Frequently Asked Questions
Here you’ll find answers to frequently asked questions. If you have a burning question that has not been answered (I do apologise) pop an email over to hello@ellefrizzell.com
What to expect from nutritional therapy
Nutritional therapy is a personalised, evidence-based approach to health that uses dietary and lifestyle changes to promote optimal health. Functional testing is often used to identify imbalances and allow for a more targeted health plan. Where appropriate, supplements may also be suggested.
Nutritional therapy uses a holistic approach, seeing symptoms and the body’s systems as connected. Recommendations are always personalised to your unique needs.
A very wise question as there is a lot of misinformation spread about. Nutrition professions all have different educational pathways and scopes of practice.
Dietitian
Dietitians are required to have a degree in dietetics or a postgraduate qualification in dietetics. They generally work in the NHS and are trained to manage conditions and diseases including bowel disorder, liver disease, kidney disease and conditions that require tube feeding.
The term ‘dietitian’ is protected and a dietitian must be registered with the British Dietetic Association (BDA) and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Nutritionist
Nutritionists are generally trained to focus on public health, nutrition research and food policies. Nutritionists tend to work within the community or in private practice. Appropriately qualified nutritionists will be registered with the Association for Nutrition (AfN).
The term ‘nutritionist’ is not a protected which means anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. Look for the term ‘registered nutritionist’ (RNutrs).
Nutritional therapist
Nutritional therapists (NTs) are trained in personalised, holistic health, seeing every system in the body as interconnected. They use evidence-based diet and lifestyle strategies as well as functional or genetic testing and supplements to optimise your health. NTs mainly work in private practice seeing clients on a 1 to 1 basis or doing group work.
Nutritional therapy is not a replacement for medical advice; it is complementary healthcare. RNTs work alongside medical professionals, and any ‘red flag’ symptoms will be appropriately referred on.
As of September 2020, nutritional therapists (NTs) need to hold a BSc honours degree or higher in order to register with the British Association of Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT). They should also be registered with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). The term ‘nutritional therapist’ is not protected. Look for the term ‘registered nutritional therapist (RNT), or ‘registered nutritional therapy practitioner (RNTP)’.
—
When I see and hear practitioners dismissing other disciplines within nutrition, it makes me sad. I genuinely believe we all have an important role to play in healthcare, and that collaboration and mutual respect ultimately serve us and our clients/ patients best.
Tips:
- Ensure your practitioner is registered with the appropriate body
- Alarm bells should ring if a nutritionist tells you that you need to detox or go on a juice fast
My approach is empathic and tailored to your needs. Recommendations are always guided by:
- your symptoms
- your medical history
- your lifestyle
- your health goals
- the latest evidence
- clinical experience
—
For more details see my Nutritional Therapy Services.
The following conditions are beyond my scope of practice as a nutritional therapy practitioner.
- Active or recent cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- Deep depression and/ or suicidal ideation
- Eating disorders
- Epilepsy
The above conditions are best managed by a multi-disciplinary team which may include medics, dietitians and psychiatrists.
Some nutritional therapists undertake additional specialist training to support clients with conditions such as eating disorders and cancer. If you are looking for a practitioner with this type of experience, you can search the BANT nutritional therapy practitioner directory to find therapists who have additional training and expertise in these areas.
No. As a registered nutritional therapy practitioner, I do not diagnose or claim to treat medical conditions.
My role is to provide complementary healthcare, using a functional approach to explore potential underlying causes of your symptoms. The focus is on optimising your health through evidence-based, personalised nutrition and lifestyle recommendations.
If a condition that requires diagnosis is suspected, I will refer you to your doctor for testing or onwards referal to a specialist, such as a gastroenterologist, dermatologist or immunologist.
Yes. If any symptoms need further investigation I will refer you to your doctor. I can also write to your GP and request testing were appropriate.
We also have the option to use private testing labs if needed.
