Roots to Vitality - Case Studies

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To help you gain wellness and vitality, through healthy nutrition and lifestyle choices

* All names and key personal data have been changed to protect client confidentiality.

Reading case studies you will see that there is no “one shoe fits all” approach. You will receive a protocol - tailored - to your nutritional needs and lifestyle.

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Children

Client: Sally * aged 3 years

Reason for visit - Parents seeking nutritional advice to support Sally, main concerns:

Weight management – Sally has been on the 90th percentile for some time and her paediatrician is concerned that the trend will continue.
Stabilize mood and energy - which fluctuate throughout the day.
Leg cramps – Sally complains of sore legs most evenings. Her paediatrician has diagnosed flat feet to be the cause and advises that over time the aching will stop. What do I do now asks her mother?

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Current Health:

Sally presents as a healthy child, and happily played with some toys while we discussed her current diet.
She loves to eat and becomes moody if she misses a snack or her meal is late.
Her digestive system is normal, tongue pink and healthy, a few white spots on her fingernails indicate a possible zinc deficiency, which could also link in to her mood swings.
She does not like exercise and will often demand to be carried rather than walk.
Current diet appears healthy as she does eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, and little sweets, ice cream or chocolate. Her diet did however include “hidden sugar”.

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Recommendations / Protocol:

Keeping blood sugar balanced is a key factor for maintaining even energy levels and weight.
Sally’s mom decided the whole family would benefit from a “sugar balancing” approach. Diet rich in whole grains and good quality protein, introduce pulses, more regular meals and snacks, and fibre from fruits and vegetables with a lower glycemic load. Nothing to eat outside of set meal and snack times.
Magnesium rich foods to support her leg cramps and zinc rich foods to support her possible deficiency. Zinc is an important mineral for blood sugar control.
Sally will be unaware that she is on a special diet. We discussed introducing changes slowly and as her brother and sister will eat similar meals and snacks she will not be treated any differently within the family.
Exercise – I recommended a small trampoline. Jumping is great fun (not work) and will strengthen her joints without jarring. Children’s yoga class will support her muscles and calm her moods. Gentle stretching after her evening bath and listening to bedtime stories with her legs raised, will relieve her discomfort. When she complains of pain, give her legs a gentle massage with a teaspoon of arnica oil.
New Era tissue salts number 8 – Magnesium Phosphate for aching muscles.

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Follow up (six weeks)

Sally responded well to the dietary changes, she is eating more protein with meals and snacks and overall much less sugar. Biggest change has been in breakfast, very little sugary cereals, more eggs, natural yoghurt and oat porridge.
Her parents report that her moods have improved and while her weight remains the same she has gone through a growth spurt (upwards and trousers suddenly all too short!) and is looking leaner.
The mini trampoline was a great success for Sally and her older sibling. There has been a marked improvement in her leg cramps.

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Pregnancy

Client: Kathy * age 29 years

Reason for visit: Kathy is 17 weeks pregnant and is seeking nutritional advice to maintain a healthy pregnancy. Current symptoms.

Sluggish digestion
Overwhelming tiredness, onset around 2pm after lunch

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Current Health:

Kathy has a demanding stressful job and she rates her current stress levels at 7/8 out of 10.
She looks great and she has that pregnancy glow about her. Her weight is good and she has recently begun swimming and exercising again after feeling too tired in her first trimester.
Her digestive system is struggling and her stool movements have become irregular. She feels extremely tired in the afternoons.
Her tongue has a slightly yellow coating in mid to back areas indicating digestive issues.

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Recommendations / Protocol:

Kathy brought along her five-day food diary to the consultation. We were able to look at her current typical diet and identify any gaps in key nutrients her changing body needs.
We discussed a nutritionally rich diet for pregnancy and food sources of the main vitamins and minerals needed to support the greater structural and metabolic requirements, as well as the increased need for fluids.
Eating more fresh fruit and drinking more water will help get bowel movements become more regular.
We discussed the key foods to avoid during pregnancy.
Breakfast – she cannot face eating first thing in the morning and we discussed alternative packed breakfasts to eat at work. Eating breakfast and mid morning snack will enable her to have a lighter lunch meal and minimise the extreme after lunch tiredness.
Lunch – a lighter meal avoiding starchy carbohydrates. Part of the tiredness is due to the digestive system shutting you down so that it can get on with its job. Getting some fresh air at lunch and going for a short walk will also help.
Exercise – continue with swimming, start working on your pelvic floor muscles. These exercises can be done anywhere, anytime. Consider a pregnancy yoga class to help prepare you and your body for labour.
Bio Care AnteNatal Forte – low dose multi-vitamin and mineral complex for preganacy and lactation.
Bio Care Mega EPA – good source of omega 3.
Recommended a blood test to look at her iron levels.

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Follow up (4 weeks)

Kathy is feeling more energised on a protein rich breakfast (she is off the white toast and strawberry jam) and less tired in the afternoons.
She is exercising on average 4x per week and has decided that yoga is not for her.
Tongue is less coated.
Her blood tests show normal iron levels.
Going into the 3rd trimester we discussed the increased need for calcium and the good food sources of calcium.

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I am happy to report that since our time together Kathy has given birth to a beautiful and healthy baby.

All information on this website is intended for nutritional information only and is not meant for medical diagnostic purposes. Please consult your physician about any serious illness or health symptoms.
Nutritional therapy is not an alternative to conventional medicine, but complementary.