Your diet is the kind of food you eat, and a good diet is vital for good health. The foods we eat supplies us with vitamins and nutrients required for many processes in our body, so it’s easy to see how important it is to have the right foods in appropriate quantities. It is also easy to see how it can be quite difficult to know if we are eating the right foods, as we are given conflicting information, and food advertising and labels are often unclear and sometimes confusing or even misleading.

With an understanding of the biochemical and physiological affect that food has on our health, a Nutritionist can then use functional and everyday foods as a therapeutic tool to promote optimal health.

Jump to:

• Food Intolerances / Food Allergies
• Weight / Fat Loss
• Muscle / Weight Gain

Food allergies and food intolerances often get confused, as the symptoms of food intolerances can be similar to mild food allergies, but not exhibits symptoms similar to a severe allergic reaction i.e anaphylaxis. Food intolerances is a chemical reaction to certain foods, while food allergies is your immune system reacting to a harmless food.

Symptoms of food intolerances include:nervousness, tremor, sweating, palpitations, rapid breathing, headache, migraine, diarrhoea, burning sensations on the skin, tightness across the face and chest, breathing problems – asthma-like symptoms, allergy-like reactions. Allergic symptoms include: itching, burning and swelling around the mouth, runny nose, skin rash (eczema), hives (urticaria – skin becomes red and raised), diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, breathing difficulties – including wheezing and asthma, vomiting, nausea.

It can be very useful to seek advice and assistance from a Nutritionist to help in different aspects of living with and dealing with both food intolerances and allergies, such as identifying the allergen or food responsible for the reaction, eliminating and reintroducing it, as well as, if pregnant potentially minimising the chance your of baby having issues.

A large number of Australians are overweight or obese and the numbers are increasing, and it is not only adults but our children too. Hence weight loss is something many people have a problem with. They may need help in getting the correct or enough exercise, or the right foods in the best quantities. Weight loss may also involve correcting or assisting with hormone imbalances and Thyroid disorders. Another very common factor in issues with weight is the emotional aspect – for many different reasons people may rely on food and eating for emotional support.

As weight loss can require a variety of different solutions it can be difficult to know what the right solution is for you. Here at Health In The Bay we have a variety of different practitioners and techniques to help. We have a Nutritionist who can advise you as well as refer you for certain relevant tests, Acupuncturists and Counselling, and N.E.T. to address emotional factors.

With so many people having problems with losing weight, it can be surprising to hear that people need assistance in weight gain.

This can be people that have had a significant illness such as cancer that need to gain weight, or elderly that don’t have much of an appetite so may need more calories to increase weight, or those suffering from eating disorders such as anorexia.

Different causes obviously require different remedies. It may be as simple as talking with a Nutritionist, putting together an eating plan that includes enough calories, particular healthy calories that help increase weight and assist in building muscle.

Acupuncture is also very effective in improving appetite and weight, especially after a serious illness. It helps to stimulate organ systems and hence improve function, thereby improving digestion and appetite.

Eating disorders require different treatments. Psychotherapy, for example, can be used to create the shift required to change their perception of their bodies and hence to treat the eating disorder.

Acupuncture is also helpful and beneficial to have, particularly after you begin to eat properly again. Acupuncture is very effective in stimulating the digestive system and rebalancing it to function normally again as well as normalising your metabolism, this is important as an eating disorder puts a lot of strain on your digestive system and metabolism.