When I started practicing clinically, I was not set up to order lab tests for my clients for several years. I had to be an excellent historian to be a good nutrition detective.
Some nutritionists in New York and other states can’t run labs. Even though I do labs now, I still highly value a good and thorough history taking process with patients. By diving into diet history, health history and signs and symptoms we can learn so much about our patients.
Dig in! Don’t take medical diagnosis at face value. A diagnosis is just a label it does not tell you anything about underlying factors. A deeper dive is necessary to understand how nutrition and lifestyle impacts the illness your patient is experiencing. Be curious and ask into the phenomenon. “How do you experience IBS?” Or anxiety, chronic fatigue etc
You may not know how the information you gather is relevant at first but be patient for the tapestry to emerge.
In this video. I dive into the seven qualities of a symptom to help you with your history taking skills and detective work.
1.Location
2.Quality
3.Quantity/severity
4.Timing
5.Circumstances
6.Remitting and exacerbating factors
7.Associated factors