Nutritional Healing (a branch of alternative medicine/complementary medicine) employs the principle that nutrition plays an important role in virtually every medical condition. Addressing any existing nutritional imbalances and adopting a healthy diet are of great importance, although nutrients and diet have considerably more medical applications than simply correcting nutrient imbalances. Nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, glyconutrients) and non-nutrient bioactive compounds (e.g. probiotics, herbs, enzymes, hydrochloric acid, etc.) can also be used therapeutically to assist in the correction the many underlying physical factors which are contributing to disease states. For example, nutrients and non-nutrient bioactive compounds can increase or decrease the levels of important chemicals in the body, reduce inflammation, influence hormonal balance, reduce levels of toxic elements/chemicals, improve immune function, reduce oxidative stress, alter genetic expression and reduce the coagulability of the blood.