The Nutritional Supplement

What Course(s) did you graduate from at CNELM and when did you graduate?

I did the MSc, completing in 2013 and graduating in 2014.

What did you do before taking the MSc?

I was working in the food industry – mostly in product development. I did food science as a degree and after getting my first degree I went into the food industry, then food teaching, then back into the industry again. I had just finished a stint in the industry in creative product development – which is coming up with ideas for new products rather than actually developing them, before starting the MSc.

What made you decide to embark on this course of study?

Someone I worked with years ago trained to be a nutritional therapist and when my son, who’s 12 now, was born he had bad allergies to milk and eggs. I talked to her at the time and had some interesting conversations about nutrition, so I was interested in the concept of nutritional therapy years ago. Then I had the option to do something different in my career and so I thought of that again.

Why did you choose CNELM for your studies?

When the option came to try something different, I googled nutritional therapy and came up with CNELM who are quite local to me and who did the MSc, which I liked the idea of having rather than the alternative previous therapy degree. I liked the idea that NLP was incorporated into the practice diploma too, which I had come across a lot in the corporate world in terms of training and around problem solving etc. and these were the things which attracted me to CNELM. Secondary to that was the location, which is fairly near to where I live.

What work did you do after graduating?

I’m doing quite different things at the moment; I’m using the NLP and doing some corporate and nutritional coaching. I do a degree of independent consultancy using both nutrition and my previous creative product development background and I also teach karate, so I’m starting some school programmes which I would not have been able to do in a 9-5 job. I’m also doing a growing amount of nutritional work with a charity called Food for the Brain http://www.foodforthebrain.org/

My work with them is mainly around an accreditation programme for catering operations that provide a high standard of nutrition, so my role is to provide training and auditing for them.

Did doing the MSc take your work in a different direction?

Absolutely. I wouldn’t have done any of the things mentioned above if it hadn’t been for the MSc.

Is there anything you wish you’d known before finishing your studies that you might have prepared for differently?

I started with the intention of taking the practice diploma and practicing as a nutritional therapist. As I got through the course I realised that wasn’t for me, but the design of the MSc course with the NLP incorporated has been really useful in opening up other doors for me. I don’t practise as a nutritional therapist as it doesn’t really appeal to me anymore, but I’ve gained other important skills from CNELM.

Why doesn’t nutritional therapy appeal to you?

It’s really a personal thing; I have more sympathy for the food industry than most nutritional therapists do! I feel the coaching element is more relevant to me than nutritional therapy especially in the area of supplements. I feel that most people don’t need supplements – I’m sure that eating more fresh vegetables will give more benefit than anything else. 

Tell us more about your work within the food industry.

I got into it with the route to being a food technologist and working with product development; using new technologies and ingredients. I noticed that nutrition has previously been very much about regulations and compliance, so nutrition was more about making sure regulations are complied with. What I see happening now, over the last 10-15 years, is health has become more important to us as the consumer and we increasingly find now that nutrition is more embedded in strategic planning and development rather than a purely regulatory “afterthought”. We see more and more opportunities for people with a nutrition background to future proof against legislation that may arise in the future. Large manufacturers will increasingly find it very helpful to have nutritional therapists’ views on how legislation may change in the future and how to incorporate that into their products. 

What or who has most inspired you in your work?

The growing level of interest from organisations who are genuinely showing an interest in improving nutrition inspires me; these are often catering organisations like universities, residential settings etc. It’s quite reassuring to see a genuine interest from these people to invest in nutrition.

Do you have any tips, hints, regrets...?

My tip is that as you go through the course you will come across loads of stuff, many interesting things. For me, the key thing is to make them all connect – to make connections between different things and think how to apply nutrition to them. For example, I use NLP within my karate training. Seek connections between things and actively look for these to open new opportunities for yourself. You may learn what you’re being told, but the important thing is to make connection and come up with new ideas of your own. I don’t have any regrets, because in NLP there are no regrets – only learning opportunities and feedback!