NHD Issue 148 Face to face Dr Laura Thomas

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FACE TO FACE Ursula meets: DR LAURA THOMAS Registered Nutritionist Author of Just Eat It

Ursula Arens Writer; Nutrition & Dietetics Ursula has a degree in dietetics, and currently works as a freelance nutrition writer. She has been a columnist on nutrition for more than 30 years.

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Director; London Centre for Intuitive Eating

In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. She observed that women were, ‘taught from their infancy that beauty is a woman’s sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body and, roaming around its gilt cage, seeks only to adore its prison.’ Young Mary was furious that for many young women (in 1792), their self-worth and confidence was entirely linked to their beauty and shapeliness. Laura looked alarmed. Was I really going to continue reading ancient texts on body image to her? She wanted to talk about current concepts of behavioural techniques to support those with disordered eating, and I was ready to learn.

Laura grew up in Aberdeen and went to university there. Her first degree was in Human Health with Nutrition. Her final year project was at the Rowett Institute, examining the effects of probiotics on bifidobacterial species. “It was a small project, but introduced me to the excitement of research,” she said.

Thanks to distant family connections, she flew off to do her PhD at Texas A&M University. Even though she had been on family visits, it was a bit of a culture shock. “I had to work really hard doing teaching and laboratory work in parallel with my project on the microbiome. And then, disaster, the supervisor left and I had to start afresh on a new research topic.” After four years she completed a dissertation on tracking behaviour change using the latest online dietary assessment

www.NHDmag.com October 2019 - Issue 148

Ursula meets amazing people who influence nutrition policies and practices in the UK. tool, ASA24®. She was inspired when a supervisor explained that PhD-ing afforded you the skills to be able to find answers to questions, even if the problem wasn’t in your immediate area of expertise.

She really enjoyed an internship in Washington DC with the consumer advocacy group Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). “I got to see how developing political contacts and lobbying function. They worked so hard to support better health and information for consumers,” said Laura.

In 2012, she got a post-doc job at Cornell University in Ithaca New York, supporting nutrition education in schools and in lower income communities. Laura did a lot of travelling around New York state to deliver seminars, evaluate projects, and to research educational formats to support better diets. “We discovered what is perhaps obvious in hindsight.

Poor food choice in low income groups is not just about having less money to spend on foods, or a lack of knowledge.

Rather it is about complex socioeconomic constraints,” Laura said.

On a clear blue day, Laura decided that what she really wanted, was to return to the UK and work for herself. She moved to Leeds to set up as a freelance nutritionist. She noticed the prolific digital presence of ‘wellness’ advisors and became increasingly concerned and annoyed at the nutritional untruths being declared by those least qualified.

It was time for cyberbattle.

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Laura goes on to tell me about intuitive eating . . .

“It is about learning, or relearning, moving for pleasure and choosing foods that support health, but without rules and rigour.”

Laura developed a blog and produced regular podcasts: Don’t Salt my Game, to comment on nutrition claims and counterclaims. Romance pulled her to a fresh start in London and she decided to focus her work on behavioural and non-diet approaches to disordered eating.

“There are lots of great online courses on this,” said Laura. She also mentions that she has just completed her PGDip in Eating Disorders and Clinical Nutrition at University College London.

Laura goes on to tell me about intuitive eating. This means breaking down the many eating rules that fill the headspace of those with disordered eating, and helping them to learn to recognise and trust internal body cues again. There are many reasons for disordered eating, and there are different paths supporting improved food choices. “It is about learning, or relearning, moving for pleasure and choosing foods that support health, but without rules and rigour.” And particularly not banning ‘unhealthy’ foods, which always leads to the oftdescribed siren pull of ‘forbidden fruit’.

Laura has now set up a support centre for disordered eating (www.londoncentre forintuitiveeating.co.uk), where she works with two dietitians and an administrator. The website offers online courses on intuitive eating for parents concerned about their children’s food habits. She will also be hosting a two-day workshop for health professionals in London

and in Edinburgh in October (see website).

For dietitians looking to develop their skills in this area, Laura strongly advises appropriate courses and training, multidisciplinary support, professional supervision and reflective practice.

As well as setting up the support centre, the last year has been very busy for Laura. “I approached a literary agent about possible nutrition book projects. He identified strong interest on the subject of intuitive eating and Bluebird Books signed up to the project. The result is the pink sugar doughnut delight entitled Just Eat It. How intuitive eating can help you get your . . . “It was more work than doing a PhD, but has been a very rewarding experience,” said a beaming Laura.

Laura’s office is calm and cosy and her thoughtful manner and scented candle aroma lull me into confession mode. My food choices are sometimes bizarre and constitute about one third of what I eat. Laura looked alarmed. I told her about my opposite of disordered eating. Rather, ‘ordering’ eating. Which means the regular cull of fridge or cupboard items, scraps, or end of shelflife items bought on impulse by teenagers, which a waste-reduction mother can’t bear to throw out. It’s ‘tidy-up’ eating. I asked Laura whether she thought this was weird. “Perhaps, but it’s not disordered,” was her answer.

Clearly, the advice was to talk to the disordered teens. (I was most impressed with Laura’s therapeutic skills!) www.NHDmag.com October 2019 - Issue 148

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