The Nutritional Supplement

1. What Course did you graduate from at CNELM and when did you graduate?

I originally joined the BSc Hons Nutritional Therapy course at CNELM and then transferred to the MSc in Personalised Nutrition when that started in January 2012.  I graduated in 2013 but I also wanted to complete my BSc so I am currently completing my BSc Research Project.

2. What is your background and what made you decide to retrain to become a nutritional therapist / practitioner?

My previous degree was a BSc in International Business with French & German and my background is in marketing. In 2009 I became very ill with ME. Initially I went down the conventional medical route and was told: "you will always be like this” and was prescribed anti-depressant medication.  My stepmother had had some positive experiences with using nutritional therapy for her cancer, so this encouraged me to look at this area for my ME.  It was around this time that I also started looking up courses to study.  I had had to give up my job due to ME, but I felt the need to do something and thought there might be a course I could study on the side.  I was living in Australia at the time and my search for courses took a very global approach, and I looked at courses in several different countries. 

When I came across CNELM's website I really loved the whole philosophy and approach of the functional medicine model which I totally bought into.  At the same time I decided to seek help for my ME through nutritional therapy from an experienced therapist who was using the functional medicine approach. Within six weeks I felt significantly better and was so inspired by this that I decided I wanted to help other people in the same way.

I also wanted to do a reputable course and I wanted to study at degree level because I really wanted to work alongside medical doctors and felt that it was important to study at the highest level that I could.  So this was also a factor in my choice.  As I did not come from a science background at all, I had to do the undergraduate Bioscience course first before enrolling on the BSc.

3. What was your first role after graduating?

I set myself up as a limited company upon graduation and started to seek private clients and nutrition jobs which could give me experience. I now work as an independent consultant for a performance company based in Switzerland as their Head of Nutrition.  I advise on the latest nutritional research in different areas, from jet lag to shift work to hydration - so it's quite generalised.  This company works with high profile individuals and businesses using a multi-disciplinary approach, for example using psychologists, physiotherapists, trainers etc. with the objective of enhancing performance.  So I will go to a clinic in Geneva and see clients from there. This company is headed up by several medical doctors so there is a lot of blood analysis work involved. I do a lot of research and follow up work from my home office. I also see London based clients from a performance clinic in Harley Street.

In addition I work for a Performance Academy for young racing drivers, where I give workshops to young drivers on nutrition and performance, again within a multi-disciplinary team.

I am also an Associate at for a Corporate Wellness company, which will go into businesses, giving presentations and seeing clients on a one-to-one basis, either on the premises or via Skype, depending on their location. 

So on the whole my clients are very high profile, mostly in the sports world - in particular Formula 1 clients, as well as leading executives within the corporate world.

I am also frequently approached by companies for other freelance work, including advising food companies and manufacturers, etc.

4.  How is your time split between your different roles?

If I were to average it out, I would say that I probably spend about 1 day per week in the Head of Nutrition role for the Swiss performance company, 1 day per week with motor racing drivers, 1 day per week in my private practice, 1 day per week working on new business leads and/or other freelance work, and 1 day per week doing admin.  Naturally there are peaks and troughs when being self-employed and it doesn't always work out as a Mon-Fri job, but I would say that I am definitely working full-time!

5.  How did you kickstart your practice?

While I was studying for my MSc I made the decision that I wanted to do my dissertation not only on an area that I was interested in, but also to do a project that would help to support my career.  I had a particular interest in Formula 1 and so my research project was on how to optimise performance in racing drivers using personalised nutrition. I undertook my research in association with a Formula 1 team and through this I met one of the doctors who heads up the Swiss performance company and that is how I ended up working for them.  In this regard, studying to BSc level was the minimum that would have been required, and having the MSc certainly helped.

6.  Do you specialise in a particular area of health? If not, which conditions or types of clients do you see the most?

In nutritional therapy we are always advised to specialise, and I would love to specialise but interestingly my career has not evolved that way it's actually quite generalist.  Obviously, with my own medical history I am particularly interested in the whole chronic fatigue profile.  Gut health also comes up everywhere, in health and in professional sport. 

I would say that 99% of my work involves laboratory tests, including genetic tests. I am lucky that I have many high profile clients who are able to afford the full range of tests that I recommend. This certainly gives the practitioner an excellent range of personalised information to work from, but it can be expensive to run these tests and this is one reason why I made the decision to target the field of sports nutrition and F1 in particular.

Although I work with a lot of racing drivers, it's not just about enhancing performance.  You get just as many complex health cases in sport, often which have not been recognised or at least not linked as a contributory factor in their performance.  Most sports professionals have not yet appreciated the links between their health and their performance or how nutrition can help, so this is one of the most rewarding aspects of my work.  That, and the fact that my clients tend to do exactly what I tell them because they know it will help to enhance their performance!

7. Have there been any particular influences, or influencers, e.g. tutors, other practitioners, books etc. that have inspired you in your work?

