My Background
I am passionate about good nutrition and recognise the huge benefits it has on our health and wellbeing. I would love to see this knowledge more widely understood and used in everyone’s life.
I have always been interested in food, I guess we all are, but for me, it began when I started to understand its wonders through my father’s career in food processing. I followed in his footsteps and, after gaining a BSc in Chemical Engineering, worked for a major cereal manufacturer and later for a ready meals supplier. This has given me a broad understanding of the processed food industry and its market influences.
My life then took an interesting change in direction. I was made redundant whilst on maternity leave with my first child and decided to change career.
Beginning Nutritional Therapy
My interest in nutrition began when I consulted a nutritional therapist when trying to conceive, and then, with responsibility for my daughter’s health, I wanted to know more.
I enrolled on a course that was originally written by Dr. Lawrence Plaskett, a naturopath who originally trained as a biochemist and medicinal doctor and was the first in the UK to train nutritional therapists. This opened my eyes to the amazing truth of the body’s ability to heal itself given the right nutrition and lifestyle. The course was developed to keep abreast with a massive acceleration of research into nutritional science and thus equipped me to continue to take on board new scientific evidence, whilst having a good foundation.
After 6 years of studying part-time whilst bringing up my young children, I received a degree in Nutritional Medicine from the University of West London.
What Happened Next
I started seeing clients in 2011 and joined the team of practitioners at The Practice. I have continued to keep up with new developments in nutritional and lifestyle science by attending seminars, conferences, and meeting like-minded people. My ambition is to share this knowledge, as it’s only through education that we can change the lives of people.
As well as doing this through one-to-one consultations where a truly personalised approach can be employed, I feel there is much benefit from using a group setting. This led to my training as a facilitator for the Brain Health Programme (formerly Action Against Alzheimer’s) a national initiative. More recently I have enjoyed presenting information on menopause and fermentation techniques. I very much look forward to doing more of this.
What else do I do
I am now the co-treasurer at the Red Kite Family Centre and hope to return to support the many Stay and Plan sessions with some simple healthy eating demonstrations.
https://www.redkitefamilycentre.org/
As well as being a mother to my two young adults; I enjoy, Yoga, Gardening and fermenting foods.
My Qualifications
My BSc in Nutritional Medicine from University of West London which meets the National Occupational Standards (NOS) in Nutritional Therapy and the NTC Core Curriculum
Professional Memberships and Qualifications
I am a member of the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine(BANT). BANT is a professional body for nutritional therapy practitioners and those working in the wider application of nutritional science;
- BANT members are qualified in both the science of nutrition as well as clinical practice.
- BANT promotes high standards of education in Nutritional Therapy and high standards of practice and ethics within the profession.
- BANT practitioners must have met the required standards of training, be fully insured and adhere to the CNHC Code of Conduct, Performance and Ethics and the BANT Professional Practice Handbook
As a member of BANT I am Therefore registered with the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CHNC) which is the national voluntary regulator for complementary healthcare practitioners and has been developed with support from government funding. The CNHC key purpose is to protect the public. The Department of Health has recommended that, where CNHC registers the complementary therapists in question, you should consult with someone who is CNHC registered.
