My approach
If you have a long-standing illness change can sometimes take time and a good deal of commitment on your part, but I always strive to ensure my recommendations are as practical, achievable and as enjoyable as possible. I strongly believe food is one of life’s true pleasures and my aim will always be to enable you to be well enough in the long run to be able to enjoy most foods.
During our initial consultation, I will ask you information about your medical history, symptoms, and also where appropriate lifestyle, stress levels, sleep patterns etc.
Although not always possible I often suggest people follow the 80/20 rule – making nutritious choices for 80% of the time, allowing you to be more relaxed for the other 20%
You can read further detail about my approach, training and special areas of interest in the About Me section.
I’ve known Helen for over 10 years and hugely appreciate her skills as a teacher and a nutritional therapist. Her breadth of knowledge is astounding and always backed up by a solid grounding in the evidence base – this is what gives me, as a GP, confidence in her recommendations. I have seen her deliver teaching to medical students at the University of Bristol as well as to doctors and other healthcare professionals and have always had excellent feedback. Her background in nursing and her many years experience give her a credibility which many Nutritional Therapists can only dream of!
Helen is a mine of information – all of it useful, applicable to everyday life and backed up with solid evidence or sensible pragmatism. Everyone could benefit from a session with her! Dr Duncan Still, National Centre for Integrative Medicine Holistic Dr and Bristol GP
The functional medicine model for health care is concerned less with what we call the dysfunction or disease, and more about the dynamic processes that resulted in the person’s dysfunction.
Scientific evidence
I get excited about all the new science that is flooding in to confirm the clear links about how food can profoundly influence our health. I’m not interested in celebrity fad diets, but ones that have some evidence to support their use. If you are making changes to your diet you want to be as sure as possible that there is a good reason for doing this.
The amount of information on the internet can be overwhelming – especially when you’re not feeling your best. Although some people enjoy searching for scientific studies, many of my clients tell me they find this a burden and are exhausted by looking for answers on the internet from Dr Google!
My practice relies on the very latest thinking, research and evidence in the field of nutrition/Functional Medicine which feeds into your personalised recommendations. I’m passionate about keeping up to date with research and never stop learning. This helps to ensure I offer you information based on the best available evidence.
Functional testing
Supplements
I do not routinely prescribe supplements. I prefer to help you get the nutrients you need from making changes to your diet. Sometimes however supplements are necessary to achieve the levels required to bring about a therapeutic effect.
I can provide you with access to the highest-quality supplements on the market, some of which are only available via qualified practitioners. I am not affiliated to any vitamin companies so will always give unbiased recommendations.
Natural remedies
If required, I can direct you to appropriate natural remedies, such as practitioner grade, over-the-counter, herbal remedies to aid sleep, low mood, stress, colds and improve symptoms of the menopause. There are bewildering arrays of such remedies available, but I am happy to help you consider which ones would be most beneficial for your situation, based on the latest scientific evidence. I will also check that they are safe to use alongside any medication you are taking.
Stress-reduction techniques
I like to take a whole-person approach to my work which takes into consideration not only the food that people eat but also lifestyle/stress etc.
I am highly aware that many health conditions are influenced by stress and when people come for a consultation it can be clear that this may be a big part of the picture. If that’s the case, we can discuss your support options to address this. In some cases, unless people address the stress in the lives alongside nutritional changes required, shifts in a person’s health are unlikely to take place.
I have extensive experience in teaching people simple, calming breathing, mind-clearing and relaxation exercises and I can refer you to specialist colleagues if needed.
As well as being enjoyable to practice, stress reduction can also help bring the body back into balance at a physiological level (reducing the heart rate and breathing rate), positively supporting your body to heal itself. Studies demonstrate these approaches can have beneficial effects on sleep, stress, chronic pain, high blood pressure and immune/hormonal function. Left unchecked, on-going stress and poor breathing can lead to the onset of many of our common health complaints – such as high blood pressure and heart disease. As most health conditions have a stress component, I recommend learning these approaches to complement the nutritional changes you are making to help you achieve optimal health.
Calming breathing and mind-clearing techniques can be invaluable to help you manage stressful or anxious/emotional times in your life more effectively. Being simple to learn, they can easily be integrated into everyday life.
Lifestyle approaches and complementary therapies
I am happy to advise which of these may be particularly beneficial for your situation and direct you to reliable resources including national practitioner listings to enable you to access these approaches and therapies. These may include approaches such as yoga, acupuncture, massage or simply going for more walks to enjoy nature.
Testimonials
I could not recommend Helen highly enough. She provided me with excellent nutritional guidance, which was tailored to my own health issues and concerns. I really felt that the consultation was invaluable; it changed my attitude and outlook towards nutrition. Overall, her advice has been invaluable, and she made the whole process simple, effortless, and more importantly, enjoyable.
Helen has been an incredible support to me. Having existed with an eating disorder for many years, it was refreshing to find someone who really cared about me and my needs, and was able to work gently through my issues. In Helen, I have found someone with whom I can be completely open and honest with, and who I trust to give me advice that is healthy and tailored to my life.
Helen’s nutritional approach really helped me to focus on what foods to include in my diet and what supplements to take during my fertility treatment. I firmly believe that her clear, easy to follow, advice helped contribute to me being at optimal health during the process and the outcome speaks for itself…we are blessed with a healthy beautiful baby boy!
As a colitis sufferer I have become so confused about how best to maintain a healthy gut. Thanks to Helen I now have a clear plan and the tools I need to stay healthy, and I haven’t felt so good in years!
I am pleased to say that his tummy ache has gone which is wonderful news and we are thrilled! Thank you so much for your time and advice which we took on board- it was really worthwhile coming to see you and we are really pleased with how things are progressing.
Helen has a caring, yet down-to-earth approach. She helped me recover from painful, age-related arthritis. I never thought I would be so free from pain again!
I was very tired when I came, feeling very overwhelmed and now I feel restored, re-energised and really wanting to accept and then change things about myself and my life, starting with small steps, breathing and relaxing along the way.
I have never done anything like this before, but thoroughly enjoyed it. I believe it will really start me off in making significant change to my life.