It seems the competition for nutrition therapy is becoming fiercly fought in London after many more students have decided to study Nutrition courses to become a nutritionist and change career for a life in complementary health. As patient how do you choose which of the many Nutritionists in London to trust your health condition with?
Free Nutrition Consulations?
On price? How much will they charge? How much does a nutritionist earn? Some nutritionists now offer an initial consultation for free! Yes believe it or not, free nutrition consultations even in London. There are even free nutrition programs on line that claim to diagnose from your symptoms.
Leading UK nutritionist in London and former tutor at The Institute of Optimum Nutritionist in Richmond Yvonne Bishop-Weston says "I find people don't value free information as much as when they pay for it and are likely to be less motivated and then less likely to be compliant and thus benefit from the advice and get well"
"My most appreciative clients, apart from the people diagnosed with infertility and who've been helped to have healthy babies, are the wealthiest clients who can afford the most expensive tests. Often they've previously spent a fortune around the world and despite their wealth they are still suffering, they get referred to me, they get the answers they are looking for and become well in only 2 - 3 visits. They are by far our best ambassadors"
The most expensive tests aren't essential they just help the nutritionists to get the root cause of a problem and help to solve it far more quickly. If time is precious to you then time off work even saving one extra visit to the nutritionist can save far more than the cost of even the most expensive test.
"Sometimes what's not going wrong in a nutrition test is as important a clue as what is" says the nutritionist.
Yvonne also reveals that no matter how much you learn at University you can't beat experience. "It's hardly ever as simple as it is in the textbooks. People are often suffering from a unique individual mix of causes and experience helps you to unravel the ball of ill health and put the pieces of the jigsaw together far faster as time goes on. After many years of experience you can avoid all the trial and error and cliched mistaken identity that you have to battle with when you are newly qualified." she says.
However the London nutritionist admits you can never rest on your laurels. These days technology and understanding on health matters moves forward at an alarming rate. Registered professional Nutritional therapists are obligated by their governing body to commit to a minimum level of CPD (continued professional development) each year.
Luckily so too are dieticians now obligated to review their knowledge. Now much of the superstitious food industry sponsored fables they used to be criticised for are fading away. Old habits die hard however and some old school dieticians still seems to get locked into defense of sugar rich food, saturated fat rich dairy food and calorie counting but is massively reduced. We are now seeing dieticians begin to embrace and use nutritional therapy tools such as probiotics that nutritionists have been using for decades.