Ian Craig who was the Module Leader for the Personalised Sports Nutrition module at CNELM was a great influence on me, and really inspired me in my goal to put health back into sport.

Lorraine Nicolle, Module Leader for Personalised Nutrition & Chronic Illness on the MSc programme at CNELM was also a great motivator. She articulates complex problems in a very simple and easy-to-understand manner and is always on top of the latest research.

I was also encouraged by Helen Lynam who I think is a great lecturer and she has a very nurturing approach. 

Finally Kate Neil, Managing Director of CNELM was a great inspiration to me and the real trigger to me choosing CNELM in the first place and helping to turn my health around.

8. How have you found the transition from Student to Practising Nutritional Therapist / Scientist?

You certainly never stop learning once you graduate, but I felt that I was so well equipped with my degree that it was just a case of believing in myself and having the confidence to close my eyes and jump off the cliff!  In this respect, I found that just creating business cards, a name for my company and a website helped me to believe that I was more than just a student, and of course my desire to help people was also a major driving factor. 

9. How do you fit CPD / keeping abreast of the latest research into your day-to-day practice/work?

My day-to-day work is such that I have to keep on top of the research. This is particularly the case in my Head of Nutrition role.  I have to be very strict with myself and keep it targeted, otherwise I could spend so much time just doing research! I also make sure I attend relevant training courses, especially ones run by IFM.

10. What is your vision for the future in terms of your career?

Due to my first degree in International Business I was exempt from the Business Skills module at CNELM, but I still wrote a Business Plan when I started out and regularly review it.  I don't always stick to it, but I always look at my finances and my marketing plan and make sure that I'm on track.  Without these regular reviews you don't have a clear career pathway, so I see this as key to my career progression.

My original 5-year plan was to see a Formula 1 racing driver as a private client and I achieved this within 2 years and I currently have seven F1 clients.  Having achieved that goal earlier than expected, my focus has turned to the reason why I originally started the course at CNELM, which was to help people.  In this regard, I have realised that a Formula 1 racing driver is no different from a school teacher, a gardener or an administrative worker.  It's all about health and by bringing health into sport I am still helping people to be well.

My long term vision is to keep growing, researching and continuing to help people and to be the best that I can be. At some stage I would like to be in a position to contribute more to the greater good, whether this is through charity work or working in schools for example.

What's important to me is to enjoy what I do and to keep growing, and I will go in whatever direction that takes me.  My plan is to always have a presence within the racing market as well as my corporate work. However, I am open to new opportunities which are based on my values of living a balanced life, being healthy and practising what I preach.

11. What advice would you give to those just who are just starting their training?

Do everything you can to make contacts and get experience.  During my studies I contacted therapists to ask if I could shadow them or help them in any way (without payment!).  I would go to nutrition seminars and exhibitions and ask if I could help out, distribute fliers, anything.  I always knew that I was interested in sports nutrition so this gave me a focussed direction, but I was willing to do anything to help gain experience, insight and contacts to help me with my future career.

I would also add that nutrition is an exciting profession. I always knew that I wanted to earn my living from nutrition.  I wanted to help people and I wanted to make it a profitable business.  There seems to be a prevailing attitude among some within the profession that it is difficult to make a full-time career out of it.  I actually feel the opposite; I believe that anyone can make a full-time career within the nutrition profession if they want to it is just a case of looking for the opportunities and creating new opportunities.  For example, I knew I was interested in the area of sports nutrition but not in the conventional sense of just enhancing performance.  Instead I wanted to bring health to sport, and this is a concept that is still very new.  One of the doctors I work with was not familiar with the functional model of medicine approach being used to enhance sports performance, and this was a key factor to my obtaining this position.  So I have used my training to create a new opportunity in what is a lucrative field.  There are plenty of clients out there for everybody to be earning a full time living.

12. What advice would you give to those who are just about to graduate?

In addition to what I have already said, I would like to add a note of reassurance to all those just starting out, that I constantly go through a yo-yo of immense confidence followed by bouts of self-questioning along the lines of: "Am I good enough to be advising these high profile, sometimes quite challenging clients?”  So you do need to have a lot of self-belief, but the way I get round it is to constantly remind myself that I want what's best for my clients and I have their best interests at heart.  If I can go away knowing that I have done as much as I can for that client, then it doesn't matter whether they are a world champion, a CEO or if they are a gardener, cleaner or administrator, they are all human beings requiring support for their health that I am able to give.

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

Keep your career in mind throughout your studies, and if you have the opportunity to do a research dissertation, my tip would be to undertake this in an area and/or associated with an organisation that you would like to work with.

Opportunities to work with Helene

Helene runs a flourishing business and often has ad hoc project work that may require support. She is therefore keen to hear from students or graduates who think they would be interested in assisting her on various projects, some of which may offer remuneration.  If you think you would be interested in supporting Helene in some way, please send your CV and a covering letter / email to: helene@helenepatounas.com