What is personalised nutrition?

Personalised nutrition is an underlying principle of nutritional therapy, recognising that every individual is unique.

Rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach, a registered nutritional therapist will consider a client’s health journey and health goals, and develop a programme tailored to them.

Functional tests may inform recommendations based on each person’s unique biology. This could include genetic predispositions to nutrient deficiencies, food allergies or hormone imbalances, as well as factors such as life stage, sex, ethnicity, or religious backgrounds that dictate particular diets. The individual’s environment is also important, for example exposure to mould, pollutants or stress.

Because the title is not protected by law, anyone can call themselves a nutritional therapist. A registered nutritional therapist, however, will have completed a minimum of three years, evidence-informed training, and is a member of both the professional register, the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC), and the professional regulatory body, the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT).

BANT states that “only registered nutritional therapy practitioners and registered dieticians are trained and qualified in clinical practice to meet national standards and work in a one-to-one setting”.

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About ION:

ION is a leading provider of accredited nutritional therapy training, established in 1984. ION’s BSc (Hons) Nutritional Therapy is validated by the University of Portsmouth. Be part of a growing community of nutritional therapists and build a rewarding, flexible career helping others to make positive lifestyle changes.