I am the founder of LS Nutrition and a qualified practicing Nutritionist with a Bachelor of Health Science in Nutrition & Dietetic Medicine. I decided to pursue nutrition after experiencing
ANTA has been representing Melbourne nutritionists for over 60 years, taking on the very best in the city. Our strict membership criteria help us to keep standards extremely high, with every one of our Melbourne nutritionists qualified and accredited to Australian standards, which allows them to deliver exceptional care to their clients.
✔️Every one of our nutritionists is accredited and qualified to Australian standards
✔️We have been working with nutritionists in Melbourne for over half a century
✔️A healthy and nutritious diet is vital for good health, and our experts can provide life-promoting advice.
✔️We work with researchers, educators, health funds and WorkCover authorities
✔️All of our nutritionists are recognised by Australia’s State and Federal governments
✔️Our nutritionists use science-backed information to give you with the latest health-boosting dietary advice
A nutritionist is someone who provides health advice on matters relating to food. They have a thorough understanding of how the nutrients in food impacts our health, and are capable of giving sound advice on how to achieve good health through a healthy diet.
First and foremost, a nutritionist aims to give you dietary recommendations that will improve your overall health. These recommendations will be tailored to your unique health circumstances, such as whether you have a history of high cholesterol, diabetes, and other key considerations. In your initial appointment, the nutritionist will ask you a variety of questions relating to your health history, current health, and intolerances. This allows them to offer a comprehensive and effective meal plan that is mindful of your personal tastes—a diet only works when it is followed!
In addition to providing you with tailored meal plans, a nutritionist will meet with you regularly to monitor your progress, and chat about how you’re doing. They will also aim to teach you about the relationship between food and good health, and how it can help to prevent disease.
Legendary Greek physician Hippocrates said “let food be thy medicine,” which is a fitting mantra for every nutritionist.
Sports nutritionists focus on improving your athletic performance by ingesting the most appropriate foods. As with regular nutritionists, they can help you to develop comprehensive meal plans that fit with your schedule, and allow you to perform at your very best for your chosen sport. They can also help you to achieve certain physical goals like reducing body fat or increasing muscle mass.
The health benefits of food were not understood until the 18th century, when scurvy-laden European sailors became better after eating citrus fruits rich in vitamin C. This was first discovered by Scottish doctor James Lind, who helped to eliminate scurvy entirely from ships, and provided the first clear example of the health potential of food.
Unfortunately, it took another 200 years before the first vitamin was discovered by the German scientist Justus Von Liebig. From then on, other vitamins were quickly discovered, and the science of nutrition was born. The very nutritionists worked in hospitals in the late 19th century, when the health benefits of food had finally been accepted by the general public.
Given that the two are so similar, you might be wondering about the difference between a dietitian and a nutritionist. Dieticians usually focus on calories and how they affect a person’s health, but they can also work in clinical settings such as hospitals. Nutritionists take a more holistic approach, focusing on treating the entire body through dietary advice, exercises like walking, de-stressing techniques, and other lifestyle advice.
Both nutritionists and dietitians are qualified in the science of nutrition, but dietitians can go one step further by offering treatment advice for a broad range of diseases and health conditions.
Nutritionists can specialise in a number of different areas, including:
Holistic nutrition is the notion that your health is affected by complex relationships in your body, which include physical, chemical, mental, and emotional processes. A holistic nutritionist is someone who considers all of these key areas, so that they have an overarching understanding of your health, rather than just focusing on one factor like your physical health.
Eating healthy, nutritious food is one of the most effective ways to stay in excellent shape—inside and out. It has a huge variety of benefits, which include:
A nutritionist may use the following techniques to help you achieve good health through food:
Some people visit nutritionists to achieve certain goals, like losing weight or improving their sports performance. The nutritionist can not only help you to conquer your biggest health goals, but will also monitor your performance and make any necessary adjustments along the way.
Nutritional analysis is the process of understanding your existing diet—the foods you eat and how often you eat them. This gives them a good insight into the macro and micro nutrients you are consuming, and allows them to offer recommendations on what should be changed.
To help you achieve your goals, a nutritionist may also need to understand how much exercise you complete every week. If you’re a couch potato, you will need fewer calories than a marathon runner.
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.
Every nutritionist that we represent has met our strict membership criteria, so the easiest way to find a high quality nutritionist is through our practitioner directory at the top of this page. But if you’re set on finding someone yourself, they should hold either an Advanced Diploma of Nutrition or a Bachelor of Health Science (Nutrition), be up to date with the latest nutritional science (this changes a lot), and their office should be clean and presented in a professional way.
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.
If you’re struggling to recover from an eating disorder, a nutritionist can provide you with sound advice on how to get the nutrients you need to return to excellent health. In fact, a doctor may refer you to a nutritionist once the eating disorder is under control.
We have a huge variety of nutritionists in Melbourne, some of who may specialise in areas like paleo. The best thing to do is search for nutritionists using our practitioner directory, and read their profiles to check for specialisation in paleo. They might also include this information on their website, which you can access from the directory itself.