The Suffolk Nutrition Clinic
Children
In 2009 I set up The Suffolk Children’s Nutrition Clinic with the aim of providing specialist advice to children and their parents. Children are prone to their own specific health conditions, tend to have different food preferences to adults, and have different nutrient requirements.
I see children with a variety of problems including food allergies, eczema, asthma, and behavioural conditions including autism and ADHD. All children are given an individual programme to follow after I have taken a detailed history of their clinical symptoms and recorded their food intake. If a supplement is required I recommend powders where possible to make it easier for children to take them.
After the first follow up appointment, I write to a child’s GP’s about the nutritional programme they are following with their parent’s consent.
Allergy test
The allergy test, produced by Cambridge Nutritional Sciences is useful for many children as food allergies can be the cause of many paediatric health problems. It is a simple test involving a finger prick and the collection of a small capillary tube of blood; the whole process takes just over half an hour and can be done while you wait in the clinic.I believe identifying simple imbalances during childhood can be helpful in preventing health complications later in adulthood.
Gaps Diet
If you are a parent of a child with behavioural problems you may be interested in this. GAPS stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome and is a diet promoted by Dr Natasha Campbell- McBride to help children with Autism and ADHD.Children with behavioural disorders often have unhealthy digestive tracts and can experience a range of symptoms including flatulence, stomach pains, constipation and diarrhoea. These symptoms can be the result of toxins present in the gut and these toxins can also have a profoundly negative effect on behaviour. The GAPS diet helps to reduce the production of toxins, creating a healthier digestive tract and most importantly a child who is happier, calmer and more focussed.