By comparing modern practices with those of traditional healers, questioning whether the results are any better:

• By reminding delegates that the principles of traditional medicine are just as applicable today as they were then.

• To highlight the fact that the language of modern natural therapies has become extremely complicated, influenced by the availability of new tests and an ever-growing supply of supplements. 

• I will argue that the conditions with which patients now present are no more complex than in the past but the available data derived from such tests may lead the clinician to conclude that many patients present with 'complex cases'.

• When we review the findings of modern Nutrition Science, it becomes readily apparent that the primary upstream causes of chronic disease in general are common to most presenting conditions and the name of the disease becomes irrelevant.

• When a patient's condition is addressed through the lens of these common upstream biochemical processes, the assumed complexity diminishes.

• What we have achieved in considering patient presentations via an upstream approach is to mimic the principles of Nature which, in turn, are those employed by traditional healers of the past.

Key Learning Objectives:

1. The name of a disease is not necessary when employing the principles of natural medicine.

 2. Patient presentations that include an array of pathology tests can lead to the erroneous conclusion that the presentation is a 'complex case'. Clinicians may then focus on correcting the test results instead of addressing the patient as a whole.

 3. Modern Nutrition Science has added a substantial body of supporting evidence to explain how and why plant foods in particular can influence the primary upstream principles that govern the function of virtually every cell in the body.

Bio:

PhD.,BSc.,Grad.Dip.Hum.Nutr.,R.Nutr.

Dr Christine Houghton enjoys a fulfilling and varied career in Nutritional Medicine, spanning several decades. Her influential work in translational research remains at the forefront of this rapidly-evolving profession. A Registered Nutritionist with three decades’ clinical experience, Dr Houghton holds a PhD in Nutrigenomics and a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Queensland, together with a Graduate Diploma in Human Nutrition from Deakin University, Victoria. 

She is the Founder and Faculty Head of the Institute for Nutrigenomic Medicine. In addition, she is the founding director and Chief Scientific Officer of Cell-Logic, a research-based developer and manufacturer of clinically-relevant nutrigenomic formulations. 

 Her research projects include the application of phytochemicals in human gut, brain and metabolic health, foundation principles that underpin the Gut Ecology & Metabolic Modulation (G.E.M.M.) Protocol and the evidence-based series, Conversations in Nutrigenomic Medicine.

A regular speaker at Australian and international conferences, she is an engaging speaker whose evidence-based presentations often challenge existing paradigms.