This is highly individual and depends on a range of factors, including your current diet and nutrient status, the complexity of your health condition(s), and the severity and duration of your symptoms.
Some clients notice improvements in symptoms within the first few weeks, particularly when key dietary changes are introduced. However, more meaningful and sustained changes often take several months as underlying imbalances are addressed and the body begins to rebalance.
Ahead of an initial consultation, I’ll ask you to complete a health questionnaire and a 3-day food diary. This helps me build a clearer picture of your health, delve into research and ensures our time together is focused and effective.
During the initial consultation, we’ll take a deep dive into your health history, symptoms, diet and lifestyle.
This collaborative session is where we begin to explore potential root causes and build a personalised plan to support your health goals.
You’ll receive your health plan within 72 hours, along with a link to book your next appointment.
Appointments are between 30 and 60 minutes depending on the service you choose.
An initial appointment for a health package is 60 minutes and follow-up consultations are up to 45 minutes. Add on follow-up appointments are 30 minutes.
All appointments are held online via Google Meet. Once you book, you will receive an email containing your appointment link, and a reminder will be sent 24 hours before your session.
There is no need to download or install anything; simply click the link at the time of your appointment to join.
Please ensure you have a stable internet connection and choose a quiet, private space where you can speak freely and maintain confidentiality during your consultation.
Testing and supplements
Yes. Where appropriate, I use stool, saliva, urine, and blood testing to help identify potential imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, or other underlying factors that may be contributing to your symptoms.
Please note that these tests are an additional cost.
Where possible, I will also refer you to your GP for routine blood testing. If anything requires further medical investigation, I will refer you back to your doctor for appropriate follow-up and onward referral if needed, for example to a gastroenterologist or other specialist.
—
You can read more about my use of funtional testing here.
Food sensitivity testing can be helpful in some cases, but I rarely rely on these tests in isolation. While they may provide useful clues about foods that could be contributing to symptoms, they do not always explain why those reactions are occurring.
Food sensitivities can develop as a result of underlying gut imbalances, such as alterations in the gut microbiome, digestive dysfunction, inflammation, or impaired gut barrier function which can increase the likelihood of reacting to certain foods.
For this reason, I often find that food sensitivity testing is most valuable when used alongside a comprehensive stool test.
First, it’s important to understand the difference between a food intolerance and a food sensitivity, as the terms are often used interchangeably when they are actually quite different.
A food intolerance typically occurs when the body lacks the enzyme(s) needed to properly digest a particular food. For example, people with lactose intolerance do not produce enough of the enzyme lactase to effectively break down lactose, the natural sugar found in dairy products. Other food intolerance include: histamine intolerance and FODMAP intolerance.
A food sensitivity, on the other hand, involves a different mechanism and is often more complex. Food senitivities involve the immune system but are not IgE-mediated allergies.
IgG food sensitivity tests measure antibodies to specific foods and are designed to identify potential food sensitivities rather than intolerances. However, most IgG tests simply measure exposure to a food, meaning elevated IgG antibodies may simply reflect regular exposure to a food rather than indicating that the food is causing symptoms. As a result, these tests can sometimes lead to unnecessarily restrictive diets.
When using a food sensitivty test in practice I prefer to use a test that measures IgG antibody subclasses alongside a marker (complement C3d) which helps identify if a food has triggered an inflammatory response.
Food sensitivity testing is often more valuable when used alongside a comprehensive stool test.
The long-term goal of nutritional therapy is to obtain as many nutrients as possible from a well-balanced, varied diet.
However, supplements may sometimes be recommended as additional support, particularly in the short-term. Supplements may be recommended to help correct sub-optimal nutrition levels and provide symptom relief while dietary and lifestyle changes are being implemented.
In many cases, supplementation is temporary, and requirements may reduce as underlying imbalances are addressed and diet quality improves.
