My personal journey to nutrition started when I was in my twenties. After not really paying much attention to what I consumed, aside from whether or not I enjoyed the taste, I became a marathon runner. I was enjoying my running but was wondering how to take it to the next level so enrolled in a marathon training clinic which included a series of talks on nutrition and fuelling for training. I incorporated a few of the suggested small changes in my diet and saw my running improve dramatically — I was hitting new PBs and feeling better than I ever had before, during and after my runs. I was hooked and started reading anything I could get my hands on about nutrition.
Wind the clock forward nearly a decade and I was still running, although a bit slower, as I was now pregnant. ‘What does a pregnant woman need to eat differently?’ I wondered. So I started to read again.
Along came the next stage, I was now a new mother with a baby to wean. I had no idea what the nutritional needs of a baby or toddler were. The only thing I knew was that they were different from mine. So what did I do? I started to research again and read whatever I could around child nutrition. Starting to see a trend?
Life threw other things at me — my child was diagnosed with special needs, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition — and every time I read, researched and used food to support myself and my family.
Running parallel to all of this was my professional journey I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with a specialisation in adaptation and modification for children with special needs. As a classroom teacher I started to see patterns in how the children in my classroom behaved and what they were bringing in their packed lunches. I started hosting parent education evenings in nutrition to support the families and children in my classes.
I then added a Level 3 Forest School leader qualification to my curriculum vitae and started running my own Forest School in order to better support the needs of the children in my community. We learned together to forage for wild foods and what health benefits those wild foods have.
Eventually, I decided to make it official and studied at CNM in order to become a qualified Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist.
As you can see I have personal experience with sports nutrition, feeding children to support their optimal growth and development (especially those with additional needs), eating to support health with an autoimmune condition and how to support your body in the best way possible to come back from burnout and a high stress lifestyle as well as how to support digestive health and specific digestive issues.
I cannot wait to share my life experience and formal education with you in order to help support you on your road to wellness.
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If you have been diagnosed with or suspect you may have a pre-existing medical condition, please consult your GP for advice before starting any new therapies.
Therapist April Gutensohn
