My own ill health initiated my journey to becoming a nutritional therapist. As a child I suffered constant infections, received numerous antibiotics and this began a cycle of poor health and chronic conditions, ultimately resulting with a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome.

 

My own ill health initiated my journey to becoming a nutritional therapist.

 

As a child I suffered constant ear infections and received numerous antibiotics.

 

This eventually resulted in the removal of my tonsils and adenoids.

 

Following a severe food allergy and the development of eczema and hayfever and I came down with a glandular fever type virus in my teens, which literally knocked me off my feet.  After months of severe fatigue and all the accompanying symptoms, I attempted to return to normal life. I slept constantly but never really regained wellness and this resulted in the eventual diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome some 8 years later.

 

By the time I reached my early twenties, I had to stop working, and literally was struggling just to function basically.  With treatment I recovered enough over a couple of years to return to work over the next few years threw myself into an exciting but stressful career.  I travelled a lot and was extremely fortunate to receive a scholarship to the prestigious Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in Illinois, America.

 

But this lifestyle was not sustainable for me and after a serious infection, a bereavement and a car crash, all in the space of a few months, my body finally had enough.

 

I crashed like never before. The doctors did not know why my treatment was failing, I was prescribed numerous medications which did nothing apart from make me feel worse and every time I asked why something was happening, where certain symptoms originated, what could I do to help and why something improved or worsened my conditions, I was met with an inability to explain the causes.

 

At that point, I realized I was not listening to my body.

 

My medications were withdrawn, and I went back to the basics of how I felt and what I thought I needed.

 

My journey to wellness started when I went to see a functional doctor and nutritional therapist, who, for the first time listened to my story and explained what was happening to me, and most importantly why.

 

A functional stool test revealed that my beneficial gut bacteria had been completely eliminated by all the antibiotics I had taken decades before and my immunity was severely compromised.

 

I addressed these imbalances and over time I started to feel better.

 

I changed my diet and my symptoms started to reduce.   I became well enough to walk my dogs (on some days that literally was all I could do) and I started to have days that were better than before.  I started researching and reading about my condition and by looking at the latest studies I realized that the most important thing was to give my body exactly what it asked for.

 

As I did this, the more I listened, the more my body talked to me – it still does, and I love it!

 

Eventually, I recovered enough to study nutrition – I had definitely found my purpose.

 

My health has transformed from addressing my diet and lifestyle.  The crippling fatigue, foggy brain, digestive complaints, insomnia, pain and the endless lists of CFS symptoms that debilitated my being have all been transformed.

 

The functional medicine approach and functional testing has allowed me to look further to find the root causes of my conditions. Investigations, including genetic testing have allowed me to focus on repair and rebuilding and supporting my body and am now working to prevent the autoimmune conditions that run in my family.

 

The journey I have experienced has been in many ways indescribable.  Yet, it has led me to the most exciting and fulfilling vocation I could have ever imagined.

 

I am passionate about and dedicated to helping others achieve similar results and I have developed a desire for knowledge, education and learning that I could not have imagined possible just a few years ago.  The emerging research in this area I find mind blowing and I constantly want to learn more to enable me to help others improve and prevent them from experiencing what I went through.