Why is Proper Nutrition Important?

Are nutrition and health related? Is healthy eating important? Of course! Like a finely-tuned racing car, your body needs the right fuel (food) and regular maintenance (exercise, lifestyle and mental attitude) to achieve its true health potential. Nothing is more important than healthy eating! Put in the wrong fuel or let it go without regular use and there's no way it can deliver its full power and performance. Without healthy eating, your body's engine will cough, splutter and eventually stall.

The major causes of death, illness and disability in which diet and nutrition play an important role include coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, atherosclerosis, obesity, some forms of cancer, Type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, dental caries, gall bladder disease, dementia and nutritional anaemias.

MAINTAINING A BALANCED DIET BY HEALTHY EATING CAN:

• Give you vitality and energy for life
• Help you stay at a weight that's right for you
• Boost your immune system
• Improve sports performance
• Delay the effects of ageing
• Keep you active and fit into old age
• Help beat tiredness and fatigue
• Protect teeth and keep gums healthy
• Enhance your ability to concentrate and possible alter mood
• Ward off serious illnesses like heart disease, certain cancers, mature-age onset diabetes, and gallbladder disease

Who is your practitioner?

Diana Dihmis qualified with a BSc degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from Robert Gordon’s University in Aberdeen. She then moved to London whereby she worked in the area of clinical nutrition for over 20 years. She came back home 8 years ago with her daughter and is now delighted to join Milllburn Complementary Therapy Centre as a consultant Nutritionist.

Diana is very passionate about nutrition and says that the results can be outstanding when someone starts a dietary change. Some conditions are very reactive to diet and you can see the results almost immediately e.g. controlling blood sugars.

She says keeping a healthy weight will not only delay or may eliminate the onset of various problems, diseases and conditions. But also a healthy weight has a major effect on the appearance and the mental attitude giving the person a new lease of life. There is a secret to losing weight and keeping it off. You just need to know how and Diana is qualified to help.

Tests Available

GUT FUNCTION AND NUTRITION TESTING

A selection of nutritional and gut functional tests are now available at the Millburn Clinic.
Laboratory tests can be invaluable in identifying what may contribute to health issues and therefore result in faster successful outcomes by facilitating the development of personal targeted nutritional programmes. There are many different types of tests that may be considered. The following is a selection of the tests available.
Please contact the Nutritionist, Diana to discuss further.

Coeliac and Gluten Sensitivity

The Coeliac & Gluten Sensitivity profile helps differentiate between Coeliac Disease and the ever growing incidence of Gluten Sensitivity.
Patients recommended to take the test may suffer from abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhoea, constipation, and many “extra-intestinal” symptoms such as “foggy mind”, depression, ADHD-like behaviour, headaches, bone or joint pain, and chronic fatigue when they have gluten in their diet.

Intestinal permeability / Leaky gut Syndrome

Leaky gut syndrome, a condition that occurs when the gut lining becomes abnormally permeable (known as “intestinal hyper permeability”), is diagnosed (through a leaky gut test) when tiny gateway openings develop between your intestines and bloodstream, allowing things to pass through that are normally blocked — like toxins, undigested food particles and other harmful substances.

Leaky gut can result in numerous and widespread health problems, including:

• Autoimmune reactions and diseases
• Inflammatory bowel disease (including IBS and ulcerative colitis)
• Food allergies or sensitivities
• Asthma
• Skin disorders like eczema and psoriasis
• Arthritis and other body aches or pains
• Fatigue
• Changes in mood, weight and appetite

Lactose Intolerance test (gold standard)

Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest lactose, a sugar found in milk and other dairy products, due to an insufficiency of an enzyme called lactase.  The undigested sugar is fermented by bacteria in the bowel and the production of gases can lead to digestive complaints, including abdominal bloating and cramps, flatulence, diarrhoea and nausea after eating dairy.

SIBO  - Small Intestine Bacteria Overgrowth

This simple, non–invasive, gastrointestinal test detects bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine. Small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is a common gastrointestinal disorder that often underlies chronic gastrointestinal symptoms of maldigestion and malabsorption, including bloating, gas, diarrhoea, irregularity, and abdominal pain.

The Bacterial Overgrowth of the Small Intestine Breath Test (SIBO) is appropriate for patients who demonstrate:

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), the most commonly diagnosed gastrointestinal disorder, affecting 20% of the general population. The SIBO test aids in identifying the actual cause of IBS.  Studies suggest that as many as 50-75% of patients with IBS have SIBO
• Unexplained abdominal symptoms, especially gas and bloating
• The inability to tolerate sweet or starchy foods, fibre, or friendly flora supplements

Comprehensive Stool Analysis with parasitology (3 days)

Gastrointestinal complaints are among the most common in medical care. This comprehensive profile helps pinpoint the causes of gastrointestinal symptoms and chronic systemic conditions, and measures key markers of digestion, absorption and inflammation.

This test is useful for

• Gastrointestinal Symptoms
• IBD/IBS
• Inflammation
• Food Sensitivities
• Nutritional Deficiencies
• Joint Pain

Adrenal stress test

This panel provides a comprehensive view of adrenal function and includes 4 cortisol levels timed throughout the day as well as DHEA.

Symptoms that would indicate this test:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Sugar cravings
• Dizzy spells, headaches
• Fertility problems
• Irritability
• Fibromyalgia
• Anxiety/Depression

Vitamin D levels

Measurement of total 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (D2 plus D3) provides the best assessment of patient vitamin D status and includes vitamin D derived from diet, supplements and exposure to UVB sunlight.