Online Nutritionist

This page outlines the relationship between nutritional therapy, functional medicine and naturopathy, explains what nutritional therapy is and what you can expect in a consultation with an online nutritionist making use of these approaches. You can also find out about my services and prices.

What’s the difference between functional medicine and naturopathy?

The principles of naturopathy and functional medicine are essentially the same

Naturopaths and functional medicine practitioners are both guided by what are essentially the same set of principles (though worded differently). Both look to investigate the root causes of symptoms and to affect change at the level of the root causes. Both hold that treating symptoms alone whilst leaving the root causes in place will lead to further eruption of the same or different symptoms at some later date.

These similarities should come as no surprise because functional medicine was started largely by naturopaths. Ultimately the roots and principles of functional medicine may owe much to the ancient predecessors of naturopathy.

The application of naturopathy and functional medicine are essentially the same

Both disciplines make use of the latest scientific understanding of biochemical and physiological mechanisms to investigate the root cause (or root causes) of your symptoms in order to deliver the most effective, evidence-based dietary and lifestyle interventions to optimise your health, whether working in-person or online.

History, region, reputation and accrediting bodies

Naturopathy and functional medicine each have their own history, their own accrediting bodies and their own regions of the world where they are better known and respected.

For example if you are in Australia and need professional support to make dietary and lifestyle changes to improve your health, you will probably be looking for a naturopath.

I have taken part in professional forums with Australian naturopaths and have completed Australian online training courses and I have been impressed by the level of discussion and scientific rigour. A good naturopathic practitioner in Australia will offer you the same level of service as a good functional medicine practitioner or nutritional therapist in the UK or in the USA.

In some parts of the world naturopathy is more associated with quackery and is banned in three states in the USA, which might explain why there was a need to pioneer functional medicine in the USA.

Naturopathic roots

Naturopaths would generally recognise that the roots of their discipline go back as far as Hippocrates, and maybe a few (myself included) believe it may even be rooted in ancient Chinese traditions. I regard it as a strength of naturopathy that it recognises and values the ‘giants whose shoulders we stand on’, whilst embracing the ethical use of cutting-edge scientific research.

Medications

In the UK naturopaths and functional medicine practitioners are not licensed to prescribe medications.

In some regions of the world naturopathic doctors and functional medicine doctors can prescribe medications. In the UK a functional medicine doctor will have had a medical training and a functional medicine training.

Please note that I am not medically trained and do not provide medical support that your primary care physician or a functional medicine doctor can. My training and passion is in the power of nutrition and lifestyle to affect lasting health changes.

Other modalities

A naturopath may also work with modalities other than nutrition and lifestyle, such as acupuncture, homeopathy and herbal medicine.

What is nutritional therapy?

Nutritional therapy is the application of individualised dietary and lifestyle changes to benefit health and wellbeing and to optimise mental and physical performance.

Sounds familiar?

Nutritional therapy utilises naturopathy and functional medicine principles

Nutritional therapy incorporates naturopathic and functional medicine principles, but does not usually include additional modalities such as acupuncture and herbal medicine as naturopathy does.

The tools of nutritional therapy

Nutritional therapists make evidence-based recommendations based on the use of functional lab testing and further information about you, such as your symptoms, your sleep patterns, your levels of stress, your medical history, the medical history of your closest relatives, your dietary and lifestyle patterns, known toxic exposures, genetic makeup and more.

This information is gathered in several ways:

• in a detailed online health questionnaire you will be asked to fill in before your initial consultation
• in a diet diary you will usually be asked to fill in before each consultation
• orally in each consultation, which will include how you responded to the recommendations from previous consultations
• from the results of any genetic and functional lab tests

Nutrigenetics testing

Nutrigenetics is the study of how your genetic profile affects your response to diet and to specific nutrients. It too has been embraced by nutritional therapy, which appears to be always ready to embrace the latest scientific understanding to find the root causes of illness and the most effective dietary and lifestyle approaches for each individual.

The roots of nutritional therapy

It is hard to discern the exact roots of nutritional therapy as there are so many strands, so many pioneers, but it seems to have arisen from the meeting of naturopathy with biochemistry and physiology. Psychiatrists experimenting with micronutrient supplementation for mental illness have also played a role.

When functional medicine was founded it naturally fitted into the nutritional therapy paradigm that had been developed in the preceding decades.

