The NTA (Nutritional Therapy Association) Conference was held in Vancouver, WA this last week end where I attended 18 hours of fantastic lectures. I took 50 pages of notes and brought back so many new nutrition books I could hardly carry them to my car. A friend of mine came up from Salem, Oregon to join me for dinner. She spent several hours in the hotel lobby and commented she had never seen such a large group of people where everyone looked fit and healthy! Perhaps she had never been in a room with 200 nutritionists before! . . . Neither had I for that matter.
I go to two kinds of conferences . . . either for lymphedema or nutrition and recently realized I much prefer the latter. Why, you might ask? Well, we pretty well understand most lymphedemas, but what we as therapists are not getting is how often underlying factors are complicating the therapy and interfering with the recovery process. We can start with endocrine system or hormonal imbalances, chronic inflammation most often caused by food intolerances and sugar handling issues.
Case in point: Upon my return, I met with a lipoedena patient whose therapist had ordered a JoViPak vest. The patient was particularly concerned about her abdominal swelling which she thought was a result of her double mastectomy. I was grateful the patient lived close to Seattle and was willing to make the trip to our facility as I really needed to see her before I could, in good conscience, proceed with the order. She was missing only two axillary lymph nodes and after seeing the patient in person, I assured her a vest was not going to fix the problem. The amount of water she was retaining was a clear message that something was horribly out of balance in her body and needed immediate attention. At this point in time I believe she needs to find a good nutritionist and a doctor who can do appropriate testing to correctly diagnose the source of her problem.
I was pleased to learn that NTA is now offering their Nutritional Therapist Training Program throughout the United States. They are available in both Classroom and Distance Learning Formats. I want to encourage lymphedema therapists to learn everything they can about nutrition (from a holistic point of view) as they will find it extremely valuable in their practice. They can not only help their patients better manage their lymphedema but quite possibly guide them out of the disease cycle.
You can get more information on nutrition training by calling NTA directly at 800 918 9798 or visit their website www.nutritionaltherapy.com.