still enjoy pizza when it’s on a cauliflower crust. Cauliflower crust is still an indulgence, but it’s not an empty one thanks to its high protein and fiber content. Combined with portion control, substitutions frequently allow nutritional therapy patients to enjoy the same foods with a healthier twist.
Another significant advancement in food science have been plant-based meat substitutes. From a health standpoint, a regular Whopper from Burger King and an Impossible Whopper aren’t hugely different (except in cholesterol), but one is red meat and the other is plant based. If red meat or cholesterol are significant contributor to your health challenges, you now have a delicious alternative. While still an indulgence, a plant-based meat substitute may help you overcome specific dietary challenges.
Nutritional therapists are committed to helping patients understand not only the root cause of their health struggles and how their diets impact their condition, but also find workable dietary modifications.
What Kinds of Solutions Do Nutritional Therapists Offer?
The approach your Optimum Health Rehab team takes will vary depending on your condition. Nutritional deficiencies can sometimes be managed with nutritional counseling and supplements. Weight loss or diabetes management may require experimenting with customized food plans and life coaching.
If you want to learn exactly which foods in your diet are causing your symptoms to manifest, we’ll likely recommend rotation diets. A rotation diet can be used to root out food intolerances and sensitivities or determine which foods are leading to symptoms like inflammation or digestive problems.
Do You Want to Start Feeling Better and Improve Your Health?
The nutritional therapists at Optimum Health Rehab excel at helping Georgia patients develop and adopt healthy eating and lifestyle habits. We truly believe many seemingly chronic health conditions can be effectively managed through dietary, lifestyle and nutritional changes because we’ve seen it work for many of our past patients.
Call us at 877-704-1761 to schedule your appointment today.
Blog, Nutrition & Healthy Eating, Wellness