Why I specialise in nutrition for bone health
Nutritional therapy practitioner with 14 years of clinical experience, focused on osteoporosis and osteopenia.
BACKGROUND
How I came to specialise
ASSESSMENT
My clinical approach to bone health
My focus on bone health began with my mother's diagnosis of osteopenia. She had received a scan result with limited follow-up guidance, and was trying to make sense of conflicting advice about what to eat, what to supplement, and whether medication was her only option.
She wanted to understand what was driving her bone loss, and to be better informed about all the options available to her, including what nutrition could realistically contribute alongside any medical treatment.
My existing work centred on chronic health conditions, using a systems-based approach that looks at how digestive function, hormonal regulation, inflammation, and metabolic health interact. When my mother received her diagnosis, I went deeper into the bone health literature to understand how those systems apply specifically to bone density and bone loss.
Working with her directly, I was able to map out what was influencing her bone health, identify what her diet and supplement routine was missing, and give her a clear basis for the conversation she needed to have with her GP.
That experience established the framework I use in practice today. Bone health does not reduce to a single factor, and no two people arrive with the same clinical picture. Each assessment looks at:
Individual context: Medical history, current medication, digestive function, and stress levels, because each affects how well nutrients involved in bone metabolism are absorbed and used.
Nutrient interactions: Bone density depends on calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K2, magnesium, and protein working together. How much of each a person needs depends on their diet, their absorption, and what else is going on clinically.
Dietary approach: Recommendations are built around what a person already eats, what is realistic to change, and what is likely to be maintained. There is no standard plan.
Movement and habits: Weight-bearing activity, sleep, and stress each have a direct influence on bone remodelling. These are considered alongside diet.
The nutrition plan is structured around each person's existing diet, medical history, and current treatment, with specific recommendations for what to add, adjust, or investigate further.
In some cases, functional testing is useful to identify factors that are not visible in a standard bone density scan: vitamin D status, inflammatory markers, or gut absorption capacity, for example. Testing is used selectively, where the result would change the recommendations.
Laura Pratt
CNELM (BSc Hons) | CNM (DipNT)
My practice is dedicated to nutrition support for osteoporosis and osteopenia.
CREDENTIALS
Training and qualifications
My training combines clinical nutrition science, functional medicine, and nutritional therapy. In the context of bone health, that means being able to assess the nutritional, hormonal, and physiological factors that influence bone density, draw on relevant test results, and make recommendations that sit alongside whatever medical treatment is already in place.
2021
Nutrition Science BSc (Hons)
Centre for Nutrition Education & Lifestyle Management (CNELM)
A degree-level grounding in nutritional biochemistry and human physiology, with the research training to weigh the evidence behind a nutrition recommendation and judge how it applies to bone health.
2012
Practice Diploma in Nutritional Therapy
College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM)
The clinical qualification to assess a person one to one and build a personalised nutrition plan, working within the professional and ethical framework that governs nutritional therapy practice.
2015
Applying Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice
The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM)
Training in how body systems interact, so assessment can look at the digestion, absorption, and medication effects that influence how well a person takes up the nutrients their bones rely on.
2015
DNAlife Certification
Nordic Laboratories
Training in using genetic data to inform nutrition support, relevant where a person's genetic profile affects how they absorb or metabolise bone nutrients such as vitamin D and calcium.
Taken together, this training covers the clinical, biochemical, and functional dimensions of bone health. It is the basis on which assessments are structured and recommendations made.
