Nutritional Counseling
In the realm of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the science of nutrition occupies a very prominent place. Nutrition according to the Daoist concept of five elements was established literally thousands of years ago, meaning how we can support our body or a diseased organ with individual foods. The five-element diet can easily be applied in fusion with Western nutrition science. Changing our everyday diet alone may be an effective help in starting the self-healing mechanism of our body, in most cases. Nutrition counseling in our center is always carried out by a qualified professional who has the appropriate knowledge of nutrition and the hormonal system, and sees the correlation between metabolic profiles and lab results. Based on these, she recommends apersonalized therapy and dietary supplements.
In what cases do we recommend reforming your diet as soon as possible?
Weak stomach
In this case, the stomach does not carry out its fermentation task properly and the food goes on to the digestive system in an insufficiently processed state. This puts a heavy burden on both the small intestine and the large intestine. The goal is to strengthen the stomach in order to free the other organs from being overloaded.
Overweight or malnutrition
Being overweight or undernourished is not primarily an aesthetic problem. It is worth noting that these conditions have a hugely negative effect on one’s health. A non-optimal body weight damages the organs, weakens the immune system, can disrupt the hormonal system. In severe cases, it can even cause musculoskeletal complaints.
Hormonal imbalance
Consuming a wide variety of everyday foods can unfortunately shift our hormonal balance. It is necessary to remove certain foods from our diet and introduce others. The elimination of possible toxins and xenoestrogens also requires attention. One of the biggest hormonal problems of our time is estrogen excess, which can be addressed to by changing our dietary and lifestyle habits. We provide nutritional advice specifically for certain hormonal dysfunctions as well.
Pregnancy
During pregnancy, the mother's diet directly affects the baby's health. We know the baby extracts certain vitamins, mineral salts and trace elements from the mother's body, so the level of these might be insufficient for the mother. The macronutrients of the food she consumes daily are not less important. We give advice on both micro and macronutrients based on a metabolic profile and often hormone testing, as each and every consultation is highly personalized.
In which cases do we recommend using our nutritional counseling?
- diet, weight gain;
- diabetes;
- food allergies and intolerance, gluten sensitivity;
- cardiovascular diseases;
- biliary diseases (gallstones, cholelithiasis)
- constipation;
- liver diseases;
- kidney diseases;
- autoimmune diseases;
- hormonal changes;
- histamine intolerance;
- depression;
- chronic fatigue;
- complaints caused by inadequate nutrition
What happens at a nutritional counseling and what does a dietician do?
The main purpose of this occasion is to discuss nutrition-related information and to start you on the path of a personalized healthy diet. We find it important that you understand the connections of your body. This way the information we provide becomes a solid foundation that you can look back upon any time and re-apply what you learned with us. If you have hormonal issues or your doctor has recommended hormone counseling, we definitely recommend that you use both hormonal and nutritional counseling services at the same time, since the two areas are closely related. Our dietitians can …
- perform a full health assessment (weight, height), if needed
- take a nutritional history
- get familiar with the patients’ eating habits and lifestyle with the help of the completed nutrition diary
- determine the direction of the diet, make recommendations regarding raw materials, quantity, and method of preparation based on the information obtained.
- After the consultation, the dietitian is going to send you support material via email. In it you’re going to find detailed information she has shared with you earlier, and a complete list of supplements and their source of supply.
How to prepare for the Nutritional Counseling?
We created our nutrition workbook to map the eating and lifestyle habits of our patients. The workbook will be handed to you at the reception of our health center when registering for nutritional counseling. Please fill out the ‘fill it out at home’ pages and bring the workbook with you for the consultation. You might use it for jotting down recipes or ingredients as well. (Based on the experience of our consultants, in the absence of a nutrition diary, the content and quantity of the meals taken prior are incomplete and difficult to recall, so please take care to fill them in for your own sake.) Please fill out the nutrition diary and nutrition history before the consultation and bring it with you to the meeting. This way that the dietitian can get to know your nutrition best and give you personalized advice. You can download them from here, or use one of the many new phone apps recording consumed food and drinks with a few clicks.
OUR DIETITIANS
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a counseling take?
The first time of nutritional counseling is 45 minutes, each subsequent consultation is 15 minutes.
Can I set multiple goals? (eg.: weight loss and gluten-free nutrition)
In most cases, yes.
Can multiple people be present?
The counseling is fully personalized, so we recommend that only the patient be present.
Would the dietitian take my taste and lifestyle into consideration?
Yes, of course. However, for best results, our patients must accept that certain foods/food groups and drinks must be avoided during the course of the treatment. Within the limits of reasonableness, our consultants try to adapt their recommendations to the patients’ lifestyles.
Can my diet be suitable for my husband/children/parents?
There is no clear answer to this question. In all cases, we adapt the counseling to the needs of the patient based on her/his microbiome lab results, so the nutrition plan we put together is prepared exclusively for her/him.
Do I need to consume food that is difficult to buy?
Not at all. We strive to recommend ingredients that can also be found on the shelves of supermarkets. In case your condition requires special nutritional supplements, they can always be purchased in most health stores or online.