Four great reasons to become a nutritional therapist
Looking for a rewarding career change? Here are four great reasons to become a nutritional therapist.
If 2020 has taught us anything it’s that our health is our most valuable asset. An increase in remote working has also highlighted the importance of a work-life balance. So why not embark on a career that helps you to support your own health, and the health of others, whilst providing that much needing flexibility?
Nutritional therapy is classed as a complimentary medicine. It has evolved using the Functional Medicine model, which focuses on treating the underlying causes of ill-health, rather than just addressing symptoms.
This model is scientifically based and looks at imbalances in diet and lifestyle which lead to poor health.
Nutritional therapists recognise that each person is an individual with unique requirements. For this reason, they develop personalised plans for clients, rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach.
There are many benefits of a career in nutritional therapy, and a number of reasons why people decide to re-train. Here are four of the primary reasons.
1) It’s a flexible career that makes a difference
A lot of people choose to become a nutritional therapist because they want to move away from a mundane career and enjoy a rewarding one that makes a difference.
Often, clients come to nutritional therapy feeling quite desperate, having tried other options that haven’t worked. As a nutritional therapist, you can help to provide interventions that make real improvements in people’s lives.
Nutritional therapy can also give you the flexibility to balance work alongside other responsibilities, especially if you are a parent or carer. You can choose your own hours of work to fit around your commitments, all while truly making a difference to the lives of the people you work with.
2) You can improve your own health and the health of loved ones
If people have been through their own health issues, it can trigger them to look into nutritional therapy. Sometimes, they have been to see a nutritional therapist themselves and, after seeing the difference it made to their own health, want to be in a position to help others.
Studying nutritional therapy also arms you with the knowledge to support family or friends who are experiencing health concerns, or with their overall wellbeing.
3) You can feed your passion for food
Many people enter into a job after school or university that pays the bills, but doesn’t feed their passion. Then, when they discover nutritional therapy, they find it feeds their passion for food and for helping others to optimise their wellbeing.
Many nutritional therapists even go on to publish cookbooks, or to write recipes for magazines.
4) You can enjoy a varied career
Although many nutritional therapists go on to work one-to-one with clients in a clinical setting, there are so many other avenues you can take.
From running wellbeing retreats to developing products; from writing books and blogs to teaching and training; from working as an expert supporting organisations to creating health videos or appearing on TV; these are just some of the options that will be open to you.
What are the next steps?
There are a number of nutritional therapy courses in the UK, but if you want to be able to join the professional body for nutritional therapy – the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) – you will need to study a bachelor’s degree on an NTEC accredited course.
NTEC accreditation means that the course is accredited against the National Occupational Standards for nutritional therapy.
Founded in 1984, The Institute for Optimum Nutrition has been training nutritional therapists for more than 35 years. The BSc (Hons) Nutritional Therapy is uniquely dual-accredited by NTEC and the British Accreditation Council (BAC),and validated by the University of Portsmouth, a TEF (Teaching Excellence Framework) gold rated university.
The degree is part-time, with both online and attendance options available, allowing you to balance education with life and everything in between.
Visit ION’s website to find out more about studying and start your journey towards a rewarding and flexible career.
Photo by Stephanie Belton Photography
