What is the difference between nutrition therapy and the advice I get from my doctor?
The big answer is that a person’s doctor and nutritionist should work as a complementary team. We bring different skills to the table. Most people would be surprised at how little nutritional training most physicians get. In addition, traditional medicine and nutrition typically take a different orientation toward health. Traditional medicine, and patients’ typical use of traditional medicine, is primarily reactive; people go to a doctor when something hurts. Wise doctors will talk with their patients about prevention, but most of medicine deals with disease. The solutions suggested by physicians and nutritionists also differ. Much of the remedies of traditional medicine are oriented toward suppressing symptoms. For example, the medicine a doctor often prescribes for acid reflux is intended to suppress reflux, not to find and resolve the cause. The joke among nutritionists is that acid reflux is not an antacid drug deficiency. A nutritionist’s approach is primarily wellness oriented. W
