Who am I and why am I writing this blog?
Because lord there are tons of scammers out there and yes some of them are even in legit academic institutions
Hello everyone, thank you for reading my blog.
I decided to write this blog because every day I go on social media I see more and more absolute bollocks. Registered dietitians talking about how they’re the only experts you can trust about nutrition, and then flogging supplements on their insta stories. Professors hyping up experimental research likes it a proven treatment for obesity. MDs attention-seeking on TV about vaccines and then starting their own quacky “wellness” clinics.
I also had an experience recently where I was asked to write a critique of personalised nutrition, which then got amended by the editors after checking with the companies I was critiquing. So, sod it, I’ll write my own and I can write what I want.
Let me tell you a bit about me and my background:
I did my undergrad in human nutrition at the University of Nottingham. I then moved to the States for three years and got a masters in public health from Florida International University and completed my dietetic training in Houston.
I came back to the UK to start work as a dietitian in the UK National Health Service (NHS) where I saw patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, lipid disorders, polycystic ovarian syndrome and obesity. And this is where my career path really changed. I realised that there really wasn’t much I could advise patients of with any confidence. Quite a lot of my day was spent on advising people to eat less rice….but apart from that(!) I felt pretty ineffective.
I wanted to carry out research that could give us more precise information about what nutrients and foods do to the underlying pathophysiology of cardiometabolic diseases, particularly type 2 diabetes.
So after two years in the NHS I applied to do a PhD at Imperial College London. I ran three clinical trials looking at the effect of a fermentable fibre called inulin on glucose homeostasis, appetite regulation and ectopic fat deposition in people with prediabetes.
I then moved to King’s College London as faculty in the Department of Nutrition Sciences. I taught clinical and public health nutrition to undergrad, post-grad and medical students with a particular focus on obesity and type 2 diabetes.
In 2019 I took a year out to become Head of Nutrition at the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Kuwait where I set up the nutrition research programme and restructured the clinical service.
I currently work at the University of Oxford where I am responsible for the day to day management of the NewDAWN programme. This programme aims to implement guided choice of dietary interventions within the NHS to increase uptake and improve outcomes of type 2 diabetes remission services.
My current research projects (for which I am either co- or principal investigator) are as follows:
SHIFT-diabetes: a mixed method study where we are aiming to understand how people with type 2 diabetes who do night-shift work manage their condition.
MYGODDESS: aims to develop an app to help women in Malaysia with gestational diabetes to make healthy lifestyle changes.
DREAM: aims to determine whether an intensive weight loss intervention using meal replacement products can help people get remission of their type 2 diabetes.
Towards remission of type 2 diabetes without weight loss: this crossover trial will test the effect of modifying protein intake on glycaemia in type 2 diabetes. Note, we had to suspend this trial during the pandemic and are currently reapplying for ethics to start again. This trial follows on from our DROC2 study which found that modest reductions in carbohydrate intake did not lower glucose in people with type 2 diabetes. (Spoiler: I think it’s the added protein in low-carb diets that is doing the glucose-lowering (even though we call them “low carb” and not “high protein” diets)).
I try to use my experience in nutrition and type 2 diabetes prevention and management to positively influence health and nutrition policy in the UK. I sit on the Diabetes UK Diabetes Research Steering Group which makes recommendations to funders for research priorities in type 2 diabetes. I am also a topic expert for the National Institute for Health and Care (NICE) Excellence. I received a scholarship from NICE to investigate inpatient meal provision for people with type 1 and 2 diabetes. This was also affected by the pandemic but we hope to restart this project soon.
Finally, I continue to run a small private clinical practice where I specialise in the management of cardiometabolic diseases. I love seeing patients and I can promise you I learn as much from them as hopefully they do from me. In fact, some of my research ideas have come from things I have learned in clinic.
I hope my experience gives me good insight into the problems in nutrition science, bogus nutrition claims and more. And my hope is to use this blog to help the public determine who’s/what’s trustworthy and who’s/what’s not. I’ll review new trends or food products in nutrition if I can (eg plant-based meat alternatives). I’ll also share my thoughts on the science behind the nutritional management of cardiometabolic disease including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and polycystic ovarian syndrome.
This blog will remain completely free for anyone who wants to read it.