I think,
like many in this particular field, my interest in nutrition began in earnest
only when I encountered health difficulties of my own. For me, weight gain was
a persistent challenge, but the numerous health problems that accompanied my
increasing weight began to compromise my well being, both physically and
mentally. Despite always having an interest in nutrition, unhealthy habits,
born during my college years, began to take hold and spiraled in the following
years. I joined Weight Watchers in September 2008 and within 2 years I had lost
almost 4 stone and reached my goal weight, where I have stayed, for the most
part, for over 3 years now. The programme had given me a platform to take
control of my eating again, and refueled my interest in nutrition. I had seen
the effect from both sides: the damaging side effects of a poor diet, and the
therapeutic benefits of positive food choices.
With a
renewed concern for my own health, and the health of others in similar
situations, I began studying Nutrition and Health Coaching part-time in the
Irish Institute of Nutrition and Health, Bray in 2010. This one year course
gave us an insight into what is in our food, how it used by the body, and how
best to advise people about general dietary and lifestyle requirements. Having
completed this first year I quickly decided that I wanted to study further and
began the two-year Diploma in Nutritional Therapy. The course now involved
detailed study of Anatomy, Physiology and Pathophysiology. We worked our way
through each of the body’s systems, the diseases and dysfunctions associated
with them, and the benefits of nutritional intervention in their optimum
performance. In the final year we completed almost 40 hours of Clinical
Practice in the setting of the college clinic under the observation of our
lecturers. This gave us the opportunity to practice assessing clients based on
their current health status and diet, and create individualised nutrition and
lifestyle recommendations, as well as developing our confidence as therapists,
coaches and counsellors.
In my final
year I completed an academic dissertation based on the impact of diet and
lifestyle on the symptoms associated with ADHD in children. This interesting
topic linked my new passion with my ‘day job’, that of a Primary School
Teacher. I have been teaching for almost 7 years and get great satisfaction
from my job, however I cannot help but notice that the number of children with
behavioural, academic and psychological difficulties is growing steadily, and
comes at a great cost, both emotionally and financially, to the families and
schools involved. It was incredibly interesting to explore these issues for my
dissertation and analyse the current research in the area with regard to causative
factors and the possible role of nutrition in the management of these
conditions.
As I set
out on the road to establishing myself as a practitioner it is almost
unavoidable that the areas I will eventually specialise in will be that of
weight management and children’s nutrition, as these are the areas in which I
have most personal experience. However, Nutritional Therapy is a holistic
approach to wellness, which has been repeatedly shown to support the health of
all major body systems, (skeletal, muscular, nervous, respiratory, cardiovascular,
digestive, excretory, endocrine, immune, reproductive, skin, hair and nails)
and I look forward to utilising my knowledge and experience to assist others in
obtaining optimum health and helping my clients to manage the wide range of
symptoms that can benefit from nutritional intervention.