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Hi, I'm Rosie
A Vegan Registered Dietitian
My story starts with a diagnosis of coeliac disease when I was a tiny 9-month-old baby. Despite being gluten-free (the only treatment for coeliac disease), I struggled with crampy constipation and uncomfortable bloating from early childhood right through until my mid-twenties.
Of course this isn’t my only memory of childhood. Most of my time was spent with my rescue dog, Bonnie, or my dad's tortoise, Sammy. Animals were my world! I naturally went on to study Zoology at university and was fortunate to land myself a job as a zoologist working behind the scenes with lions, tigers, giraffes and bears at a zoo in Australia.
It was an incredible time in my life, but my energy levels were low and I was so tired of trying to manage my unhappy gut. Behind closed doors I spent hours researching different diets and restricting my food to see if it would make me feel happier in my body.
The pivotal moment came one warm evening in Sydney 10 years ago. Whilst sitting on my bed exploring the rabbit holes of YouTube, I stumbled across the seemingly strange idea of veganism. I had nothing to lose so I went all in. After a couple of frustrating false starts taking the wrong advice from the wrong people (thank you social media), I was enticed into the world of plant-based cooking.
I had never been a great cook (I have burnt pasta on more than one occasion, yes... pasta), however slowly but surely I figured out how to cook from scratch using only plant foods, my diet diversified, and I finally started giving my body what it desperately needed.
Within a year, my tummy troubles were a distant bad memory. I was as regular as clockwork, my energy levels skyrocketed, I felt lighter, and my mood had improved.
It felt like the first time my body and mind had ever been properly nourished.
During this time, I learnt all about the devastating impact of animal agriculture on our planet. I also started to question why we loved some animals and why we ate others. It was becoming clear that, even though I had just reached a milestone by publishing my first zoological research paper, a career with caged animals was no longer for me. I needed to do something in line with my values of human health, animal welfare and protecting the natural world.
And so, whilst out for a beautiful spring walk around a reservoir in North Devon following my move back to the UK, I made the life-changing decision to turn down a PhD opportunity with captive giant pandas and instead apply to study nutrition.
From this point on I felt a real sense of purpose. I was living inline with my values and I was training to be a dietitian so that I could share my knowledge and experience with the world. I absorbed every word of every textbook, research paper, and lecture throughout my postgraduate degree in Nutrition & Dietetics. Despite feeling a little isolated as the only vegan on my course, I loved it.
My hard work and determination paid off and I qualified with a
first-class degree and a
national student dietitian award, which led to my first job working on the wards of an NHS hospital. But I once again found myself struggling to live within my values.
One afternoon, I was standing in the hospital kitchen, ordering a breakfast of bacon and sausages for one of my malnourished patients. He desperately needed protein and calories, but surely there was a better way? Not in the NHS Trust I worked for. It was just the process I had to follow; I had had enough.
I knew that a plant-based diet and a healthy lifestyle could have significantly improved or even saved the lives of many of the people I was caring for on the wards with poor health. Why did no one else see this? My hands were tied on NHS wards, but I had to start shouting about it; I decided it was time to step out of the box, and Rosemary Nutrition & Dietetics was born.
Rosemary Nutrition is a special place for those who share the same values as me. A place where I can help you to embrace a healthy plant-based lifestyle, feel incredible, and live in line with the world you want to see.
Putting my flag in the sand for something I wholeheartedly believe in has brought kindred spirits my way; experts in their own right including The Happy Pear, Deliciously Ella and Dr Alan Desmond amongst others. Since 2018 I have also been an Advisory Board Member for Plant Based Health Professionals UK, enabling me educate other health professionals on plant-based nutrition.
I continue to work for our incredible NHS, but my current role as
Employee Health & Wellness Dietitian allows me to support staff with their own nutritional health, so they can take care of us for years to come. I remain determined to show people a better way than bacon and sausages.
Rosie x
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