#39: Functional Health with Ben Atkinson

Today on the podcast I am speaking with Ben Atkinson.

Ben is unique in his perspective having both a formal qualification in nutrition as well as training and an appreciation for functional and lifestyle medicine. Ben is a nutritionist with the core belief that a holistic and functional approach to health is fundamental to optimal well-being.  He has held research and science communications posts at health institutes and charities, always aiming to empower individuals to take control of their health by increasing access to and understanding of health information.

Ben now hosts the Functional Health Podcast and is setting up a platform to promote the integration of allied health professionals.

Functional medicine practitioners, nutritional therapists, nutritionists, dietitians and CAM professionals all provide unique perspectives on patient-derived treatment protocols. The common goal of all health professionals must be considered greater than the differences that so often prevent collaboration. It is imperative that the myriad of conventional, complementary and allied nutrition professionals unite in order to prosper in the changing landscape of healthcare.

Listen to the end for a summary of what we covered on the podcast, we talked through some of these points:

• Being true to your interpretations on diet
• Eat real food messaging
• The idea behind Functional Health -
• Utility of Functional Approaches - Timeline, Root Cause medicine, all have merit
• Being intuitive to what serves you
• Nocebo effect
• Elimination diets pros and cons

Click here to view the recipe video that I cooked for Ben on the show on my YouTube channel so you can see how delicious and easy it was to make .. even whilst recording a podcast!

Don’t forget to check out Ben on Instagram and the new Functional Health website and do have a listen to some of the other podcasts that Ben has recorded too - you will definitely enjoy them!

Have a listen to the podcast and enjoy - and don’t forget to give us a 5* rating on the podcast, it really does help to spread the love and the message and for others to find us too!

There is A LOT of evidence based, safe dietary and lifestyle change that we as practitioners can be confidently discussing with our patients.  Listen to the end for a summary of our discussion and how to improve your overall wellbeing.

And don’t forget to check out The Doctor’s Kitchen newsletter every week for some great, easy to make, recipes using seasonal ingredients!

And you can find all of this information and more at www.thedoctorskitchen.com and don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter for weekly science based recipes and listen to the end of the pod for a summary of our discussion.

*EAT TO BEAT ILLNESS has now been released in the USA! You can pick it up in all good book stores including Barnes and Noble, Indiebound and amazon online.