ABOUT ME

Ian Henderson, ANutr

With a variable concern for my own health and fitness over the years, in 2016 I finally gave these aspects the value they deserve. From that point, I have maintained my own physical wellbeing through food and nutrition; gained an MSc in Public Health Nutrition; become a certified personal trainer and realised that the people I want to help are those with the most to gain from my coaching and knowledge.

Call an Ambulance

Why 2016? It contained an incident that put me in hospital with a brain trauma. Whilst luck is not something that I will say that I have relied upon in the past, the recovery here was quick - though not painless - and definitely featured some amount of good fortune. The changes that followed have been overwhelmingly positive.

Blending strengths

This event marked the beginning of the end of 15 years working in professional kitchens as a chef. Mostly in Edinburgh and with a year in Spain, I gained experience in a broad range of cuisines and environments. This included picking up a good level of Spanish comprehension!

Fast forward to the present and the Nutrition qualification dovetails nicely with this long history of cooking for the enjoyment of food. Giving food options to individuals that provide familiarity and respect their traditions and sentimentality are far more likely to lead to meaningful, long-term changes compared to simply prescribing a menu of nutrients arbitrarily.

Working with chefs and restaurants

Similarly, when it comes to working with restaurants to analyse the composition of their menus, an appreciation of the desire of great taste, the logistics of staffing and production, the cost of ingredients and the appeal of carefully worded descriptions are all essential. I have experience in managing kitchen brigades, constructing menus and sourcing products, as well as creating new recipes. Using these skills if reformulation is required, I will work with chefs in a business to strike that balance between health and indulgence over an entire menu, creating a complete offering for people with different priorities.

Finding the way

The MSc in Nutrition also means that my approach is evidence-based. No embellishment, no false promises and no guesses. I am registered on the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists (UKVRN) through the Association for Nutrition (AfN), which provides assurance of - at least - the minimum level of education and standards of professional conduct.

Paths taken through life are often not the most straightforward. It took an undergraduate degree in Astrophysics (yes, that happened); an MSc in IT and 15 years of chef work for me to finally arrive here. When working with individuals, with their own beliefs, preferences and emotional responses, the path to improved health can also require some navigation.

Tools for health

If your health challenges require a set of tools that you don’t possess, check the services page to see the solutions available. Whether this satisfies your requirements, or you need to get in contact to clarify, I will be ready to advise on your situation. Individual problems require bespoke solutions, so whether you are a food business looking to inform your customers or an individual seeking better health or cooking skills, feel free to use the contact page or send an email.

Also, for some nutrition, physical activity, food and health-related musings, be sure to check out the blog page, which I will update this whenever interesting things occur.

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