Which vitamin D do I take?
Which B supplement do I take?
Which iron supplement do I take?
So many questions that nutritional therapists face in the 21st century. A well trained, qualified nutritional therapist will ask, 'do you need those supplements and if so why?' Are there alternatives?
The New School part time nutrition course in London is geared towards raising 21st century practitioners. In this day and age, it is not ONLY about the over load on medications but the overload on nutritional supplements.
A 21st century scenario for a part time 21st century nutrition course
A nutrition course that is aligned with the times, it is vital that we teach our students firstly, 'less is more'. What does this look like? You may ask.
FOOD IS MEDICINE, did you know a stalk of broccoli contains 100s of nutrients and a multi may have about 30 if that. You guessed it, supplements do not replace food.
A typical scenario that nutrition therapy practitioners face today
A client responds, "well I was given two medications to help thin my blood".
Nutritional Therapist, "which two medications?"
Client, "warfarin and an omeprazole."
But hold on...omeprazole is not a blood thinner, it is a proton pump inhibitor, this essentially blocks/reduces stomach acid in the stomach.
Why prescribe a blood thinner and an antacid drug?
The blood thinner has side effects, and one of the side effects is stomach ulcers, so instead of just prescribing the blood thinner, an antacid is also prescribed. WHY? The proton pump inhibitor reduces stomach acid (to try and prevent the ulcers which may be caused by the blood thinner).
This 2 year part time nutrition course teaches about these medications, not only their actions, but their side effects, that eventually manifest as new ailments such as osteoporosis.
Let's explain another real case scenario
Step one: A patient has high blood pressure (aka hyper-TENSION), so prescribed AMLODIPINE, this is a CALCIUM channel blocker
Step two: The patient has a stroke and is prescribed blood thinners. The known side effects of these blood thinners are stomach ulcers.
NOTE: On this two year nutrition course, a student is taught that omega 3 fats also have blood thinning properties so they are contra-indicated if someone is on a blood-thinning medication. So why does not the doctor prescribe omega 3s instead of the blood thinners? This is where a nutritional therapist comes in.
Step three: Doctor also prescribes omeprazole, stomach acid reducing medication, to reduce the likelihood of stomach ulcers. This stomach acid-lowering medication impacts the absorption and assimilation of ALL minerals as well as calcium.
NOTE: On this nutrition diploma course, we also teach that stomach acid has many other VITAL roles, which includes ensuring the microbiome down below is healthy and that any bugs are 'dis-infected' in the acid in the stomach. What happens if this stomach acidity is reduced? Dysbiosis (microbiome gone bit wild), increase in infections in the gut, such as parasites, yeast etc Long term on these medications one will experience malnourishment.
Step four: The patient is now diagnosed with osteoporosis, the doctor puts him/her on vitamin D and calcium supplements.
NOTE" On this 2 year part time nutrition course, students learn that Vitamin D and calcium supplements are not a good mix, there is something called calcification, this is not something we want a client to develop.
Step five: Stroke is a condition that comes under CARDIOVASCULAR disease. Calcium can cause calcification if not monitored and calcification is linked to cardiovascular disease...so how did this happen? This 'patient' is currently on ....
a calcium channel blocker, originally prescribed to reduce blood pressure
a blood thinner due to stroke
an antacid (omeprazole) to reduce the likelihood of stomach ulcers due to the blood thinner
Vitamin D and calcium supplementation due to the osteoporosis
Can you see what is happening here?
The above real case scenario is known as IATROGENIC DISEASE. Iatrogenic means an illness caused by medical examination or treatment. Sadly this is not un-common.
Antacids are the bane of a nutritional therapist's life. This is why drug pharmacology and gut health are key topics covered in our part time 2 year nutrition diploma course.
Let's take a step back.....
What if the same patient went to see a QUALIFIED nutritional therapist?
...let's check that scenario out.
Step one: high blood pressure....when did it start? What happened around the time leading to high BP? Any stress? Any abdominal fat? Any excess weight? Address the weight, address the stress, explain the impact of the stress on the nervous system. EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE ...EMPOWER, EMPOWER, EMPOWER. Coach, coach, coach, aka listen, listen, listen. The nutritional therapist recommends lifestyle changes, recommends dietary changes even some omega 3s to support heart health/cardiovascular health. Potentially a few cell salts and some movement.
The New School nutrition diploma course covers various tests and the omega test is our firm favourite as inflammation is such a core issue in most 21st century conditions.
Would the stroke have happened if the above was implemented instead of the medications? Who knows but, guess is more a of NO, than a maybe. Reducing blood pressure reduces the risk of stroke. The above medicated patient had a stroke even when on blood pressure-lowering medication...what is missing here? Lifestyle advise nutritional advice, EDUCATION, INFORMING and EMPOWERING the patient.
Step two: The patient sees a QUALIFIED nutritional therapist...only after the stroke not before...then a QUALIFIED NUTRITIONAL THERAPIST would go onto looking into the root cause of the stroke...does the patient have high blood pressure? Yes then address that with step one above. Explain the link between HYPER-TENSION (stress) and strokes.
Potentially do a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis to determine their mineral status, may see they have high calcium anyway due to high BP and/or high blood pressure calcium channel blocker medications.
Check on nutrition, how are they eating, what are they eating, what can they include, what can they reduce, and the WHYS. On this nutrition diploma course we also integrate coaching skills into the curriculum. So the student practitioner learns to understand the client, what are their challenges, what are their concerns, how can they move forward without feeling overwhelmed or scared? An empowered client is healthy client.
Would the above patient have developed osteoporosis if they were not prescribed the antacid medication? More than likely, no. Gut health is the gateway to health or dis-ease. Start tampering with gut health using antacids, anti-biotics, brith control pills, steroid medications, we start a whole cascade of illnesses.
As practitioners of nutritional medicine, if we do not ask questions, the right questions, and if we do not understand the person sitting in front of us in the clinic, we are none the wiser and can easily end up 'prescribing' supplements just like the doctor prescribes the medications.
At the New School our vision is to train future 21st century practitioners to use various tools. These are naturopathic tools such as cell salts, potentised herbs, and homeopathy for rapid relief of acute ailments, coaching skills and our core subject nutritional medicine.
How do I certify as a nutritional therapist on a part time nutrition course?
To certify as a nutritional therapist, it takes at least two years of training on an accredited course with clinical training and self study and supervision. These are ALL part of our two year part time nutrition course in London AND available live online too, if 75 plus miles outside of London.
Raising 21st century practitioners.
TO WHOLE-ness!
From the team at the New School Of Nutritional Medicine.
Learn about the Founder & Principal of the New School of Nutritional Medicine, Dr Khush Mark PhD HERE.
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