The Nutritional Supplement

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

I graduated from the MSc in Personalised Nutrition in 2015.

What made you decide to embark on this course of study and what attracted you to CNELM?

I had long wanted to study a proper nutrition degree and poor nutrition was becoming more widely recognised as contributing to various health conditions.  I wanted a course that would give me a robust, science-based, university-level qualification.  It had to be a distance course because I have 3 (now 4!) small children and a husband who travels constantly for work and I wanted to fit my studies around them. Finally, I wanted a progressive, up-to-date course, preferably encompassing functional medicine. I discounted various online programmes and the university qualifications available in Sweden on that basis. CNELM was the only one that ticked all the boxes.

What did you do before doing this course?

My first qualification was in law.  I was a trainee lawyer and then I founded a bespoke luxury handbag company, which I ran for about 9 years.  My husband and I had also founded/co-founded some other companies together, including a green ‘supercharged’ electric ferry company.

Tell us about Nordic Wellth and its launch.

As I was coming to the end of my studies, I realized that I wanted to do things aside from see clients

day-to-day.  I wanted to create a ‘market disruption’ and had read about the projected increase in digital health solutions. Having run an online handbag company for many years, even before many fashion brands had their own websites, I like online business and consumer business.  Nordic Wellth (wellness/health) is a digital health and wellness platform run by licensed medical doctors and BANT certified nutritional therapists.

We will offer a full-spectrum digital ‘wellthcare’ service to individuals and companies, including health tests, functional medicine consultations, healthy eating inspiration, supplements and the support you need to live a healthier lifestyle.  We’re launching in Scandinavia initially and we may need more BANT-certified nutritional therapists to join our team, so anyone who is interested can drop me a line at jackie@nordicwellth.com.

What do you think is most important for the future of the nutritional therapy profession?

I think proper, science-based qualifications are key. I think learning about genetic factors that can affect health and staying on top of research is absolutely critical. It will be key for our industry to get more recognition and acceptance - and as quickly as possible. The distinction between a dietitian and a nutritional therapist is getting blurry, and even doctors are giving nutrition advice and in France only doctors can give supplement advice. In Sweden the qualification is not that highly valued because it isn’t a university degree. Finally, I think that as with medicine it is really difficult to be a ‘jack of all trades’. So I think we should be teaming up, inspiring and educating one another, sharing difficult cases: less working alone and more teamwork.

What or who has most inspired you in your work?

I was given a great opportunity really early on in my career when I was given a job in a Spanish law firm. I had sent an unsolicited email to Madrid offering my English services in return for the experience – and they said yes. I have Lupicinio Rodriguez, founder of the global law firm Lupicinios, to thank for that. That experience made me realize that I can make things happen, and inspired me to start my first business. It also opened up a lot of opportunities of its own.

Do you have any tips, hints, things you’d have done differently...?

1. Think about what you are going to do after qualifying long before finishing your degree and prepare financially for a hiatus in income for at least a few months. I think too many people qualify and then get stuck trying to establish themselves very quickly in order to make some money. It can be daunting to start out and it isn’t realistic for most people to think that your business will take off and be able to pay you a full salary in a month or two.
2. Get a mentor or a few experienced friends and join the BANT and CNELM grads Facebook group – it’s really important as a new graduate to have other people to ask questions of and bounce ideas with.
3. Diversify – be open to working with and for others and on a variety of projects.