About

As an active person who exercised, socialised, lead a normal family life and was rarely off work ill, I was shocked when suddenly in 2014 I was unable to function. I was wired and had an over active startle reflex with multiple energy ‘crashes’ and needed sleep through the day. I could no longer perform simple family tasks like taking the kids to school and had to stop work for 6 months. I had the all too familiar experience of being passed round conventional medicine disciplines but there was nothing that the standard NHS tests could diagnose. I had ‘medically unexplained’ symptoms and like many others ended up with a bucket diagnosis of Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

 As many of you know CFS is not a diagnosis, it is a set of extremely debilitating symptoms with no single cause. 

A nutritionist’s explanation of CFS, and indeed many ‘medically unexplained’ illnesses, is due to metabolic dysfunction brought on by multiple imbalances in the body. There are a minority of sufferers who only have one or two imbalances and can improve by changing what they eat (e.g. removing inflammatory foods) or practising mindfulness (to calm their ‘fight or flight’ sympathetic nervous system) and then become ‘cured’ and can function normally again. For most of us with CFS however, it is not that simple, and there are many more imbalances at play.

Taking matters into my own hands, I invested my spare time and resources into understanding how the (my!) body works, as well as seeking advice and guidance from various experts, including both NHS consultants and private independent practitioners. I realised that the approach that sports scientists use to get the body working at its best for competitive events can also be used to improve chronic health conditions.  

Nutritional therapy, or functional nutrition, has been key to my recovery. For this I enlisted the nutritional guidance of Marek Doyle’s to guide me through my own unique imbalances. Within 6 months had regained my health sufficiently to return to work and restore my self-esteem. Since then I have continued to regain my health, I am back at work, practising nutrition and enjoying life again. I have rediscovered my love of walking and climbing hills and holidays are spent recharging in the fresh air.

  With my health returning, I have continued to learn and train myself further in nutrition, so I can hopefully help others on a similar journey. My experiences, training and qualifications include:

·       Diploma in Advanced Nutrition from http://www.gbfitness.com– approved by the Complimentary Medical Association and run by Cain Leathem an experienced nutritional therapist and personal trainer to sports professionals

·       Attending GB Fitness seminars on endocrinology (that’s hormones to you and me, not just sex hormones, but also cortisol for your ‘get up and go’ and thyroid to control your metabolism)

·        Attending further practitioner seminars on hormones and weight management

·       Most recently, I have been studying under Marek Doyle’s Academy for nutritional therapy http://www.marekdoyle.com .  Marek has 12 years experience and over 2000 clients. He understands how to optimise an individual’s metabolism to get his clients bodies to work at their best, from the chronically ill to sports professionals.  

I have passed the following Academy modules  - these are gruelling 2.5 hour written exams so this is no mean feat, but necessary to demonstrate thorough understanding of principle and techniques

•  Structuring a Treatment Plan – feeding without inflaming.
  
• Sleep, Digestion and Central Nervous System
  
•  Hormones (Thyroid, Adrenal, Estrogen/Testosterone/Progesterone and the Rest) 
• Immune system & Methylation

As part of a growing network of nutritional therapists, working alongside Marek Doyle’s Academy, I also access other therapists to draw on their experience and case histories, to provide a wider pool of support and guidance.

 So I get it, have lived it and now want to share what I have learnt to help others to improve their health.