Hi Therese,

We're still alive and kicking here at The Environmental Illness Resource - just nobody has commented on this blog post for a while

I am currently writing my dissertation so things are a bit crazy at the moment. The first thing I should tell you is that because the course is aimed at slightly older students (with jobs, families etc) and very few have been able to cope with the workload, BCNH now enrolls ALL students on the diploma course only. I believe students now do only one (maybe two) modules at the University of Greenwich each year and if they want to earn the degree would need to top up after the four year period of the diploma course.

Being ill I have found the course extremely demanding but equally rewarding. The standard of lecturers, course materials and overall education provided by BCNH is exceptional and I would recommend the college to anyone wishing to pursue a career in Nutritional Therapy. The course is certainly not for the feint-hearted however as the workload and standards expected are high. I believe half of the students originally enrolled in my year have dropped out along the way...purely because they couldn't cope rather than any failing of the college.

For people who intend to study full-time and want a degree then the University of Westminster may be a good option - otherwise I would highly recommend BCNH as you can attend weekend lectures or do much of the course distance learning. After graduating with the diploma you could then complete further University of Greenwich modules to obtain a BSc while having already begun to practice as a Nutritional Therapist.

I hope this helps somewhat. Good luck whichever course you choose.

Zoe,

Great points from Bryony. I didn't realise Thames Valley did a distance learning degree.

Just wanted to add a few links that should be useful. Two that Bryony mentioned:

BANT - http://www.bant.org.uk
NTC - http://www.nutritionaltherapycouncil.org.uk/

And this site is a useful resource for careers in nutrition:

Nutri People - http://www.nutripeople.co.uk


Maff

Zoe,

Great points from Bryony. I didn't realise Thames Valley did a distance learning degree.

Just wanted to add a few links that should be useful. Two that Bryony mentioned:

BANT - http://www.bant.org.uk
NTC - http://www.nutritionaltherapycouncil.org.uk/

And this site is a useful resource for careers in nutrition:

Nutri People - http://www.nutripeople.co.uk


Maff

Hi Zoe,

I didn't have to do the foundation course as I was lucky to have the right A-Levels. I've had a look on the BCNH website just now however and it seems you can do the science foundation course via distance learning as well. Have a look at http://www.bcnh.co.uk/courses/courses1_1.html. It states:

"BCNH SFC course is 10 months in length and is offered on an attendance basis as well as by distance learning."

As for other courses. When I was looking last year I found a handful of comparable degree courses but they were all at London universities and none were offered as entirely distance learning.

Hi Zoe,

I didn't have to do the foundation course as I was lucky to have the right A-Levels. I've had a look on the BCNH website just now however and it seems you can do the science foundation course via distance learning as well. Have a look at http://www.bcnh.co.uk/courses/courses1_1.html. It states:

"BCNH SFC course is 10 months in length and is offered on an attendance basis as well as by distance learning."

As for other courses. When I was looking last year I found a handful of comparable degree courses but they were all at London universities and none were offered as entirely distance learning.

Hi Winnie,

Great to hear the blog helped you out. I'm almost at the end of the first year of studies now and have to say it is an excellent course. The quality of study materials and lecturers is excellent and I find I am getting a good grounding in the biological sciences and research methods/interpretation needed to offer reliable nutritional advice to future clients.

I wish you all the best with your own health and that of people you will undoubtedly help in the future. If you'd like to know more about the course from myself and other current students please get in touch

Maff

Hi Jim,

Thanks for your comment and kind words. I'm just doing what I felt I should...

Don't worry about this not being a vitamin D article. Readers will still no doubt find your information helpful. I myself have tried high dosages of vitamin D as you are doing and felt an immediate improvemtn in symptoms...particularly those of low mood and apathy. I suffer from SAD as well as CFS and high dose vitamin has proven as effective as any other treatment in SAD and I definitely found that to be the case.

Do you happen to recall the names of the Aussie athletes who had CFS? It would be great if people could leave comments with the names of more celebrities, athletes etc who have (or had) CFS.

Hi Winnie,

Great to hear the blog helped you out. I'm almost at the end of the first year of studies now and have to say it is an excellent course. The quality of study materials and lecturers is excellent and I find I am getting a good grounding in the biological sciences and research methods/interpretation needed to offer reliable nutritional advice to future clients.

I wish you all the best with your own health and that of people you will undoubtedly help in the future. If you'd like to know more about the course from myself and other current students please get in touch

Maff

Hi Saffy,

Basically a nutrition degree would be the way to go if you want to become a dietician, work as a nutritionist in the food industry, or continue working in nutrition in an academic role. The degree in nutritional therapy at BCNH allows you to register with the British Association of Nutritional Therapists (BANT) and work as a 'nutritional therapist'.

The distinction between a dietician and a nutritional therapist is that the former is concerned only with dietary advice and the latter offers dietary advice but also uses nutritional supplements where there is evidence of a functional deficiency in the client or research evidence that a particular nutrient or combination of nutrients is beneficial in the client's condition.

The BCNH course strongly emphasizes that the work of a nutritional therapist should be backed up by strong science. As such we are being taught to search medical databases and reference any health claims we make for specific nutrients in our assignments.

Which course would be best for you really depends on what you want to do after you graduate. As someone who has suffered from CFS/ME and environmental illness for 16 years and made great progress using both diet and nutritional supplements I know I have chosen the right course for me. I plan to open a clinic specializing in helping others with these conditions once I've graduated.

I don't think you could go wrong with the BCNH course. If you want to open a private clinic specialzing in sports and weight loss, this is an area where nutritional supplements can be very useful. Also with weight loss, a nutritional therapist would be more likely to look for the root causes for a person being overweight such as hypoglycemia/insulin resistance and undiagnosed thyroid issues. Dieticians tend to work in hospital environments providing one-size fits all dietary advice based on current official guidelines for specific conditions such as diabetes. Nutritional therapists tend to treat each client individually.

Hope that helps

Hi Saffy,

Basically a nutrition degree would be the way to go if you want to become a dietician, work as a nutritionist in the food industry, or continue working in nutrition in an academic role. The degree in nutritional therapy at BCNH allows you to register with the British Association of Nutritional Therapists (BANT) and work as a 'nutritional therapist'.

The distinction between a dietician and a nutritional therapist is that the former is concerned only with dietary advice and the latter offers dietary advice but also uses nutritional supplements where there is evidence of a functional deficiency in the client or research evidence that a particular nutrient or combination of nutrients is beneficial in the client's condition.

The BCNH course strongly emphasizes that the work of a nutritional therapist should be backed up by strong science. As such we are being taught to search medical databases and reference any health claims we make for specific nutrients in our assignments.

Which course would be best for you really depends on what you want to do after you graduate. As someone who has suffered from CFS/ME and environmental illness for 16 years and made great progress using both diet and nutritional supplements I know I have chosen the right course for me. I plan to open a clinic specializing in helping others with these conditions once I've graduated.

I don't think you could go wrong with the BCNH course. If you want to open a private clinic specialzing in sports and weight loss, this is an area where nutritional supplements can be very useful. Also with weight loss, a nutritional therapist would be more likely to look for the root causes for a person being overweight such as hypoglycemia/insulin resistance and undiagnosed thyroid issues. Dieticians tend to work in hospital environments providing one-size fits all dietary advice based on current official guidelines for specific conditions such as diabetes. Nutritional therapists tend to treat each client individually.

Hope that helps