Hello Gill!
Can you tell me a little bit about what you do at The Little Nutrition Company?
We provide dietary advice in order for people to be able to improve their health and avoid the route of chronic disease- which is unfortunately where most of us head these days. We do this by hosting informal talks, workshops and 1 to 1 consultations.
I really want to get the message out and show people how they can eat to support their health, and also illustrate to people how much of what they currently eat doesn’t support their health. I think that the more I learned at college the more I felt that everybody should have this knowledge. So I’m just really passionate and keen to spread the word.
How do you convey that message to others?
We all know we should eat greens, but it’s talking about the benefits and explaining why that is important- and not just because mum said so!
I like to use charts and diagrams to show people the science of what goes on inside the body. I use a lot of visuals during my talks- I find that when you can show people things in colour it sinks in much better. So that could be images of what happens to your blood vessels, or the brain and what might be happening there when it comes to your cognitive health. I do this to really bring the message home to people without scaring them. That being said, the talks are quite fun and interactive as well. We’ve done some recipe tasting where we have brought meals along for people to try, and I would like to start doing some more cooking demos. Getting groups of people together to learn about different foods and methods of cooking.
Do you think that the practical side is just as important as the theory and knowledge?
Of course! There is the why and then there’s the how? We can all try to achieve this fantastic diet but we don’t always have the time. So knowing how to cook, what to cook and when to cook is really valuable. That could be as simple as planning ahead or learning shortcuts and hacks of how you can realistically maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet.
What types of clients are you currently working with?
At the moment it is everyone and anyone. We have some wellness weekends arranged with a hotel in St Andrews, we also have a few yoga retreats lined up and then there will be the 1 to 1s. Quite often the individual sessions are with people who already have an existing chronic illness diagnosis e.g. an autoimmune disease, but it can also be something like tackling weight loss. I have recently been asked to do some stuff with kids too. So at the moment it is all age groups and all types of people, but we may specialise in one area further down the line.
You mentioned that Chronic illness often comes up in your work. Can you tell me a bit more about that?
Yes. Unfortunately we don’t always think about it until something has gone wrong. It tends to be that someone has already been on medication for a while, been to the GP a few times and they are just not finding the difference that they would like to see. Back in the day medical practices were mainly preventative, whereas more and more commonly we are now treating conditions after something has already gone wrong and then backtracking to try and fix it.
Do you think people are starting to become more aware of their health?
I think that is one reason that would drive people towards to the talks. Again I do still think that, until people don’t feel well you’re probably not going to be doing consultations on a 1 to 1 basis. A lot of people have an interest in nutrition, almost like a hobby, and that is what is sometimes referred to as the “worried well”. Because actually, they’re usually alright and they’re doing quite well. It’s those that are merrily eating the western diet without really giving it any consideration that will start to have health problems.
But in answer to your question yes, I do think nutrition is on trend at the moment. That being said, there is so much information online and unfortunately a lot of it is not accurate- there are a lot of self proclaimed experts.
Do you think you will use a lot of Online resources yourself?
Do you know? I really like speaking to people and I like speaking to them in person. So I have thought about that, but in some ways it’s just not what I want to do. I have moved away from sitting at a desk all of the time and now I want to work with people. However there may be some follow up appointments that I do on Skype just due to the nature of it, not everybody has time to meet. I do think that an initial face-to-face meeting is very important though.
Where did your interest in nutrition stem from?
It was from my own digestive issues that I had for about 10 years. Initially I couldn’t find out what the problem was and when I went to the GP they just handed me medication. To be honest it didn’t help and a part of me didn’t want to resign myself to taking medication for the rest of my life at such a young age. So the more I started looking into solving my own health issues the more I became interested in my diet- and now I don’t have any digestive problems at all and I haven’t for years! Changing my diet has really worked for me and that’s why I am so keen to share that knowledge.
What’s been the hardest thing about starting your own business?
Ugh, IT. I always knew it would be, it’s just not my forte. The other thing is the loneliness. I miss being part of a team and I think I probably underestimated that at the time. Now that I have finally pushed myself (the dinosaur that I am) into using social media it does feel less lonely- which I didn’t expect. Plus coming in here has been great! Doing group talks and workshops and really just encouraging myself to meet new people.
It has been an absolute roller-coaster so far but I’m loving it.
Come say hi!
You can find us in the Flour Mill Business Lounge, or you can learn more about us via our Facebook page.
