My relationship with food and health wasn’t wonderful in my teens and twenties. I worked hard at my studies and work but often had colds, digestive issues, fatigue and headaches. I put myself under pressure by striving for perfection in school, university and my jobs. At 23 I retrained as a hairdresser and spiralled into the worst phase of my health - coffee for breakfast, eating my first meal around 3pm which was usually empty carbs or a sad sandwich, working on pure adrenaline and partying a lot. At 29 I experienced burnout, poor mental health and was diagnosed with permanent tinnitus caused by stress.

A few years later, and a slight sidestep in career from salon floor to salon operations, I had more sociable hours and a new perspective on health and life. My husband and I decided to start trying for a baby and when that wasn’t straightforward a friend recommended acupuncture which opened the door to a world of complementary healthcare. Pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and breastfeeding are such energy consuming tasks and learning about what my body needed was the start of my route to nutritional therapy. Learning to enjoy food and embrace cooking was a big step for a woman who used to wish she could click her fingers and a plate of food would appear.

Alongside work, a second pregnancy and raising a young family I studied and trained at the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM) for three years to become a fully qualified nutritional therapist. Salon work gave me the foundational tools to work 1:1 with clients and now with the scientific understanding of food as medicine, I guide people to better health and the best version of themselves.