Freedom Nutrition Counselling Service

My Journey to functional nutrition

I am a Certified Functional Nutritional Counsellor of the Functional Nutrition Alliance and Functional Nutrition Lab. I am based in Henfield, West Sussex where I have lived for 30 years. I have two children, a cat, an enormous dog and a rescue dog.

I have always worked with food, starting my career with Industrial caterers but really developing an eye and passion for how food, or rather the lack of the right food, impacts our health.

 I own a health food store in Henfield called Cornerweighs which I have had for the last 26 years. I started this because I had got stuck in the usual 9-5 office stress and commute which had a huge impact on my health, not delivering a “diagnosis” but generally feeling tired and very unwell with no good explanation. The worst symptoms were chronic migraines and very heavy periods.

In 2005 (when my children were four and a half and three years old), my husband Mike was diagnosed with stage 2 non-small cell lung cancer – squamous carcinoma. He underwent traditional chemotherapy and radical radiotherapy but was not a candidate for an operation, given the site of the tumour. During his treatment he was losing 4lbs of weight a day. Like Andrea, my mentor, I looked for everything and anything I could do to support Mike’s treatment and survival. He did survive and either by accident or good instinct, I supported the toxic side of Mike’s cancer. We were lucky Mike survived.

In March 2008, Mike then suffered a dense stroke which he again survived; however, he was left severely disabled and unable to speak. Initially I was told he would never walk again or regain continence and that he should be put in a nursing home. Once again, I supported his recovery with nutrition, only this time adding acupuncture, massage in the early days and continuing private physiotherapy for many years. For the next ten years, Mike’s early improvements like a limited walking ability and full continence were sustained. For thirteen years we found a balance and stability until October 2020 (when he contracted Covid-19), leaving him completely confined to a wheelchair and assisted living.  He was still living independently with us at home although since contracting Covid, became bed-bound, once again, he survived! Finally, Mike died in August 2021, peacefully at home, his car just ran out of gas.

Throughout my husband’s major illnesses, I learned the true value of good nutrition, rest and leisure. I have continued to help customers in my store with more detailed advice in an instinctively functional way. In 2019, I found the course I was looking for, enrolling on the Functional Nutrition Counsellor programme run by the Functional Nutrition Alliance and Functional Nutrition Lab designed and headed by Andrea Nakayama and her team,. I graduated in 2020. All graduates are then offered a second seat for another year where we could dive deeper into course content, and it was 2021 I took the certification exams to become the certified functional nutrition counsellor who could be serving you today.