The Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates presumably said that all disease starts in the gut. If you believe this to be true, and many scientific studies point in this direction, it means that gut health is the first thing you should address if you want to live a happier and healthier life. Besides, you don’t have to be an ancient physician or a scientist of any kind to realise that the foods and drinks you consume have a direct impact on your health.
Unfortunately, modern diets are far from healthy. Both adults and children eat heavily processed foods that are high in calories, low in nutrients and include huge amounts of sugar, salt and fat. In these fast-paced times, eating has become more of an afterthought where people eat chaotically without thinking about what they put in their bodies. Apart from that, different people have different nutritional needs, meaning there is no one-size-fits-all diet that works for everyone.
Therefore, improving your relationship with food is not as easy or straightforward as some may think. That’s why so many people seek the help of a nutritionist to provide guidance and assistance in this respect. But then again, choosing a reliable nutritionist is not easy either. The health and wellness field is crowded with self-proclaimed nutrition experts, many of them with track records marred by malpractice claims – which you can read more about at https://www.medicalnegligenceclaimscare.org.uk.
So, how can you find a legitimate nutritionist that is right for you? Hopefully, this short guide will point you in the right direction and make the process a bit smoother.
Check their credentials
The last thing you want is to work with a nutritionist whose entire knowledge and expertise is based on what he read on Google. If it were so easy to become a master in this field, we’d all be nutritionists and dieticians, so what’s the point of paying someone for something you can do yourself? Most importantly, it can be very dangerous to take nutrition advice from the internet or from someone who lacks proper training in this domain.
Therefore, the first thing you need to do when searching for a nutritionist is to check their credentials. Keep in mind that fake professionals can come up with some bogus certification to trick potential customers. Any self-respecting nutritionist must have a legitimate qualification in nutrition sciences, be it a degree or a Masters, to prove they have undergone rigorous training and meet the requirements to work in this field. In the UK, you can consult the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists (UKVRN) held by the Association for Nutrition (AfN) to check a professional’s credentials.
Know your needs
Not all people seek the help of a nutritionist for the same reason. Some want to get the basics of healthy nutrition right; some might be looking for a personalised diet that can help them lose weight. Others simply need someone to keep them motivated and provide advice from time to time. There are also many people suffering from certain medical conditions that require help in building a healthy eating plan. For each and every one of these concerns, there is a nutrition specialist that can help.
So, in order to find the right specialist for you, you first need to know exactly what issue you want to address. It’s important to do a bit of introspection and be honest with yourself. You gain nothing from lying to your nutritionist about your goals. On the contrary, this is only going to make your health journey more complicated and delay the results. You need to be fully transparent about your objective, so you can work with your practitioner as a team to achieve these goals.
Keep an eye out for red flags
Beyond credentials and certifications, it’s also important to take into account what nutritionists recommend and keep an eye on red flags. If a specialist that you’re interested in working with promotes a magic diet that promises to cure you of all ailments, it should raise some questions about their aptitudes and professionalism.
Although people often want to cut corners, the simple truth is there are no shortcuts or quick fixes in nutrition. If someone tries to convince you otherwise, you have strong reasons to question their motives. These so-called recipes or hacks are nothing more than marketing strategies to win over customers and bring more money into their bank accounts, so you should steer clear of them.
Ask the right questions
After you’ve narrowed down your list of potential nutritionists, you should schedule face-to-face appointments with each of them. This will give you the opportunity to learn more about their practice and experience, their approach and philosophy, and any other topic that might be relevant to you. It should also help you gain an idea of how you interact, as this tends to play an important role in the equation.
When you finally meet with them, it’s important to make the most of your time and not let the conversation drift aimlessly. Therefore, you should come prepared with a list of questions that you want to ask, to make sure you don’t leave anything out.
Trust your gut
Maybe the nutritionists you’ve talked to check all your boxes in theory but there’s something about them that doesn’t sit right with you, and you can’t put your finger on it. That’s your gut feeling speaking to you, and since we’re talking about gut health, maybe you should trust it.
Sometimes, things look great on paper, but they don’t always translate the same into practice. You should listen to your indistinct and choose a nutritionist that you feel comfortable with, and that makes you feel safe and understood. Personal connections matter when working with a health professional, so you should not ignore this aspect.
In the end, due diligence should pay off and help you find a nutritionist that can help you reach your health objectives. All you need is patience and perseverance.
