• receive quick answers to simple questions
• troubleshoot the process of implementing your nutritional and supplement recommendations

This is a dedicated time in which you are encouraged to educate me about various aspects of your life that brought you to seek out Nutritional Therapy. This initial interview lasts 60 minutes, and is based on the informational intake forms that you complete regarding your current symptoms and health history.

Minerals are the elements of the periodic table. Macrominerals such as calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium are vital to the body. Calcium maintains a constant blood pH level and works with magnesium to contract and release muscles. Sodium and potassium regulate blood pressure and hydration levels. Trace minerals such iron, zinc, selenium, and chromium also play important roles such as regulating tissue growth and facilitating the transfer of nutrients across cell membranes. Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis is a sophisticated method for analyzing the vital mineral content of your hair, which is a non-invasive way to assess the mineral content of your entire body. I collect and submit a sample of your hair to Trace Elements laboratory in Texas. Results are then tabulated by the lab in the form of a graph which details your current mineral levels and ratios between minerals. This unique mineral profile informs the personalized nutritional recommendations that I make in your program.

The Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire, or NAQ, is a comprehensive, 321 question survey that you complete with a rating of your current symptoms. It moves from diet and lifestyle into more specific foundations such as upper gastrointestinal system, vitamin need, and thyroid. The sophisticated software of this questionnaire allows me to analyze your responses and create various reports which detail the severity of your symptoms and the burden they are putting on your body. You may be asked to take this questionnaire more than once as you move through your Freedom of Health™ sessions so I can generate comparison graphs of your progress. Other health quizzes or evaluations in addition to the NAQ may be indicated as we move forward and seek to narrow in on your specific needs.

Before beginning Nutritional Therapy, each client is required to submit an online 3-6 day food journal that specifically details:

• Everything that goes into the body, be it beverage, food, medication, or nutritional supplements
• Quantity and quality of this food. Examples:
  

  2 tsp. (quantity) organic full-fat (quality) sour cream
  1/2 cup (quantity) soaked raw (quality) cashews

• Any digestive/mood changes that occur throughout the day
• Organized by type of meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and beverages

This information is incredibly valuable to both you, the client, and me, your practitioner. First, it helps you to be aware of how what you eat affects your life. Often it is the first time people realize how much they drink, or what foods they never eat. It also gives me an important insight into your food preferences and habits. As a new client, you may feel hesitant to be completely honest in your food journal, especially if you feel that your current eating plan is less than ideal. But it is very important to trust this procedure, and me, and be honest. I can be much more helpful to you if I know exactly what you are consuming or craving on a normal 3-6 day period. There is no judgment in Nutritional Therapy, only informed guidance!

The Functional Evaluation helps me identify your specific areas of nutritional weakness. This evaluation is a hands-on procedure that is done on a massage table and requires the client to dress in comfortable clothes. Yoga or other exercise wear is appropriate. First I will perform a series of touch palpations to evaluate tenderness or discomfort in the organ systems of your body and you will rate the touch on a scale from 0 (no tenderness) to 10 (extremely tender). In addition to the touch points I will be taking your blood pressure, shining a pen light in your eye, painting an iodine patch on your skin, and reading the pH of your mouth, among other procedures. The entire functional evaluation consists of two parts and lasts approximately one hour to evaluate the following areas:

Part I: The Foundations of Traditional Nutrition

• Efficient Digestion
• Blood Sugar Regulation
• Cellular Fatty Acid Balance
• Tissue Mineral Balance
• Proper Hydration

Part II: The Body Systems

• Endocrine
• Immune
• Cardiovascular
• Detoxification

Lingual-Neuro Testing (LNT) enables me to determine whether a particular nutritional supplement is appropriate for you. After the Functional Evaluation is complete and I have identified your specific areas of nutritional weakness, I will choose a variety of foods or professional quality nutritional supplements to Lingual-Neuro test with you. Lingual means tongue, and Neuro refers to nerves and the brain. Simply, there is a nerve connection directly from the tongue to the brain. When a particular food or nutrient is put in the mouth, the hypothalamus gland in the brain is alerted instantly and causes a reaction in the body.

In terms of Nutritional Therapy, LNT is useful because this hypothalamus glad can self-select nutrients the body needs for optimal function. For example, it is an observed phenomenon that animals in their natural habitat will often nibble a bite from one bush, wait 15-20 seconds, then nibble another grass or bush, wait, and then eventually settle on a preferred food for that meal. What the animal is doing when it waits with the “test” food is in its mouth is giving its hypothalamus time to transmit: “yes – we need the nutrients in this food”, or “no – this isn’t what we need today, go find something else”. Our bodies do the same thing!

After testing a variety of nutrients, I can recommend foods and supplements to which your body specifically responds well.

Although a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner does not diagnose or treat disease based on blood work, it is entirely within my scope of practice to order and interpret a variety of blood tests that may help identify nutrient deficiencies. Ulta Lab Tests provides an economically priced way to offer this service to my clients.