About
Me

Learning how to actually have a healthy diet and lifestyle in real life has been the steepest learning curve of all. I firmly believe that walking my talk is the most important thing I can do to support my work, it’s the only way to road test how this stuff works in real life.

It’s my job and I love it, but I don’t always get it right. I understand that it’s not always easy, and that things don’t have to be perfect to be worthwhile. I hope this makes my advice honest and real.

Most importantly, I’ve learnt that even if you change just one tiny thing it will make a difference to your health. This belief in the incredible power of little steps sits right at the core of every aspect of my work. Every journey starts with a single step.

Rewind a bit. How did I get here?

My journey into the world of nutrition officially began in 2000. Fresh out of university, I spotted an advert for a nutrition course in London. The Institute for Optimum Nutrition (ION) was founded by Patrick Holford in 1984, based on his belief that, ‘good nutrition is the medicine of the future’. Back then he was ahead of his time; fast forward to today and the therapeutic value of a great diet and lifestyle is widely accepted.

My four year diploma in nutritional therapy gave me a scientific grounding on which to start a career in this exciting field. I graduated from ION in 2004 and have combined clinical practice with health writing since then.

Despite working in this field for over 18 years now, I am still humbled by the power of seemingly simple diet and lifestyle changes. Our bodies have a remarkable capacity to heal and regenerate when given the right environment.

In the words of the brilliant Sayer Ji,

“Symptoms are the body’s way of signalling distress, lack of equilibrium, and its desperate need for support. To truly heal, it’s time to feed, nurture and tend to your symptoms as you would a crying baby rather than silencing and suppressing them.”

Who do I support?

Anyone can benefit from a nutrition consultation. I support a wide range of clients, from busy executives wanting to protect future health to athletes looking to fuel optimal performance. I frequently help clients who’ve struggled for years with chronic illness or have literally burnt out from decades of ongoing stress. Often, it’s reaching crisis point that motivates people to reach out for help.

I use a functional medicine approach in clinic and the principle is simple: dig deep to get to the root cause of symptoms and take steps to improve health from the foundation up. This means that the benefits are lasting not short-lived.

Initially I take a detailed case history to understand health symptoms in the context of the whole person and may recommend functional and / or genetic testing to further evaluate what may be driving the current health picture. Testing helps me to identify and prioritise the most effective way forward and avoids time and money being wasted on unnecessary steps.

Who am I?

A difficult question for any of us to answer but I will try! I am a mum, wife, daughter and sister. Being a mum is my proudest achievement of all and I love spending time with my family. Other things I love….being outside, swimming, watching films, a great cup of tea, trying to grow my own veg, reading autobiographies, collecting favourite quotes, beautiful stationery, brightly patterned fabrics and climbing mountains. Top of my bucket list is to trek to Mount Everest base camp one day. It’s not on the immediate agenda, so for now I’m happy with the Himalayan prayer flags that are flying in my ramshackle greenhouse!

Himalayans believe that when the wind blows the flags, it spreads blessings and good will across the land. When the wind finds the flags through the broken glass in my greenhouse I am reminded that things don’t have to be perfect to be worthwhile & that every journey starts with a single step.

Until I get to see them flying against the backdrop of the Himalayas, the draughty greenhouse will do nicely.

If you are interested in taking the first step to improving your health with a nutrition consultation please get in touch.

Health Writing

I write regularly for industry-leading companies including Nutri Advanced and for publications including Nutrition I-Mag, Only Natural and IHCAN magazine. In 2014 I co-authored Mindful Eating published by Cico Books.

Professional Memberships

British Association of Nutrition & Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) - The British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) is a professional body for Registered Nutrition Practitioners. Its primary function is to assist its members in attaining the highest standards of integrity, knowledge, competence and professional practice, in order to protect the client’s interests, nutritional therapy and the Registered Nutrition Practitioners. BANT registered practitioners must adhere to strict practice guidelines and code of ethics.

Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) - CNHC is the UK voluntary regulator for complementary health practitioners. Registering with the CNHC is a demonstration of meeting UK-wide high standards of practice. CNHC registered practitioners must uphold high standards of practice and adhere to a strict code of ethics. CNHC is approved as an Accredited Register by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care.

Public Health Collaboration (PHC) - The Public Health Collaboration is a registered charity (No. 1171887) dedicated to informing and implementing healthy decisions for better public health.

Guild of Health Writers (GHW) (Associate Member) - The Guild of Health Writers encourages the highest standards of health writing and members are supported to achieve the highest professional standards in their work.

Insurance

I am fully insured by Balens Ltd.

Disclosures

Conflicts of interest can be a big problem in the world of healthcare. I believe therefore that full transparency is important for all healthcare practitioners. Listed below are companies that I work with whose values are aligned with mine:

I work as a freelance consultant and provide bespoke nutrition content for UK leading nutritional supplement company Nutri Advanced Ltd www.nutriadvanced.co.uk