Jen will be joining us in October and we couldn’t be more excited! Jen brings a wealth of experience in nutritional well -being and will be a wonderful addition to our team.
We thought there would be no better way to get to know Jen other than a coffee and a natter, so here you go! Remember Jen is offering £100 off her Balance Package if booked before the end of November.
So Jen, why did you get into nutritional therapy?
As is often the case with Nutritional Therapists, it was my personal health struggles that led me to train at the prestigious College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM) in London. Eating well felt confusing in my 20’s and I found myself following a restrictive low-fat diet in order to stay slim, without fully understanding the impact of this on my health. In addition, I suffered from hormone imbalances and absent and extremely irregular periods, which led to a PCOS diagnosis at 28. I began educating myself on the importance of nutrition, learnt how to cook healthy and nutritious meals and read every book going on the subject of PCOS. Whilst that was a great start, I sought more knowledge on the subject and in 2017 I finally took the plunge and joined CNM’s Nutritional Therapy Diploma programme. A huge contrast to my previous career as a fashion buyer for the likes of River Island and Dorothy Perkins, Nutritional Therapy overtook my previous passion due to its ability to really make a difference to someone’s life by supporting them through symptoms or long-term health goals. My greatest joy is seeing those positive changes in clients and what a difference nutrition and lifestyle support can make.
How will you help our clients with their specific health and wellness journey?
I understand that healthy eating and nutrition is confusing due to the wealth of conflicting information out there. Often, whilst clients already have an interest in nutrition and may be eating seemingly healthy foods, working with a Nutritional Therapist will provide more personalised support to address current symptoms or health goals. AL5’s clients have a keen interest in looking and feeling great, which is where I come in to support their health and wellness journey. My bespoke and personalised nutrition plans will complement treatments that clients are undertaking, particularly Emscult, Lipofirm and Emsella. Similarly, clients that are struggling with hormone imbalances, which may present as skin issues such as acne or low mood, fatigue, infertility or irregular cycles would benefit from nutrition and lifestyle advice to overcome this. Client’s will see further improvements to their AL5 treatments by supporting symptoms with bespoke nutrition and lifestyle changes.
What makes you different to other nutritional therapists locally?
My specialty is hormone balance, which is all encompassing when it comes to wellness. Hormone imbalances affect most women throughout their lives, whether that be during their reproductive years, around pregnancy and post pregnancy or as we approach the menopausal years or beyond. Hormonal imbalances can affect us in many ways including skin issues, PMS symptoms, irregular or absent cycles, infertility, fatigue, low mood and weight gain. I have a particular interest in supporting women that have been diagnosed with PCOS. Within Harpenden, I am competitively priced as I felt that it was important that my services were accessible for women of all ages and budgets. I really believe that the education of eating well should be something that we can all pursue.
What can clients expect from their time with you?
Clients will receive a full 90-minute initial consultation where I will run through their case history including their medical history, a comprehensive health and nutrition questionnaire and any symptoms and goals they wish to address. This, alongside their completed food and lifestyle diary, will enable me to create a bespoke and personalised health and nutrition plan which will include supplement and lifestyle recommendations in addition to specific nutrition advice to support their symptoms and goals. Clients can expect to receive supporting handouts and recipe ideas in addition to the plan. For those that sign up to my package or follow up sessions, we will be able to review and score their progress within these one hour sessions and clients can expect to feel confident in their next steps and will become well-versed at making the best food and lifestyle-related decisions for their health needs.
I recently worked with the founder of the self-employed women’s business support platform She can. She did. Here’s what Fiona Grayson had to say about working with me:
“Jen went above and beyond to help me, not just from a nutritional perspective but from an overall wellbeing perspective too. She’s prescriptive without being forceful and provides an array of recipes, support guides, and wellbeing tips and tricks to bolster her advice which I found so useful. I loved working with her and took so much from the experience and advice that she gave me so I couldn’t recommend working with her more!”
And finally a bit more about me! I have always had a love of fashion and when I’m not reading the latest research studies, I relax with a copy of Vogue or with a spot of online shopping. My other interests include Pilates, running, cooking, eating out once in a while and travel. I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world during my fashion buying days and some of my favourite destinations have included India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Whilst travel may be on pause at the minute, I love nothing more than visiting a new destination and immersing myself in the local culture and of course, cuisine.
I really look forward to meeting you all soon!