You might be looking for advice on nutrition. It may be because you are looking to optimise your health, are dealing with a health condition or have symptoms you want to try and get to the root cause of and manage through nutrition and lifestyle changes.

So, you search ‘nutritionist for weight loss’ for example. And up pops numerous names. Some saying they are nutritionists, others nutritional therapists and others dieticians.

It is very confusing to know who will be right for you and what you should be looking for. What is important to find out is whether the individual holds the appropriate qualifications and registration with the professional bodies relevant to their title.

So here is a breakdown of who does what, what qualifications they should hold and what else you should be looking for;

Nutritionists

Nutritionists usually work within public health, health policy, in education and research or in the private sector providing nutritional advice to food related industries. ‘Nutritionist’ is not a protected title by law and anyone can call themselves this, however only those that are registered with the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists (UKVRN) can call themselves registered nutritionists. This ensures that they have undertaken an accredited course.

Dieticians

Dieticians often work within the NHS or private clinics. Individuals may be referred to a dietician if they are suffering with a specific condition that requires dietary advice and management.

A dietician’s work includes assessing, diagnosing and treating dietary and nutritional problems. They often work as part of a wider multi-disciplinary team to help treat complex clinical conditions. The title ‘dietician’ is the only one protected by law. They are registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Nutritional Therapists

Nutritional Therapists provide personalised nutrition and lifestyle recommendations and programmes to help enhance an individual’s health and wellbeing. They can work with people with a range of conditions. From those with chronic health issues such as digestive and bowl disorders, too hormonal imbalances and weight loss. They also work with people other concerns such as skin complaints, fatigue, stress or migraines.

Nutritional Therapists take a holistic approach to health, with the focus being on uncovering the root cause of symptoms rather than treating the symptom itself. They work on the principle that symptoms present themselves due to nutritional and biochemical imbalances with the body.

Personalised plans are then designed to target and correct these imbalances. It should be noted that nutritional therapists do not diagnose or treat diseases and nutritional therapy is not a replacement for seeking medical advice.

The title of Nutritional Therapist is not protected by law. Therefore, it is important to check that any nutritional therapist whom you plan to work with is registered with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) and the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT). This ensures that they have undertaken an accredited course and have maintained their registration with continuing professional development (CPD) standards.

If you would like to know whether Nutritional Therapy is right for you, then please get in touch. Either book in for a discovery call or email me any queries. As well as checking for qualifications and registration with professional bodies, an important factor is getting to know the person you will be working with and whether they are right for you!