Nutritional therapy accrediting body

Nutritional therapy is more popular in the UK and has its own professional bodies but there is at least one professional association for nutritional therapists who practice according to naturopathic principles.

Person-centred approach

All of these approaches emphasise the uniqueness of the individual.

As my client I welcome your input and do my best to respond to your unique health needs. We work together according to your goals, preferences and limitations. If your limitations are likely to hold back progress to your goals I will seek to find a way through or around the obstacle with you.

Online nutritionist – More information

Stay on this page for online nutritionist services and prices.

For more information on functional medicine, its principles and why it is needed, a list of conditions that can be helped by nutrition, supplements and lifestyle changes, who I do and do not work with and for information on the structure and timing of consultations, as well as further information please see Nutritional Therapy in London.

For some of the key areas that can be supported with online nutrition, naturopathy and functional medicine, as well as a short introductory video describing Tom’s approach to nutritional therapy see the home page.

Find out more about the online nutritionist

My personal struggle with poor health rekindled my interest in science, awakened in me a passionate interest in optimising health with dietary and lifestyle changes and led to my work as an online nutritionist.

I continue to learn from my clinical practice and home study and I regularly attend both in-person and online functional medicine, naturopathy and nutritional therapy training events.

Find out more about me, my qualifications and some of the many trainings I have completed as part of my continuing professional development in nutritional therapy, functional medicine, naturopathy, nutrigenetics and related areas.

The above fees do not include any laboratory testing.

Please note that although I may sometimes offer some basic recipe ideas and point you towards books or websites with further recipes I do not offer meal plans, as these need to be tailored to individual tastes and budget and would be very time consuming. If you need a few ideas you can ask me and we can set aside some time during the consultation to find a few simple meals that would work for you.

I also offer nutrigenomics consultations online to interpret your genetic testing results.

Nutrigenomics online- £350 (not including laboratory fees)

2-hour consultation for advice that is personalised according to your genetics. A nutrigenomics consultation usually follows nutritional therapy so that I can relate your genetics to how they are actualising in your current state of health and with your current diet and lifestyle. Nutritional therapy is generally more useful than nutrigenomics analysis for most people and is certainly the more useful focus in the early stages of working with me . Click here for laboratory fees for genetic testing.

Free 20-minute telephone appointment

Book a free no-obligation 20-minute telephone appointment using the box to the right to find out more about how I can help you before booking an initial consultation. Please note that for legal reasons I cannot give dietary or lifestyle advice in this short conversation. Before considering working with me it is essential that you read my e-mail policy and guidelines.

The benefits of working with an online nutritionist

Opting for nutritional therapy online via Zoom, Skype or over the phone can be a convenient way to engage with both the therapist and the programme; providing you with all the benefits of my in-person nutritional therapy services from the comfort of your own home. 

For many, choosing my online consultation services can feel more accessible and approachable, particularly for anyone living in a rural or isolated location, or living with limited mobility or a chronic illness where travel may prove a barrier to participation. 

What’s more, free from the limitations & pressures that come with travelling to a specific location by a specific time  – particularly on your busiest days – online nutritional therapy services provide you with flexibility and freedom from restrictions, enabling you to better fit consultations around your schedule.

Working with an online nutritionist based in the UK gives you easier access to functional lab testing from UK labs and to my expertise in UK supplements. 

Online nutritionist UK & international – Further information

For the cost of functional testing please consult with me.

Consultations after 6pm may sometimes be possible but are charged at 1.5 times the normal rate.

Fees are normally paid by bank transfer two weeks in advance of the consultation. If paying by cheque add a £30 administration fee. Any bank transfer charges must be paid by you.

The above prices reflect the time in between consultations on researching the most effective and safe way to support your health according to your individual circumstances, interpreting any laboratory testing and the time and money spent on continuing professional development at the cutting edge of a field that is rapidly growing.

Prices are subject to change. You can ask me in the free telephone consultation about expected price changes and expected dates of price changes. 

I am a member of the British Association of Applied Nutrition & Nutritional Therapy (BANT) and The Institute Of Functional Medicine, a registered practitioner with the Complimentary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) and an associate member of The Royal Society Of Medicine.

I am also a certified DNALife^TM nutrigenetics practitioner.

Please note: As an online nutritionist my interest and training is in dietary and lifestyle medicine. I do not offer medical advice nor is my work a substitute for medical care. Please refer to a functional medicine doctor or to your primary care physician for medical treatment. In the interests of your safety you will be required to agree to my Terms and Conditions.