Nutrition is a critical component of maintaining health and vitality. It is essential we provide the body with the building materials it needs to build and maintain its cells, tissues and organs as well as to provide energy for the trillions of biochemical reactions that sustain our body, give us movement and allow us to interact in the world. When you start thinking about the energy the body produces it makes you wonder how we function at all! And all this comes from the food we put into our mouths – there is so much truth in the saying ‘we are what we eat’!
Many people believe that eating a well-balanced diet provides us with all of the vitamins and minerals necessary for good health.
In general, today our diet is high in processed foods, bad fats, sugars and food additives. Without understanding what is in food, it is difficult to make healthy choices.
While that is true in ideal circumstances, in reality, most people are significantly depleted of vitamins and minerals or need more than the average.
Some reasons are:
- Poor digestion
- High stress levels
- Alcohol consumption
- Overcooking food
- Smoking
- Poor health
- Pregnancy
- Antibiotic use
- Chemicals
- Food allergies
- Environmental pollutants
- Nutrient depleted soils
As a naturopath I will help you understand what is happening with food, showing you healthy choices and foods that benefit you personally and support your healing. Foods can be beneficial to one person but detrimental to someone else, so it is important to understand what is right for you. There is no one eating regime that suits everyone: we are all different. Good nutrition is the basis of health and disease prevention.
Many people I see need supplements to correct underlying nutritional deficiencies which can be corrected with carefully chosen, high quality supplements. As a commitment to you and your health I use only practitioner quality products that are scientifically and clinically researched. The highest quality ingredients and raw materials are used and tested for consistency and quality. The products are manufactured, analysed and tested adhering to manufacturing standards that exceed industry benchmarks.
Nutrition & the mind–body connection
Nutrition impacts how you feel and how you feel impacts the amount of nutrients required as well as how well your body absorbs them.
Neurotransmitters are chemicals produced by the brain and body that carry messages between nerve cells, telling your body what to do – for example they tell your heart to beat, your lungs to breath and your digestion to digestion food. They are also involved in controlling your moods, your sleep as well as focus and concentration.
Neurotransmitters are made from vitamins, minerals and proteins, so if you are deficient in the vitamins and minerals needed to make neurotransmitters you may suffer from imbalances and subsequent alterations in moods, focus and alertness. This is how nutrition affects the mind.
