Mr. Gerry Gajadharsingh DO-Certified Metabolic Balance Coach

Metabolic Balance at The Health Equation

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, which 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.

Even though I believe metabolic balance to be the best nutritional programme I have come across in 23 years of clinical practice, my integrated approach means that just looking at nutrition, 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 Ms. Georgie Shand, our exercise specialist at The Health Equation.

The Health Equation offers the following programmes:

Bronze Package £675

Initial consultation to record data/measurements and take blood samples (this needs to be a fasting sample- first thing in the morning having avoided food for 12 hours).  It is a haematology/biochemistry profile with some specialised hormonal markers to determine metabolism.  These results and the patient data are entered into a software programme and an individualised nutritional programme produced.

The patient has a lengthy 1^st follow up consultation to discuss the plan and the logistics of its implementation, this can last up to 90 minutes.

1 week later 2^nd follow up consultation

1 week later 3^rd follow up consultation

2 weeks later 4^th follow consultation

4 weeks later 5^th follow up consultation

4 weeks later a 6^th final consultation

Follow up consultations 2 to 6 can be in person or by telephone.

Additional ad hoc email and telephone support during the 3-month period is included in the package price.

So it is essentially a 3-month programme of continued support.  Some patients may opt for additional support after the initial 3-month period, at an additional charge.  Consultations for Dr Roet, and Ms Shand, if clinically necessary, are charged separately.

For my international patients, consultations for the Bronze package can be carried out by phone conference or Skype.  Blood tests can be taken locally and couriered to TDL (our testing lab) in London for analysis (you pay for the courier).  Once blood results are received the turn-around time for an individual Metabolic Balance programme is 1 week.

For UK based patients, The Health Equation offers two other additional packages:

Silver Package £950

Bronze package as above plus

4*30 minute hands on Osteopathy or Breathing re-Education via the Capnotrainer, depending on your needs.

Consultations for Dr Roet, and Ms Shand, if clinically necessary, are charged separately

Gold Package £1,750

Silver package as above plus

2*30 minute shopping trips to Waitrose, Marylebone High Street, W1 or John Lewis Food hall, Cavendish Square, W1 with Gerry Gajadharsingh.

Assessment with Ms Georgie Shand and an individually designed exercise programme with digital photos. Follow up exercise consultation.

3 consultations with Dr Brian Roet

Please call Jeanette Claassen, my practice manager on

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

We are hosting a series of open evenings to present Metabolic Balance at The Health Equation, arrival at 5.45pm for a prompt 6pm start and lasting 1 hour

These are educational evenings are strictly limited to 5 guests and there is a £15 administration fee payable at time of booking.

Mr. Gerry Gajadharsingh DO

Osteopath

Diagnostic Consultant-Complementary Medicine