Thank you to all 79 students that participated in the Student Marking Grid Survey. Your feedback has now been analysed and the Survey findings are available to view on Moodle here. 

The External Examiner's (EE) for the BSc and MSc/PG Dip programmes generally commend CNELM as 'good practice' for the quality of feedback we provide to students. The EE for the BSc programme has been interested to find out how students themselves are using the marking grids. 

We are pleased to report some key trends on how they are used by students: - 

The Senior Academic Team (SAT) have reviewed the Survey findings and have identified some ways in which we can further enhance marking grids and encourage students to make the best use of them. In addition, there is a drive by the Senior Management Team to further enhance our good practice on the quality and consistency of feedback given to students. 

A useful insight based on the results that the SAT members discussed was as follows: -

By Faye Hall, Nutritional Therapist, NLP Coach, Head of Coaching CNELM

When people come to see a nutritional therapist, they have come because they want something to change in their life. In this case it usually relates to health, weight or managing their diet in the hope of supporting and improving a chronic health condition.  

Nutritional Therapists qualifying from CNELM are extremely well equipped to offer support in the form of nutrition therapy (interpretation of tests, supplement recommendations, food plans and nutrition education) and lifestyle management (through a coaching approach). 

An important consideration for the success of a nutritional therapy practice is client compliance and satisfaction. Since its conception seventeen years ago, CNELM has integrated a coaching programme into its courses in the knowledge that it is rarely enough to ‘tell’ a person what to do and what to eat through evidence based recommendations. 

In order for a person to change their nutrition, introduce supplements and alter other lifestyle factors, they will need to have tools to adjust their behaviour, thinking, beliefs and identity accordingly. 

For changes to take place and be successfully maintained there are several factors that may need to be in place for a person. 

Part 1 - A Goal 

Goal orientated Nutritional Therapy is encouraged. Ensure that you structure your session giving focus to your client’s own goal and make sure they write it down as a well formed, succinct sentence.  

Is the goal well-formed?  i.e. linguistically positive, fits in with their own life, specific (when, where), and has the client ‘imagined’ how it will be when it is achieved, in other words have they created in their mind evidence (visual, kinaesthetic and auditory) of what it will be like once achieved; finally check that it is in their control and that they take responsibility for creating the desired change.  

All these elements combine to increase a person’s chance of a successful change in their life following Nutritional Therapy support. This goal setting process is a short series of questions, (taught in Foundation Coaching and based on the PESEO process). It can be integrated into a consultation in just a few minutes. As you become versed and experienced in integrating a goal setting process into your consultations you may come to realise that most people’s desire to change their nutrition relates to something seemingly quite unrelated that feeling well will enable them to do or achieve in their life. 

So, how specifically may these questions enhance client compliance? 

Motivation 
Referring to the client’s own well-formed goal accesses a source of motivation for your client - this is something that can help your client keep taking steps forwards to where they want to be.  When a person has positively visualised, felt and imagined the change has already happened in their life they have a clear direction, a referenced internal experience of how good it can be; they therefore have a direction to head in and a clear outcome (destination) to move towards.

Meaning
Linking your Nutritional Therapy recommendations to the client outcome gives them real meaning for the client: “If I choose to eat this way it means I will get …..in my life’’, or “If I choose to take these supplements it means I will feel……” (Rather than I have to eat this way because the expert I am paying told me it’s good for me). These questions give real meaning to a person’s decision to engage in nutritional therapy. They and help the client to engage neurologically with how their life can be different.

Understanding barriers to change
The answers your client gives in a goal setting process also act as an inventory and help a practitioner understand what is important to them (including information about client beliefs and perceptions that you may use later on to inform your work).  

Mobilising Resources 
Setting goals gives your client not only long-term vision but also short-term motivation to mobilise resources. It focuses a person to commit to really taking personal responsibility for first steps and considering actions required such as organising your time, resources and habits to make the most of the process. 

Tracking Device
Having a goal also acts like a tracking device for both you and your client: as you go through the process are you getting closer or further from the goal? What may need to happen to keep focused on the goal? 

Gaining Credibility, Respect and Trust 
By skilfully helping a person to identify what they really ‘want’ from the process, and linking your recommendations back to this outcome, you are demonstrating that you understand your client and their needs. You are empowering them to take responsibility for the change and giving them ownership of the process. Being able to focus on your client in this way is likely to help you to gain their trust and respect as a practitioner in addition to your expert knowledge and qualifications.

In the next Nutritional Supplement editions we will continue to explore issues around improving client compliance, look out for: - 

If anyone has any coaching angles they would like to see discussed further, please email coriander@cnelm.co.uk or faye@cnelm.co.uk 
 

This special issue of the Natural Medicine Journal focuses on the microbiome and integrative medicine and incudes articles on The Gut-Skin Axis and Mechanisms for Communication, the Ketogenic Diet and Seizures, Synbiotic Supplementation for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Breast Tissue Microbiota, which concludes that microbial communities exist in the breast tissue and that when tested, distinct microbial differences were found in women with benign breast tissue versus cancerous. 

Even more fascinating than the existence of microbes in breast tissue is that this has been well known for years amongst cosmetic surgeons, partially explaining incidence of post-operative infection in women. 
 

I would welcome a selection of brief reflections on your studies, student experience, or clinic or coaching clients that you think would be helpful to other students. We would really like to develop this section of the Student Newsletter over the coming year. Please email me at coriander@cnelm.co.uk with your input. 

This month’s case discussion is from the TAP Integrative and focuses on a Case of “Skinny” Fat Woman. Read the case discussion here and send me your thoughts on this case study for discussion in the next edition at coriander@cnelm.co.uk 

John Lewis with Waitrose is looking to move into a personalised nutrition approach by partnering with UK personalised nutrition firms Kaffoodle, OME Health, Best in Bag and DNANudge. These firms hope to help customers manage their own chronic health conditions and to use tools such as DNA mapping and microbiome profiling to personalise meals for them. 

What are your thoughts on this scheme? A welcome addition to personalised healthcare, or do you believe people need more detailed support? 

Karen Cunningham (PG Dip + NTPD):

“I have just a couple of thoughts on the Pukka issue (I was in charge of regulatory for some years in GB&I within the food industry and successfully defended an ASA complaint).

It doesn’t surprise me that the ASA ruled against on this; in fact, I am rather shocked that it got on to the shelves in the first place. The process of ‘Detox’ or ‘detoxification’ is a physiological process. Outside the body there are processes that detoxify e.g. reverse osmosis could be considered, perhaps, as it takes out contaminants from water. Ingredients in a food or drink could, in principle, support liver function, but in themselves cannot be regarded as detoxifying. Food law and the use of health claims, implied or otherwise, exist to protect the ‘average’ consumer from being misled. As such claims should be supported by extensive literature and scientific consensus within the scientific community. Understandably, the word ‘detox’ in the context of a food or beverage attracts a great deal of derision and amusement from this group.” 
 

If anyone has any insights to add to this, please do email me at coriander@cnelm.co.uk to be included in the next edition. I myself spotted two different types of "Detox Tea" on French supermarket shelves over the summer and wondered how long it might be until we see all products of this type cleared. 

Please also continue to keep in touch regarding conferences you've attended, books or articles you've read, or anything else you think would enlighten the rest of us!