AskND.ph: Nutrition for a healthy Filipino nation

There is truth to the saying “You are what you eat.” It simply tells us that what we put inside our body becomes a part of both our inner and outer well-being. Nutrition is the cornerstone of good health; it influences the proper function of our body, prevention of health issues, and natural healing.

Often, the course of our personal nutrition follows the most popular trend or what we researched online. But how do we know if we are in the “right nutrition” track? How sure are we that we are eating right for our body’s need? Is the nutrition or diet trend that we are following actually working?

The overwhelming amount of information available points us to different directions and the answer to these questions is “maybe not” because our nutritional need is as unique as each of us is. It’s not one-size-fits-all. Our nutrition should be personalized, based on our body makeup, lifestyle, and environment. At the same time, it should be guided by experts and professionals, particularly nutritionists and dietitians, who will see us through our nutrition journey towards good health.

Global Medical Technologies (GMT), who has been at the forefront of bringing medical innovations in the country, takes its advocacy of helping build a healthy nation through nutrition a step further via Ask ND. ph. GMT together with its partners, which include LifeScience Center for Health and Wellness, has created an online community that brings together experts and professionals in health and nutrition to give Filipinos access to correct, valuable, and up-to-date information and advice on nutrition and dietetics, and provide the most apt and precise solutions to health and nutrition concerns.

“Ask ND. ph is positioned to help healthcare professionals and individuals in addressing nutrition issues. For individuals, AskND.ph allows them to consult and work with nutritionists and dietitians in creating their personalized nutrition program. For professionals, AskND.ph allows them to access information, studies, partners, and tools to better equip them in guiding their patients,” said Jason Ramos, country director, GMT. “Through AskND.ph we hope to bridge nutrition gaps by connecting stakeholders, such as healthcare professionals, food suppliers and producers, and allow them to work together in helping patients achieve optimum health. As a result, those who visit or connect with AskND. ph are able to find answers to their nutrition queries, start their own nutrition program guided by experts, and be able to fulfill the program because they know where to get the correct food items,” Ramos added.

AskND.ph utilizes advance medical tools and technology to take a deeper look at your nutritional health condition and needs, holistically and at a cellular level, before a precise, personalized nutrition program is developed.

According to Dr. Oyie Balburias, Health Optimization and Functional Medicine practitioner at LifeScience Center for Health and Wellness, of the six determinants of health, Functional Nutrition puts emphasis on nutrition. Nutrition serves as the entry point of optimal health because the right functioning of our body largely depends on what we eat.

Dr. Balburias also stressed the importance of working with nutritionists and dietitians in your health journey. Their experience in integrating science and nutrition is vital in helping you achieve your nutritional health goal.

Different health goals entail different nutritional requirements. Finding the recommended high-quality food item is a challenge, which is addressed through AskND.ph’s partnership with produc- ers and suppliers of quality healthy food items, such as organic produce, dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegetarian products, and other healthy food alternatives. AskND.ph is also working with professional chefs, who will share healthy recipes and demonstrate how to prepare healthy meals; providers of healthy food delivery, and health stores.

Up-to-date knowledge and advanced medical tools available at AskND.ph are attained through partnership with some of world-renowned science and medical facilities, which include the Cambridge Nutritional Sciences in the United Kingdom, Institute for Functional Medicine in Cleveland, USA, and Genosense in Austria.

At the launch of Ask ND.ph, Dr. Nigel Abraham, nutrition and allergy expert and scientist/ laboratory director at Cambridge Nutritional Sciences, shared the recent study findings on “human gut microbiome.” The recent study findings further establish the influence of the food we eat in the population and metabolic activity in our microflora.

More information on AskND.ph is accessible via @ AskND on Facebook or email askndph@gmail.com.