About Me
My Story
Liz Mountford
I hold a Bachelor of Health Science degree in Nutritional Medicine and a post graduate 1st class research honours degree investigating the impact of nutrients on the intracellular alpha-synuclein protein formation in Parkinsons Disease.
I am an Associate Nutritionist wtih the Nutrition Society of Australia & Member of Australian Natural Therapists Association.
I currently consult privately and through regional health practices to clients across the south-west of Western Australia on how to use nutrition as a way of assisting in the treatment of many health conditions.
I take a holistic approach that supports and works with any treatments from your doctor and I have a particular interest in the role of the gut and how the balance and interactions of gut bacteria affect people’s overall physical and mental health.
To further my professional development alongside my consulting practice, I completed a post graduate research honours degree in nutrition and dietetic medicine. My original research specifically focused on the effects of diet or nutrients on reducing symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease from both a physical and biological perspective.
My Background
The majority of my working life was spent in busy corporate environments in the UK and Australia, with long hours, and not feeling able to focus on my health and well being. A number of years ago, I became increasingly frustrated that I had lost control of that part of my life. I decided it was time to manage this properly and ultimately resulted in a change in career.
Having grown up on a farm in the South West, I had always been interested in good food, nutrition and how the quality of organic farm sourced foodstuffs impacted on health. I knew there was a lot of information on diets, food, nutrition and supplements and I noticed how people were always reading and talking about the latest trends in this area, without a real scientific understanding of what they were proposing to do to their bodies. I found all this information extremely confusing and didn’t know what to believe. What was very apparent, was that the people who ate a diet of whole unprocessed foods, felt and looked the healthiest.
I wanted to find out why, work out fact from fiction and, with my interest already in food and it’s nutritional value, I completed a Bachelors degree in Health Science and specifically Nutritional Medicine.
I now use this knowledge and my practical experience to help people to understand how food and nutrition can benefit their health and assist them in managing numerous health related issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I claim on private health insurance?
Private Health Care Rebates available with Australian Fund Management, Australian Regional Health Group (ARHG) , Australian Unity, CBHS, GU Health, HBF, Medibank Private & NIB.
Please check with your fund if you have the appropriate extras cover.
Can I claim on Medicare?
At this point, my services are not claimable under Medicare.
HOW CAN NUTRITIONAL MEDICINE HELP?
Many health issues such as anxiety, depression, ADHD and digestive disorders are caused or aggravated when the body is depleted in certain nutrients, however by supporting these known area’s of depletion through dietary changes and selective supplementation, Nutritional Medicine can help you regain your overall health.
There is increasing interest in the community in using nutrition and diet to help with a wide range of health issues and concerns. The pool of evidence supporting the use of specific diet, nutrition and nutritional supplements to help with certain health issues is also getting larger all the time. These two factors, together with its clinical effectiveness, and very low risk of side affects means that tailored nutrition to support good health is an easy way for clients to pro-actively take charge of their own health.
What is Nutritional Medicine?
Nutritional Medicine is based on the principle that nutrients are needed for the proper functioning of all the biochemical processes on which our bodies depend. Disturbances in these biochemical processes, which can be caused by the body not receiving these nutrients, may have an impact on your well being and contribute to the development of poor health.
There are many factors that can cause a disturbance in your body’s biochemical functions, such as poor diet and lifestyle choices around exercise, environment chemicals, virus and bacterial infections, genetics, and stress are just some of the influencing factors.
However, a one size fits all approach to using nutritional therapies for health and well being just doesn’t work. You are individual and nutrient requirements to support your own metabolic function for health, can and will differ enormously from everyone else.
Symptoms or the cause of those symptoms?
Symptom = “a physical or mental feature which is regarded as indicating a condition of disease”
Cause = “a thing that gives rise to an action, phenomenon, or condition”
Modern medicine is lifesaving. If you have an immediate life threatening condition then the best place for you is with our doctors in our healthcare system. However, there are numerous health issues that are not life threatening which are exacerbated by lifestyle factors and unfortunately most modern practices tend to treat the symptoms without addressing the underlying cause of that symptom.
Lets take, for example, the traditional treatment for acid reflux, which is usually a prescription of medication. However, there are many causes of acid reflux which can also be considered for treatment, such as:
- low stomach acid.
- high blood sugar levels.
- excess weight.
- eating too many fermentable carbohydrates.
Medication will only mask acid reflux symptoms in the short term and not address the underlying cause. By addressing the cause as well as the symptom, this will provide long term relief and resolution of the symptom, and not just mask it.
When I treat clients, I always look to address the underlying cause and not just the symptom. I do this by spending time to complete a comprehensive review of your health, diet and lifestyle to help understand your individual requirements.
How do I protect myself from unqualified advice?
Unfortunately, increased interest in the area of food and nutrition to support health has resulted in an explosion in people claiming to offer expertise in that area who are only qualified to provide very generic advice. I am qualified Clinical Nutritionist which means that I have studied for over 3 years to complete a Bachelors degree in Nutritional Medicine and an additional 2 years to complete my 1st class research honours degree.
These degree includes comprehensive scientific study on the body’s bio-chemistry which gives me the technical base to best determine what diet, nutrition or supplement can be safely and effectively used clinically. I also continue to undertake professional studies to ensure I am up to date with the latest developments and more importantly give clients the comfort that the treatment I am giving them is based on proven research, rather than the latest food fad trending on social media.
When choosing to take nutritional advice, please check that they have appropriate qualifications, especially in the area of supplementation. What may be a good supplement generically, may not be right for you and could cause interactions if the person providing the advice does not have the right technical background and qualifications. If you are on medication, then seeking qualified advice is even more important, especially if a supplement is suggested. A qualified practitioner will use their clinical knowledge and access to health practitioner only resources to ensure there is no risk of interactions occurring.
Many supplements bought off the shelf, or from unqualified practitioners are also not in strong enough doses to be of therapeutic benefit and will often have “filler” ingredients to compensate, or will be in the wrong form of a specific nutrient, and probably prescribed at incorrect dosages, which can cause further health issues.