Many sufferers from allergy, intolerance and sensitivity have found that conventional Western medicine has little to offer them in the way of treatment, and have turned therefore to alternative and complementary therapies.

There is a now widely held belief that many chronic and intractable conditions - including allergy, IBS, ME and mental health/behavioural problems - may stem from, and certainly be made worse by, micro-nutrient deficiencies. Proponents of this theory believe that these deficiences have resulted from the intensification of western agriculture, including its use of chemicals, since the second world war, and the simultaneous industrialisation of food production including the widespread use of artificial additives.

Nutritional therapy, or the assessment and correction of nutritional deficiences, therefore holds a prominent position amongst complementary therapies, and is the first port of call of many setting out on the long journey of addressing their own health problems.

Our Nutritional Therapy section carries articles not only on macronutrition in terms of vitamins and minerals but on gut flora health, the role of probiotics and the importance of trace elements, amino acids and enzymes in total 'wellness'.

There are, however, a wealth of other therapies - some ancient, some modern, some relatively conventional, some distinctly 'wacky', that individuals have found helpful. You will find a selection of these in the rest of this section.


NEW - Therapists Directory

To help those who feel that a complementary therapy might help we have added a directory of therapists to this section. However, although we do our best to ensure that the therapists listed in the directory are fully qualified and experienced we do not have the resources to check them out fully.

We therefore suggest that, before you book an appointment with any of them, you ask whether they belong to the appropriate professional body (which should ensure that they are fully qualified) and how long they have been practising.

We regret that we cannot take any responsibility for any advice or treatment offered by any of the therapists listed in our directory.