Optimum Nutrition is simply giving your body the best possible intake of nutrients whilst avoiding anti-nutrients, to enable you to reach your full potential

Optimum Nutrition, together with exercise and stress reduction, can provide a state of health that gives protection from the major diseases, such as heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes and cancer, and a slowing down of the ageing process.

Apart from degenerative diseases, nutritional therapy has been shown to be effective in helping less serious conditions which can reduce our enjoyment of life. These include PMS, menopausal symptoms, acne, eczema, allergies, persistent tiredness, frequent infections, digestive discomfort, ulcers, IBS and more.

The Institute for Optimum Nutrition teaches ortho-molecular nutrition - this means giving the body the right (ortho) molecules to heal itself.

Optimum nutrition aims to supply optimum levels of the 45 or so nutrients upon which we depend by altering diet and when necessary taking nutritional supplements.

But surely , “As long as you eat a ‘well-balanced diet’ you get all the nutrients you need.”?

No single piece of research in the last decade has shown that people that consider they are eating a well-balanced diet are receiving all the Recommended Daily Amounts (RDAs) of vitamins and minerals, let alone those levels of nutrients that are consistent with optimum nutrition.

In reality the vast majority of us are deficient in a number of essential nutrients. For example, a government survey in 1990 showed the average person does not get the RDA for iron.

And these levels are based on the needs of a healthy person.

Many factors raise requirements above the RDA, such as alcohol consumption, smoking, pregnancy, times of stress including puberty and pre-menstrual phases, pollution, and special dietary habits, e.g. veganism.

Each year the average person breathes in 2g of solid pollution, eats 12lb chemical food additives and has up to a gallon of pesticides sprayed on their fruit and vegetables.

Simply eating a well-balanced diet may not be enough.