What is nutritional Therapy?
Through nutritional therapy, clients learn how to best nourish their body according to their bio-individual needs. While there are many factors affecting health and wellbeing, focusing on a whole foods diet is often the least invasive and at the same time most enjoyable approach to improve one’s health.
Nutritional therapy uses functional evaluation tools in order to make recommendations on nutrition and lifestyle according to the client’s needs. A nutritional therapist focuses on “systems” rather than “symptoms” always trying to investigate the underlying root causes of health issues. In my practice I make use of functional blood test analysis to further assess my client’s nutritional status. This helps me to recommend targeted supplementation and lifestyle changes.
Maria Boitel, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner
I’m a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner of the US Nutritional Therapy Association. Currently living in Ghent, Belgium, I was born and raised in Switzerland where I still spend a lot of my time. I conduct in person consultations in Switzerland and Belgium and work virtually all over the world.
It was my own health journey that brought me to nutritional therapy. Taking a foundational approach to nutrition is part of addressing the body as a whole and from the standpoint of proper function. This helped me identifying nutritional weakness in my body and getting to the root of what caused my symptoms. Over the years nutrition became my passion and finally lead to becoming a certified nutritional therapist.
Through the analysis of an extensive health questionnaire, a food log and functional blood test analysis I assess my clients’ bio-individual needs. This is followed by the recommendation of personalized nutrition and lifestyle programs, targeted nutritional supplements and meal planning. As a nutritional therapist I work with clients as partners whereby they also have access to educational material and individual trainings on cooking practices, sleep and stress management, movement, safer household and beauty products.
My Philosophy
I take part in a health care system of integrative medicine where conventional medical care is supported by evidence based therapeutic approaches to support clients and patients to achieve optimal health and healing. That’s why I work with other health care professionals to better understand the needs of my clients and find the roots of their symptoms. As a holistic nutritional therapist I embrace the approach of functional medicine which addresses the underlying cause of the health problem.
I believe that it’s always the ‘right’ time to start taking control over what goes into your body. By acquiring the knowledge on what works best for you, you can directly impact your physiological systems and make long lasting changes to feel better.