In this day and age, everything, and I mean everything, is personalised. I can get my name printed / embroidered / embossed / engraved on just about anything. New Airpods case? Yep. Laptop cover? Yes sir. Frank Green drink bottle? Uh huh. Daily packet of vitamins? You betcha!
Well, to some degree, yes. Having your name on a product definitely means it's yours. Completing a quiz and receiving a personalised recommendation of what vitamins to take allows some level of personalisation.
When we talk about ‘personalisation’ in this context, we need to keep in mind that we are accepting the idea that you will ‘fit’ into one of however many patterns that have been predetermined. Sure it’s great when you get instant feedback about the meal plan you should be on, or the specific vitamins you should be taking, or the colour tones that will best match your complexion. But you and thousands of others will receive the same thing.
It's kind of like reading your astrology. I’m an Aquarius, and some days I read it and I think ‘holy hell, it’s like they’re looking into my soul’, whilst that same day, on a tube somewhere in London, another Aquarian is thinking, how on earth does Cosmo Astrology know me so well?!
We can understand the basic jist of someone, and we can then make inferences about their needs. “I’m exhausted, I haven’t slept in weeks and I am breastfeeding my newborn.” Well, whether you’re Sally, Megan or Jade, you’re going to need some Magnesium. You’re also probably going to need most B vitamins, Zinc and Vitamin C. To start with. I don’t need to know much more about you to know that these nutrients will have a positive impact on your health.
Prescribing nutrients, or as Dr Miranda Myles calls it, Nutritional Medicine, is about having an experienced practitioner, who has a degree in nutrition, identifying exactly which nutrients you need, and at what dosages. For example, research has surfaced which suggests that CoQ10 should be dosed at 12mg per kilo of body weight. You’re not going to find an off the shelf supplement that allows you to dose at such a specific range.
Prescribing involves an expert listening to you and truly understanding your needs, your lifestyle and your medical history. It means asking the right questions and delving deeper when it matters.
That woman who was sleep deprived, exhausted and breastfeeding? Maybe she also has thyroid antibodies that are playing havoc with her nervous system and is beginning to present like Postnatal depression (when in fact it is postpartum thyroiditis). Your practitioner can pick up on this early on and can add nourishing vitamins and herbs to support your thyroid. Maybe you’re 39 and are beginning to enter perimenopause, whilst having a newborn. The layers here are enormous. No quiz is ever going to analyse this and support you in the way you should be supported.
A personalised packet of vitamins, or purchasing off the shelf, is like listening to your astrology and believing that prediction will come true. And then being disappointed that the shiny red ‘thing’ didn’t come to you during the full moon of the eighth month in Leo rising.
Prescribed Nutritional Medicine is like having a GPS that not only knows your exact location but also considers the real-time traffic, weather, and road conditions to guide you efficiently to your destination. It's precise, tailored, and based on data unique to you—not just a general prediction for people born under the same star sign.
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