Metabolic Balance in London & Amersham at The Health Equation

Mr. Gerry Gajadharsingh DO-Certified Metabolic Balance Coach

This video was filmed and edited by the Fabulous Davide Ongaro (davong_vr@hotmail.com)

Increasingly, the nutritional needs of my patients have become a very important factor in resolving their health needs. Clinical nutrition was part of my undergraduate training at The British School of Osteopathy, which has been complemented by taking Nutrition and Advanced Pathophysiology Masters Modules as part of an MSc programme at The European School of Osteopathy. I have also attended numerous nutritional educational seminars provided by Solgar and Genova Diagnostics and more recently I have formally become a Certified Metabolic Balance coach. I am also one of 2 official Metabolic Balance Lecturers to UK based clinicians.

I lecture extensively in Europe, in Osteopathic Medicine and was told about Metabolic Balance by some of my German colleagues in 2008. It is an innovative nutritional programme set up by Dr Wolf Funfack, a German internal medicine doctor. His company have performed over 370,000 programmes world-wide and are now looking to expand into the UK healthcare market. It is based on sound science and it fits in with my philosophy of treating the patient as an individual.

There is no doubt that having a “balanced varied diet” is necessary for good health, but what does this mean? We all have unique metabolisms so what is balanced and varied for one may not be for another. For far too long the message going out to patients has been that a low fat diet is the healthy approach, to reduce obesity, high cholesterol, cardiac risk and diabetes etc. This has been challenged for many years with increasing evidence. For example, both the American Physicians Health study and The Framingham study in the USA have shown no increase in cholesterol or risk of heart attack, stroke or sudden death from consuming up to 6 eggs per week. Considering eggs are very high in cholesterol this means that for many patients dietary intake of high cholesterol foods may not actually increase their circulating cholesterol or indeed increase their risk of other cardiac events.

Dr Funfack hypothesises that for many people the issue affecting many of our metabolic disturbances, lies in our excessive consumption of simple carbohydrates; again he has 370,000 patients to back this up. The science shows that the eating of simple carbohydrates causes a short spike in blood sugar but elevation of insulin in the blood for several hours. This has several detrimental effects, including increase in fat deposition, hormonal changes, cravings, elevation in cholesterol and triglycerides, increase in blood coagulation to name but a few. Choosing carbohydrates with a low gylcaemic load and increasing the proportion of protein and good fats has significant health benefits including reaching an optimum body weight.

Many of the promoted low fat foods actually contain substantial amounts of sugar!! It seems that most wheat products act as simple carbohydrates as far as insulin and blood sugar spikes are concerned, compared to rye, so reducing all wheat products (even whole wheat) can also have a very positive impact on our health.

So Denmark, with its high consumption of fats has half the level of male obesity compared to Germany!!

The Metabolic Balance programme is geared towards motivated people who really want to improve their health. A side effect of the plan is that it often helps people lose weight by improving their metabolism; interestingly it helps increase weight in underweight people.

My integrated approach means that just looking at nutrition, even though I believe metabolic balance to be the best nutritional programme I have come across in 23 years of clinical practice may not be enough. Behaviour is often the key.

Anxiety patterns can have a profound impact on physiology/metabolism especially through altered breathing behaviour. Some of my patients may need a proper breathing evaluation, which I can offer via a capnotrainer.

For more ingrained behavioural issues/addiction, I can refer you to my colleague at The Health Equation Dr Brian Roet, a medical hypnotherapist/psychotherapist. Interestingly too much exercise is counterproductive!! The programme suggests that for the first 2 weeks of the programme you do very little exercise, until your metabolism begins to change. After that period it may be that a good structured exercise programme may be helpful. For those patients who are unsure about an appropriate exercise strategy it may be helpful for you to see Mr Christo Koukoullis, our exercise specialist at The Health Equation.

Please note that if you are  NOT already a patient of The Health Equation, you will first need to book a Diagnostic Consultation, to ensure this specialised program is suitable for your needs.

The Health Equation offers the following Metabolic Balance Nutritional programmes:

• Bronze Package
• Silver Package
• Gold Package

Please contact Susie on

+44(0)20 7631 1414 or email her on info@thehealthequation.co.uk to book your initial appointment.

“Gerry, before I thank you for putting ‘me’ back on track in my life, I firstly want to thank that wonderful man Doctor Barry Grimaldi. After 15 years of searching through the private and NHS systems for a conclusion to what was going on with my body, it was Grimaldi who pointed me in your direction. He was the only man/Doctor in 15 year who had the breadth of knowledge to know that allopathic medicine was not even a candidate for finding the answer to my needs. He also has the intelligence to know there is another way unknown to him.

You have proved to me and others I know that in the same way I look at peoples hair, you can make the best improvements from the inside out. By first coaching people to take the  responsibility to ‘look’ at what you have been doing to date that got us where we are. Your diligence in guiding me has paid off. I know that after so many years of doing things so wrongly (and I’m better off than most) I can feel the benefits of maintaining metabolic balance as a life style creates unexpected daily benefits. Almost as though the body, mind and spirit know there way home.

Metabolic balance is so easy for those who know enough about attachment. Three weeks into it made me realise how attachment was creating anxiety about the food plan. After this three weeks and the attachment subsiding, I realized this very important point which I had also agreement from my daughter Gabriella who did Metabolic Balance (also under your guidance) more or less at the same time. When we began we really believed we were eating well 80% of the time and maybe badly 20% of the time, and found we were craving other things for the first week. However after three weeks, the craving disappeared forever and you realize you were eating badly 80% of the time and only reasonably 20% of the time. We also both see our food and portions differently and can honestly say we have never in our lives eaten so well so consistently.”

Valentino, London

 A recent audit of 20 patients undertaking Metabolic Balance at The Health Equation

67% of patients who were taking medication at the start of their program were able to stop or reduce their medication by the end of the 3 month program.

All patients presented with multiple symptomatology, not just for a program to lose weight.

The average weight loss at the end of 3 months was 7.5kg, approximately 9% of starting body weight.

An average weight loss of >5% after 1 year is defined as a successful weight loss program.