The Nutritional Supplement

Which course did you graduate from at CNELM and when did you graduate?

I started the BSc in Nutritional Therapy course in 2013 alongside taking some practice diploma modules. After the first year of BSc, I was able to transfer to the Master’s programme (Personalised Nutrition) as I had a previous degree. The master’s and the dissertation took me a while to complete and I graduated in 2016. After that, I completed the student clinic and the remining modules of Nutritional Therapy Practice Diploma in 2017.

What did you do before doing this course?

I was a self-employed translator. I am originally from Finland and was translating technical/automotive texts first, then mostly medical and pharmaceutical texts, from German and English into Finnish.

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

I wasn’t enjoying my translation work anymore after having done it for over a decade. I also had some chronic health issues that seemed to be getting worse from sitting at the computer for long hours but the doctors didn’t really have any answers for me. As a passionate foodie, I had been looking into how I can improve my diet to feel better. For years, I was an avid reader of health magazines and nutrition books aimed at the lay public. I was following the paleo principles at the time and learning from and trying recipes by various American “health food gurus”. A friend was convinced that I should go and properly study nutrition as we always ended up chatting about food and nutrition whenever we met or called each other. However, it took me several years to pluck up the courage and finally take that (scary) step.

Also, as I transitioned from translating technical texts to medical and pharmaceutical ones, I soon realised that my knowledge of human biology was rather poor but it really fascinated me so I started looking for courses on human anatomy and physiology to learn to make me a better medical translator. That’s how I came across CNELM and their foundation courses on human biology and chemistry. CNELM was local to me so it was an easy choice. After completing the foundation courses, I knew that it was what I wanted to pursue, so felt ready and very excited to enrol on a degree course. I had fallen in love with learning and studying about the human body! What an amazing piece of machinery! I was completely hooked and wanted to understand it better!

What was your first role after graduating?

I set up my own clinic MetaWell as soon as I graduated and got my diploma.

How did you kickstart your practice / career?

It was scary to start practising on my own and it was a slow progress. Finding clients and knowing what to offer was not as easy as I had thought! We didn’t really learn the business side of running a practice at college. I soon realised I had to adjust the way I worked with clients from the way we had learned, as I could not spend hours with writing plans for instance. It was a very steep learning curve for me.

Alongside clinic work, I also started running some nutritional cooking demos and fermentation sessions and offered one-to-one cooking sessions for clients, which I enjoyed a lot. I pushed myself to get out of my comfort zone, offering talks and cooking sessions, to get my name out in the local community. I also visited various networking groups to connect with more people and eventually joined one that I’m still a member of. Slowly, I started getting more clients and other opportunities, such as working with charities and other organisations alongside my client work.

Where has your career taken you so far? 

Currently I work with 1-to-1 clients on a programme-basis, and I also facilitate a Food and Mood course at the local Recovery College, Stepping Stones Bracknell. My in-person course is run twice in each term and I also run a shorter online course for them. I also enjoy writing articles for online magazines and websites as well as doing talks at various events.

Do you specialise in a particular area of health? 

I haven’t niched in a very clear area and I still work with people with various chronic conditions, often gut-related. My main interests are gut health (and how our gut affects the rest of the body, and the brain particularly), food and mood (how what we eat affects our mental health) and a healthy menopause transition to name a few.

Which part do you think has been the most rewarding or successful? 

Seeing client’s symptoms improve! One of the biggest transformations I’ve seen, was with a client with badly managed ulcerative colitis for 3 years who was put on immunosuppressants when all the other medications had failed. He was passing blood up to 10 times a day and experiencing really strong reactions to various meals. We cleaned up his highly processed diet, added variety and colour and took out gluten. We also used some targeted supplements to optimise his nutrient levels and support gut healing. In a relatively short period of time he reported that symptoms had resolved, he was responding well to meals and his bowels were moving normally. He also reported that he was able to discontinue immunosuppressant medication. He was delighted to have a normal social life again. He sent me a Christmas card and a lovely coaster that said “This is what an awesome nutritionist looks like.” All this was after he had been told by a couple of his doctors that his diet has nothing to do with his condition! The coaster is still on my desk!

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

Running your own practice means running a business and that’s my main struggle as I’ve never been very business-minded. This side of things was poorly covered in our training. After graduating in nutrition, most of us will be running small private clinics but we are not really trained in how to successfully do it, in order to make a decent living from it. With purely 1-to-1 client work, it’s very hard to make it a viable business. Looking back, I think our training should include more business modules, such as how to run online courses and group programmes or how to top up your clinic work with other income streams.

What or who has most inspired you in your work? 

Before and during my studies, I was hugely inspired by Christine Bailey who was running cooking sessions and lecturing at CNELM. I loved her cookery sessions and her food-focused approach. Another person who keeps inspiring me is the amazing Deanna Minich and her unique approach linking nutrition science, food, spirituality and art. I felt honoured (and a bit star-struck!) when I got to meet and go out to dinner with her and some colleagues last year when she was visiting London. What an amazing lady she is! I’m hoping to join her Certified Food and Spirit Practitioner Programme hopefully at some point.

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

To anyone starting out my top tip is to step out of your comfort zone as much as you can and get to know people in the local area. Offer to do talks and demos, join networking groups and talk about what you do when you meet new people.

Making a decent earning from 1-to-1 work is hard but can be really rewarding so keep persisting but make sure to find other income streams that can support your 1-to-1 clinic work.