We are Australia’s largest democratic association of natural therapy practitioners, and represent a large number of skilled nutritionists in Sydney. Our strict membership criteria allows us to keep quality high, with every one of our nutritionists fully qualified and accredited, and up-to-date on the latest advancements in their field. This allows them to provide first-rate advice to their clients.
✔️All of our nutritionists are qualified and accredited to Australian standards
✔️We have been representing the very best Sydney nutritionists for more than 60 years
✔️Nutritious food can be absolutely crucial for good health, and our nutritionists can teach you how to eat well
✔️We work with a variety of health funds, educators, researchers, and WorkCover authorities to get the best for our nutritionists
✔️Every one of our nutritionists are officially recognised by Australia’s State and Federal governments
✔️The advice and meal plans that our nutritionists create are based on scientifically-proven information
Nutritionists are food scientists who give people advice on how to eat healthily, and obtain their health goals. They have a comprehensive understanding of the nutritional value of foods, which allows them to create meal plans that provide you with a balanced, nutritious diet.
The primary goal of a nutritionist is to provide you with dietary recommendations to improve your health. This is usually in the form of a meal plan that is tailored to your health circumstances and goals. For example, if you have high cholesterol and are also trying to lose weight, they may recommend a low-fat diet for you, with clear instructions on every meal that you should eat for each day of the week.
In your first appointment, they may ask about your health history, intolerances (like whether you’re celiac), and your current level of health. This gives them the information they need to create a nutritious meal plan for you that also accommodates your particular tastes. The diet will only work if you enjoy the meals you’re eating!
Once your meal plans are underway, the nutritionist may meet with you regularly to monitor your progress, and ask how you’re getting on with the food. They will also try to teach you about the positive and negative relationships between food and health, and how good food can help you to stave off disease.
Sports nutritionists are regular nutritionists who can help you to achieve your fitness and performance goals. They tend to work with fitness enthusiasts, athletes, and sports models to give them a meal plan that helps them to perform highly in their career. These meal plans should also help their client to recover quickly following a game or competition. Sports nutritionists are usually hired by sports clubs, but you can find plenty with private practices.
Before the 18th century, nobody understood the nutritional value of food. Scottish doctor James Lind was the first to properly discover that certain foods had health benefits, specifically when he tried giving scurvy-ridden sailors citrus fruits to see whether it would have any effect on their disease. It did, and by stocking plenty of lemons and oranges for long-haul voyages, he was able to all-but eliminate scurvy for the sailors. James Lind might be considered the first nutritionist for this reason.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t until 200 years later that the first vitamin was identified, after German scientist Justus von Liebig decided to figure out the chemical nature of food. Other vitamins were quickly discovered from that point, which paved the way for the science of nutrition.
Dietitians and nutritionists are very similar, but there are some key differences between the two. Dietitians usually focus on calories and how they impact a person’s health and tend to work in clinical settings like hospitals. Nutritionists take a more overarching, holistic approach, attempting to treat the entire mind and body by giving dietary advice, recommending exercises and other lifestyle advice.
Nutritionists and dietitians are both qualified in the science of nutrition, but dietitians can go a little further by providing advice on diseases and other health conditions, and how food can affect them.
There’s a variety of specialisations for nutritionists, including:
Maintaining a healthy diet with nutritious whole foods is one of the very best things you can do for your health. There are an incredible number of benefits, which include:
To help you achieve your health goals and maintain a high level of well-being, a nutritionist employs the following techniques:
Many people visit nutritionists with particular goals they want to achieve. They may have gained a stubborn 10kg after reaching their third decade, and want to get into better shape. They may be aware of the extensive health benefits of a plant-based diet, and how it can reduce the risk of the two biggest killers—heart disease and cancer.4 They may just want to feel better from day to day.
Whatever the patient’s goals, a qualified nutritionist will be able to offer sound nutritional advice to help achieve them.
To provide you with an effective meal plan, a nutritionist must first understand your existing diet, and what needs to be changed. They’ll talk to you about the foods you usually eat, and how often you eat them. They’ll also learn which foods you dislike, and try to keep them out of your meal plan if possible.
If you’re a fitness enthusiast who burns lots of calories each day, the nutritionist will need to take this into consideration when creating your meal plan, so that they can help you to achieve your goals. Similarly, if you don’t get much exercise at all, there may be less or different foods included in your meal plan to account for this.
After understanding the patient’s general health, their current diet, and the goals they’re trying to achieve, a nutritionist may create a customised meal plan. To be effective, this must be closely followed by the patient, and the nutritionist usually checks in with them along the way to ensure this is happening.
Food diaries might also be recommended, which are used to keep track of every single thing that has been consumed.
ANTA is committed to the delivery of public safety, quality health care and promoting informed choices. This is reflected in our Scope and Standards of Practice. Nutritionists must meet strict criteria to become ANTA members, and the easiest way to choose one is by using ANTA’s nutritionist practitioner directory, which you can access using the search form at the top of this page.
Here are some guidelines to follow when choosing a nutritionist:
In your first appointment with a nutritionist, they will likely ask about your medical history, diet, lifestyle, and more. They will measure your weight, height, and perhaps your body fat levels. This entire process can take up to an hour and a half to complete, but by the time you’re done, they will have everything they need to start working on a tailored meal plan for you.
Both nutritionists and dietitians are qualified in nutritional science, so either of them can help you to lose weight. Nutritionists tend to take a more holistic view of your health, considering other factors like your mental health as part of their work.
Diet can help to reduce menopause symptoms and ease the transition into the next stage of your life. A qualified nutritionist will be able to provide advice on which foods help to ease the symptoms of menopause.
We have a huge variety of nutritionists in Sydney, some of who may specialise in areas like child nutrition. The best thing to do is search for nutritionists using our practitioner directory, and read their profiles to check for specialisation with kids. They might also include this information on their website, which you can access from the directory itself.