There are also situations where longer-term supplementation may be appropriate or necessary. For example, vitamin B12 for individuals following a vegan diet, vitamin D during the autumn and winter months in the UK, and omega-3 fatty acids if oily fish is not consumed regularly.
Supplement recommendations will always be evidence-based and personalised.
There is currently no strong evidence to support the use of probiotic supplements for general health in healthy individuals.
But in the right context probiotics can be helpful.
The efficacy of probiotics is strain specific, disease specific and outcome specific. In other words, probiotic benefits vary greatly depending on the specific probiotic strain, the health condition being treated and the specific desired outcome.
For example, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG, has evidence for use in upper respiratory tract infections, infant colic and acute diarrhoea. Where as, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus HN001, has been shown to enhance a pregnant women’s immunity which may subsequently benefit the development of foetal and newborn immunity.
In practice, probiotics are most effective when chosen strategically, rather than used routinely for general health support.
Food intolerances, sensitivities and elimination diets
Not necessarily. Gluten is not an issue for everyone, and there is no benefit in removing it unless there is a clear reason to do so. Whether a gluten free diet is appropriate depends on your symptoms, medical history, and individual response to gluten containing foods.
If coeliac disease is suspected, I will refer you to your doctor for testing. Some people experience non-coeliac gluten sensitivity, and certain autoimmune conditions, such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, may benefit from a gluten free diet. This decision will always be personalised rather than applied universally.
It very much depends on your health history and symptoms.
While some people with IBS find that reducing gluten improves their symptoms, gluten is not always the underlying issue.
In some cases, symptoms may be related to non-coeliac gluten sensitivity, while others may be reacting to wheat, which contains fermentable carbohydrates (FODMAPs) that can trigger digestive symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, and altered bowel habits.
It’s also important to recognise that food sensitivities in IBS are often not the root cause of the problem. They’re often a sign that the gut environment is not functioning optimally. Factors such as imbalances in the gut microbiome, changes in digestive function, or increased intestinal permeability can contribute to food reactions and symptoms.
A comprehensive stool test can help to assess digestive function, microbiome imbalance, gut inflammation and infection, allowing for a more targeted and personalised health plan.
It is often helpful to keep a food and symptom diary. You can find an IBS food and symptom diary template in the shop.
The aim is always to keep as many food groups in your diet as possible. The decision to remove dairy depends on your individual case history and symptoms.
Dairy is often labelled as “inflammatory” but this is an oversimplification. Not all dairy products are the same. Ultra processed dairy foods such as ice cream, Dairylea Dunkers, and Müller Corner yoghurts are likely to promote inflammation. Non-fermented cow’s milk has also been linked to acne. In contrast, fermented and minimally processed dairy products such as kefir and Greek yoghurt contain beneficial bacteria and postbiotics (the beneficial metabolites of bacteria) that support gut health and are not associated with acne.
Absolutely not. Whilst I do encourage a colourful wholefood diet I also advocate for food to be as much about joy as it is about nourishment.
There is a misconception that nutritionists are all vegans who live off kale smoothies. I eat meat, I drink wine, I eat chocolate.
When working with you I will always consider your likes and dislikes. We’ll find recipes and food options that work for you.
Qualifications and communication
- I have a first class BSc honours degree in Nutritional Therapy from the Institute for Optimum Nutrition (ION), validated by Portsmouth University
- I am a member of the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle and Medicine (BANT). Reg no. FRI1008604
- Prior to my degree I completed a clinical nutrition diploma – distinction
Yes. I am registered member of the British Association of Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) and I am registered with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). I am also insured.
I am based near Winchester, UK.
Consultations occur over online, generally via Google Meets.
As an autistic person I find phone calls the most challenging form of communication. It is far less stressful for me to be able to process and articulate my thoughts via email, or if needed a video call.
Yes. I was officially diagnosed July 2025 after a mulitple meltdowns and panic attacks that led to what I can only describe as a breakdown, followed by burnout. Not so fun times.
I am very passionate about advocating for neurodivergent people.