The Nutritional Supplement

Which nutrition course and institute did you graduate from?

I graduated from the ION in 1999.

What did you do before doing the nutrition course?

I worked in the food industry in product development.

Have you ever lectured at CNELM? 

Yes, I delivered Food Science/NPD lectures several years ago.

Tell us how you got into your role of Senior Food Technologist at London South Bank University and where it has taken you.

After qualifying at ION, I did the MSc Food Standards, Safety and Control at the London South Bank University (LSBU) part time. During my studies I helped in their food technology transfer centre and eventually became a full-time employee. My 23 years in this role enabled me to develop my academic research skills, continue working with the UK food industry, become an expert in quality management systems, food safety and food microbiology, and undertake a Biomedical Science PhD (which I have almost completed) involving the gut brain axis. I recently became an advisor to the UK government as a member of the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Foods at the UK Food Standards Agency.

The skills and confidence acquired for the PhD enabled me to offer food intervention trials to challenger brand companies wishing to establish published research on the effects of their products on human health. To date I have run 5 intervention trials involving 8 different products. Two trials are published, one is almost ready for internal review and the final two are at various stages of data analyses, and a brand new one being prepared.

Tell us some more about MOJU and the recently published paper on gut health

A large proportion of my industry technology transfer work is grant funded. Intervention trials are extremely expensive due to the significant volume of work involved and the cost of testing. I was able to utilise a European grant to fund an intervention trial for MOJU’s prebiotic shot. The product is unique in its formulation, containing a broad spectrum of prebiotic ingredients convenient for gut microbiome support. All the ingredients have established evidence, tested either individually or up to three in a mix, but no evidence exists for a combined effect. The gut microbiome is complex, a stable community, and flexible to short term perturbations. The MOJU study is the first human intervention trial using shotgun metagenomic sequencing to investigate the gut microbiome’s response to prebiotic fibres. Exciting stuff, however, a big literature review challenge to support the results discussion.

The results added a wealth of new knowledge to the existing pool of gut microbiota and fibre intervention evidence and demonstrates the value of the MOJU Prebiotic shot as a convenient dietary fibre ‘top-up’ for general health, not just gut health. Our results suggest that the effect of the MOJU Prebiotic shot continues for 21 days after stopping consumption. The functional pathways are of particular interest, especially in terms of amino acid synthesis and nitrogen recycling. In this cohort the MOJU Prebiotic shot upregulated functional pathways in the gut microbiota of particular benefit to those with dietary protein deficiency. A significant question that remains unanswered is why individual gut microbiomes respond in the way they do.

Future publications

In my PhD research I am looking at the impact of three different fermented foods, readily available in the UK, on gastrointestinal health, emotional health, and cognitive function. I used Genova Diagnostics’ GI Effects with parasitology and zonulin family peptide, the DASS questionnaire to measure depression, anxiety and stress, and a selection of cognitive function measurements from the CANTAB battery of digital cognitive assessments. In addition, I collected comprehensive diet and lifestyle data, including pet ownership. I also had the microbiomes of the three products analysed with 16s rRNA sequencing. All three products significantly improved certain elements of emotional health and cognitive function, trying to explain why and how they impacted the gut brain axis has been very interesting. I hope to have the paper published before the end of the year. The final PhD research question will analyse for gut microbiota signatures of responders and non-responders to live bacterial interventions.

LSBU PIPEC study

Several CNELM students will recognise this title as being a trial they participated in recently. The 2 products that were put through this trial are Naked Biotics Restore and Probio 7 Advanced. This is another shotgun metagenomic investigation with the added insight of eye tracking technology and food choice behaviour. There is good evidence emerging that certain members of the gut microbiome can influence host food choice to the benefit of the organisms, and not necessarily the host. We are now in the data preparation stages.

Hempress Rising and Herby Box study

Like our PIPEC study, many CNELM students participated in this study. A CBD infused chocolate and a gut-brain-axis herbal tea. Research evidence shows these products can improve emotional health and cognitive function, we are interested to see if this is, in part, due to changes in gut microbiota composition.

Psychedelic Macro and Microdosing Consumer Study       

Here I collaborated with a couple of psychologists, interested in the effect of psychedelics on gastrointestinal health. I was astounded at the volume of response, over 500, to our qualitative study. The data has now been cleaned and prepared for analyses. We hope to generate robust enough evidence to justify grant funding to explore this subject further involving specific psychedelic use consumers and gut microbiome investigations. The US FDA is encouraging research on psychedelics and the treatment of depression, treatment resistant MDD, in particular.

PARADOC study

This is one at the preparatory stages. Ethical approval has been granted. Here I am collaborating with a couple of researchers from Cambridge University (parasitology and oncology), and we hope to be ready for recruitment towards the end of the year.

How did you kickstart your practice / career?

Through literally jumping into the deep end and offering to volunteer at a community centre in North London. My first client had systemic lupus and my second client chronic fatigue with lengthy periods of total incapacitation, often needing hospitalization. One of the scariest comments I heard was from my personal tutor at ION who said the course provides the knowledge and skill to start practicing, but the true learning process only starts once you graduate. This was before computers, google search engine and open access publications, most of my knowledge came from books – an expensive pursuit of knowledge indeed. I made friends for life during my study at ION and post-graduation a group of us started working together in a supportive capacity. Together we explored different measures for individualized assessments towards personalised nutritional support. CPD activities are imperative to build knowledge and confidence. I trained as a phlebotomist, so I was able to take venous blood and utilise biological terrain analyses. I was lucky to get a part time job in a health shop with clinic rooms. This was invaluable to my growth as a confident Applied Nutritional Therapist. Customers would come in to look for alternative or natural remedies for certain symptoms and conditions and this is how I started building up a client base and a reputation. Collaborating with other therapy providers such as Homeopaths highlighted the value of ‘complementary’ for both the client and the practitioner. For example, homeopathic detoxification can improve both speed of and side effect severity of heavy metal chelation. I worked for Maryon Stewart at the Women’s Nutritional Advisory Service for a short while which provided insight to the logistical requirements of running a busy practice.

What or who has most inspired you in your work? 

Like many students of Nutritional Therapy, I have an emotional ‘back story’. My significant other at the time was diagnosed at the age of 38 with rheumatoid arthritis and in a wheelchair three-month post diagnosis. This prompted me to study at ION and the impact on quality of life because of the nutritional therapy knowledge I applied, inspired me to become a practitioner and a lifelong student of nutrition and health.

Along the way I have also taken significant inspiration from Jeffrey Bland, mostly to develop my biochemistry knowledge to be able to understand his lectures! And more recently John Cryan (University College Cork). His work inspired my interest in the gut brain axis. He is also one of the funniest scientific presenters I have seen.

I have won 5 awards for my work over the past few years and that recognition must be one of the biggest inspirations to date. It motivates you to keep trying to be the best that you can, in the true spirit of Heraclitus, “Those who love wisdom must investigate many things”.