Naturopathic Nutrition works with the individual’s efforts towards the promotion, restoration and maintenance of health. This means that we also place a great emphasis on preventative health.
Health is more than ‘the absence of disease’. Disease ensues when the body’s homeostasis, or self-regulating system is disrupted. Then the body develops an acute response in its attempt to restore health, often demonstrated through enhanced processes of elimination. Suppressing these healing processes can contribute to the potential for chronic (longer term) breakdown, inflammation and disease.
A Holistic Approach
In Naturopathic Nutrition, the education and cooperation of the patient is fundamentally important and contributes to the success of the treatment process. The client is assisted in examining his or her lifestyle and making healthier choices which, in turn, is established on a cellular level by means of appropriate nutritional support.
Charlotte Fraser works with clients on a physiological, physical, mental and emotional level. This is because optimum health and wellbeing depends on a multitude of factors and reflects a harmonious interaction with our environment.
“The universe is exactly the way we think it is and that’s why.”
John Woods
We need nourishing food, clean water, fresh air and sunlight, as well as lots of movement, rest and relaxation, to maintain health. However to truly thrive, we also need positive relationships, creative fulfilment and mental stimulus.
Why Nutrition Matters
Mass food production, globalisation and disruption to our eco balance is having a serious repercussion on the nutritional health of humans. There is a big gap in the nutritional status of most people today, and that’s before we even take into account individual genetic inheritance and lifestyle factors.
Our food choices are more often determined by their colour, taste, texture and calorie content, rather than for their nutritional value, highlighting the need to refocus on healthy eating for optimal health.
When did you last pay attention to the warning lights on your dashboard? Do you feel tired all the time? Do you suffer from constant headaches? Constipation? Is your lower back pain really just down to sitting at your desk all day?
It is so easy to dismiss these things as we distract ourselves in our busy lives. Or are these signs and symptoms the expression of an unmet need, nutritional or otherwise? After all, how else is our body able to communicate to us?
Often, it is only with the diagnosis of a more serious health condition — when the proverbial tyre falls off the car and stops us in our tracks — that we seek help. Even then, many people only treat the immediate symptoms, which is often just a short-term fix.
Identifying & Bridging the Nutrition Gap
The nutrition gap describes the difference between the levels of nutrients you are getting from your daily diet, and those nutrient levels identified by scientific research as necessary for optimal health in the population.
Many people do not get the level of essential nutrients required for health and protection on a day-to-day basis, and this shortfall may adversely impact health both now and long term.
Aside from dietary intake, various factors contribute to nutrient shortfalls. These include food quality, nutrient availability, digestion and assimilation, stress, movement levels, medications, alcohol intake, smoking and other lifestyle factors.
Sometimes nutrient imbalances also arise from trial-and-error over-the-counter supplement use, which can become costly and ineffective.
Wherever possible, Charlotte works with foods easily sourced in local supermarkets and farm shops. However, in some situations, targeted supplementation may be appropriate to help bridge identified nutritional gaps and support therapeutic outcomes.
“Every gut microbiome is unique. Truly the embodiment of all our individual genetic, physical, mental, emotional, environmental, social, and cultural experiences”
Charlotte Fraser
Core values of Naturopathic Nutrition are:
- Healing Power of Nature: a ‘vital force’ underpins the body’s self-healing or self-correcting mechanisms.
- Triad of Health: the connection and interaction between the structural, biochemical and mental/emotional components of all living beings. Dysfunction in one area will lead to disruption elsewhere.
- Uniqueness of the Individual: people are genetically, biochemically, structurally and emotionally different from one another. Each person responds in a unique way to influences, be they mental, emotional, nutritional, social or cultural.
Contact Charlotte Fraser today to book an appointment to review your current state of health and well being, as well as to devise an individually-tailored nutrition plan.