What Is Nutritional Therapy?
The body is a beautiful and incredible thing, with all parts working together to create balance and homeostasis. Or at least your body should be working to create balance and homeostasis. Nutritional Therapy is a great way to support the body and all of its functions. A Nutritional Therapy Practitioner will help you focus on the foundations of health that can support your body through bio-individuality.
Wikipedia defines homeostasis as “the condition of optimal functioning for the organism and includes many variables...” So what exactly does that mean for the human body? All of the systems working well, with, and for each other. One could compare it to their favorite recipe. Not only is it important to have all of the appropriate ingredients, but it is equally as important to have the correct amount of each particular ingredient. What are the appropriate ingredients that leads to an optimally functioning body? A body needs a nutrient-dense diet, good digestion, balanced blood sugar, appropriate fatty acids, mineral balance and good hydration. Many issues in the body can be traced back to dysfunction in one (or multiples) of the five foundations of the body. This also means that our actions can have consequences on these each of these foundations as well. Let’s dive a little deeper into what each one of these offers the body.
Nutrient-Dense Diet
There’s a lot of confusion around what a “healthy” diet is. I’m sure you’ve heard that cutting calories is the way to go, or that almond milk is superior to real dairy, that vegetables are the healthiest foods, Keto is the new fad, carbs aren’t good.... we could go on forever. So how do you know what’s actually best? It’s impossible to put a label on the “perfect diet” because every person will have very different needs, and it might be worth working with a trained nutritional therapist to figure out your bio-individual needs — but there are some key things you can be aware of when picking your food, no matter what stage of life you’re in. A nutrient-dense diet is important for full body health because it provides the body with the essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients needed to support optimal physical and mental function. While it is important to look at macronutrients - protein, carbs, and fat - it’s equally as important to look at the micronutrients found in your food as well. Micronutrients are the vitamins and minerals that the body needs to function optimally (we’ll discuss the importance of these later). But how do we find these essential nutrients? A good rule of thumb when sourcing your food is asking, “Where is this food coming from?” And noting that the closer you can get to its biological design, the chances are that it is much higher in nutrients (NC Pedia 2009). Aim for foods like grass-fed beef, organic fruits and vegetables, and minimally processed foods, just like nature intended.
Some Key Tips
Try to find locally sourced food - the closer the better
Eat seasonally - foods that are in season are often higher in nutrients because they are grown within their biological timeline
Avoid highly processed foods and aim for whole, unprocessed foods
Good Digestion
Nutrition is arguably one of the, if not the, most important foundations of health, but good nutrition is void if the body can’t digest it properly. Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “Health begins in the gut.” While of course there are many factors to health, and many things impact the overall balance and homeostasis (yep, there’s that word again), it’s true that a lot of dysfunction (or function) does begin in the gut — or with digestion. And digestions is so much more than just a couple of organs and your stomach. In fact, digestion starts in the brain, and it works it’s way down from there. This is one of the reasons it is so important to be in a parasympathetic (or relaxed) state when you’re eating. Parasympathetic nerves are the nerves that calm our bodies down after experiencing danger or too much stress, and they’re responsible for running various systems in our bodies, including our digestive system. Think of a scary situation you’ve been in. Typically in these moments you won’t find yourself daydreaming of lunch time. If your body is stressed out, it won’t be in a parasympathetic state, therefore digestion will not be able to function properly. It is also important to note that digestion is strongly impacted by hydration and minerals.
Balanced Blood Sugar (BSR)
Glucose is the primary source of energy for our cells, and maintaining an appropriate level of glucose in the body is critical for for proper bodily function. Blood sugar is controlled by the central nervous system and peripheral organs; the pancreas, adrenal glands, adipose tissue, the liver, and skeletal muscle. The pancreas uses its endocrine function to release hormones that help regulate blood sugar. Insulin is the hormone that is released when energy needs to be taken to the cells for energy, and glucagon is the hormone that is released when the body needs stored glucose to brought into the bloodstream (you haven’t eaten in a long time, and your blood sugar has dropped too low). The adrenal glands should play a minor role in BSR, but when we experience dysfunction in BSR, the adrenals take on a bigger role. The adipose tissue stores triglycerides (fatty acids). When we take in too much glucose, our body converts the excess glucose to triglycerides and it gets stored in the adipose tissue. The liver is responsible for creating glucose out of proteins and fat (glucoseneogenesis), and breaking down stored glycogen (glycogenolysis) (NTA 2021). The skeletal muscles stores glycogen can be helpful when the body is in need of gluconeogenesis.
Appropriate Fatty Acids
Many people hear the word, “fat,” and immediately associate with something bad. But did you know that fatty acids are extremely important in the body? Fatty acids make up around 15% of the human body and are absolutely essential for providing the body with energy, protecting organs, slowing food absorption, making food taste good (my personal favorite), and so much more. Why is this important? Fatty acids are a major source of energy for the body. When you eat fatty foods, your body breaks down the fats into fatty acids (hello digestive system), which can then be used to fuel your cells. Fatty acids are a key component of cell membranes, which are the protective barriers around cells. By providing structure to cell membranes, fatty acids help to maintain the integrity and function of cells. Fatty acids are used by the body to produce hormones, which regulate many important bodily functions including growth and development, and immune system function. Fatty acids are required for the absorption of certain vitamins, including vitamins A, D, E, and K. Prostaglandins are also derived from fatty acids and are important for many reasons, one of the main ones being that they control inflammatory function. It is a common belief that inflammation is bad, but it is crucial that body be able to both inflame and anti-inflame. Prostaglandins make it so that the body can heal (inflammation) and resolve (anti-inflame). It is important that digestion is in an optimal state to be able to make and breakdown fatty acids appropriately.
Mineral Balance
Minerals play many important roles in the body, and contribute to every system. They help to transfer nutrients across cell membranes, regulate the growth of tissues, contract and relax muscles, and SO much more. Did you know the most people get enough calcium, but they might be calcium deficient because their body isn’t able to process it? This is just one reason why the other foundations of health are so important. When we aren’t hydrated appropriately, getting enough good fatty acids, our digestion is messed up, or we aren’t taking enough minerals, calcium absorption takes a deep hit. The body cannot make minerals, so it is extremely important to make sure we are getting enough minerals in our food and in our water.
Hydration
Hydration is a primary foundation of health and is essential for many bodily functions. Water makes up about 60% of our body weight, and it is critical to drink enough clean water for our health. Did you know that things like cravings, muscle cramps, anxiety, migraines, and lack of ability to concentrate can all be due to early signs of dehydration? Things like joint and back pain, heartburn, and constipation can be signs of chronic dehydration. A drop of 10% in hydration will start to cause issues with the other necessary systems in the body, like the digestive, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal (NTA 2021). There is no set amount of daily water consumption that fits all people, as everyone’s needs are different, but there are some ways that can help assure you’re getting proper hydration.
Some Key Tips
Make sure your water is rich in minerals! You can do this by adding a pinch of high quality salt, trace minerals, or high-quality electrolyte packets, like LMNT (if you do this, make sure you’re using a good and reliable brand with high quality ingredients).
Slowly sip water throughout the day rather than drinking large amounts. This allows the body to slowly absorb the water and to not just immediately flush it out.
As you can see, the body is all connected. This is why it is so important to make sure that your healthy foundations are operating well. If you are looking for ways to support your body in whatever stage it is in, you might benefit from working with an NTP that will help you focus on your healthy foundations!
