What is Functional Nutrition?
Functional Nutrition aims to treat nutritional imbalances that result in the cause of various diseases. These imbalances occur due to poor diet, the presence of toxins in industrialized foods, the water we drink, the lack of physical activity and all the changes that result in our bodies.
The aim of Functional Nutrition is to analyze how our body interacts with food and how the nutrition of our cells works. Our body has more than 300 trillion cells, and the nutrients provided by our diet determine their formation, maintenance and proper functioning. To do this, we need to know how important food and the food process are for the body. Nutrients always work together (and not in isolation), so the lack of an essential nutrient can alter the balance of the entire metabolism.
It's a new specialty in Brazil, but Functional Nutrition has been around for over 13 years in the United States and Canada.
How is the consultation carried out?
Dietary habits, laboratory tests, mineralogram (if necessary), toxic metal analysis and a questionnaire of signs and symptoms are analyzed, in which nutrient deficiencies (or excesses) are assessed, as well as whether there is toxic metal poisoning, relating it to all the symptoms presented by the patient. The treatment is focused on the cause of the problem, not just the symptoms or the disease, taking into account individuality, as not every food that is said to be good for one person may be extremely harmful to another.
The patient is approached as a whole, i.e. as a set of systems that interrelate and are influenced by environmental, emotional and dietary factors, the use of medication and lifestyle habits. Only after evaluating all these parameters is a personalized diet plan made and, if necessary, supplementation with vitamins, minerals, amino acids or herbal medicines, according to each person's metabolism.
What are the most common symptoms of nutritional imbalances?
- Food hypersensitivities, constipation, diarrhea, chronic inflammatory diseases, excess weight, arthritis, arthrosis, excessive fatigue, high cholesterol, hypo- and hyperthyroidism, hyperactivity, insomnia, weight loss difficulties, insulin resistance, diabetes, hypertension, hair loss, weakened nails, cellulite, chronic candidiasis, recurrent infections, low weight, PMS, poor digestion, reflux, heartburn, gastritis, depression, among others.
Dr. Sílvia Coelho - CRN4-08101565
Functional Clinical Nutritionist
Member of the Brazilian Center for Functional Nutrition
Member of the Brazilian Medical Association of Oxidology
Assistant Nutritionist Dr. Andréa Santa Rosa
Postgraduate student in Orthomolecular Nutrition
Contributor to the book “Functional Nutrition”
Nutrition Consultant
Português do Brasil 
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