At age 14 I spent two weeks in hospital and the following year in and out of the doctor’s surgery. No one could identify what was wrong and my GP told me to drop a couple of my GCSE’s and just go to school if I felt up to it. I now realise that this coincided with me shunning the good food that my parents were providing for me and filling myself up with crisps, sweets, fizzy drinks and chocolate biscuits. My early twenties were not a lot better and I suffered from bouts of mouth ulcers and fatigue at least monthly. I got through life with paracetamol, caffeine and sugar!! I qualified as a diagnostic radiographer in 2008 and then things began to change. I added a few vegetables into my diet and took up running. I was still suffering from burn out every couple of months but not as badly as before. During this period I tried lots of things to see if I could shift the mouth ulcers but I only ever tried them one at a time and I didn’t understand the complexity of nutrition. There was a dramatic change one new year when I decided to eat as many vegetables as I could. I was suddenly full of energy and waking up energised at 6am not dragging myself out of bed at 8am or however late I could. This was such a dramatic change that I felt I had to share it! I didn’t hesitate in beginning my MSc in Nutritional therapy. I made further breakthroughs about my own health during this time. I am so passionate about the subject that it didn’t feel like work at all. I’m now in a great position to help you. I have been taught to read, question and use the scientific research. My recommendations won’t be based on fashionable trends but on what is written in the science. Having worked as a health professional for 10 years, I have a good understanding of anatomy and pathology. But more importantly than this I see on a daily basis how diabetes, heart disease and stroke affect people’s lives. I have been told a thousand times ‘don’t get old dear’ by people crippled with arthritis. I have felt for a long time that not enough is done to prevent people from getting sick. My ambition is to help as many people as I can to delay or prevent the onset of these and other conditions.
