Speaker Q&A: Dr Elisabeth Philipps
camexpo is asking its speakers to tell us more about themselves. Next up is renowned nutritional consultant Dr Elisabeth Philipps, discussing her 80:20 approach to diet and nutrition and the emerging importance of the gut microbiome.
With years of clinical experience running her own private practice, alongside managing practitioner training for Nutrigold and delivering corporate client wellbeing programmes around the country, no two days are ever the same for Dr Philipps!
What do you love most about your work?
I love the variety of my job. I have the pleasure of meeting and working with lots of different and interesting people every week, including clients in my nutritional therapy clinics, practitioners in the training programmes I host, and corporate workshops and seminars. No day is the same!
What’s the single biggest challenge in your work?
Juggling my time and schedule is probably the biggest challenge in my job. I have several strands to my nutrition consultancy, including running my private practices, industry consultancies, including food supplement design and practitioner training, as well as presenting corporate nutrition and wellbeing workshops and seminars all over the country. However, I’m a firm believer in maintaining a healthy balance in life so make sure I include plenty of relaxing time with my family and friends, yoga and live music!
What’s your specific approach to diet & nutrition?
The approach I use in my diet is to enjoy a wide variety of fresh, natural foods that are low in sugars. The majority of my diet is whole foods using fresh organic produce with plenty of vegetables (including raw, steamed and fresh juices), gluten free grains, beans and pulses, as well as lean meats and fish. I drink plenty of water and avoid caffeine. I also avoid processed food, including dairy products, but I do use butter. I love cooking and creating new recipes so can often be found in the kitchen or writing my new recipes books! That said, now I have sustainable energy and health, I enjoy a balanced approach to my diet enjoying the occasional treat and meals out, very much in line with the 80:20 rule. Socialising and trying new ingredients/foods is something that makes me very happy and keeping stress to a minimum, including around a restrictive diet, is one of the main ways to stay healthy! I use this ethos throughout my practice and ensure dietary habit changes are manageable and achievable for my clients and when working with practitioners in coaching sessions. Come and see me at camexpo for more info about my 80:20 approach.
What’s one emerging trend or research that anyone working in your field should know?
All practitioners must keep up-to-date with the emerging importance of the gut microbiome. All areas of our health hinge on the physiological and functional state of our gut and in particular the status of our gut bacteria – a fact recognised centuries ago by founding naturopaths. There’s some great new research showing the importance of gut bacteria to health and disease and how important diet is including:
- Maukonen, et al (2015) Human gut microbiota: Does diet matter? Proc Nutr Soc 74:23-36
- Peterson, et al (2015) Immune homeostasis, dysbiosis and therapeutic modulation of the gut microbiota. Clin Exp Immunol 179:363-377
I did a seminar linking gut health and digestion to chronic disease at last year’s camexpo, so I’m happy to talk through this area after my seminar this year.
What are the key points you’ll be covering in your seminar at this year’s camexpo?
I will be talking about the very important area of energy management. Profound cellular energy dysregulation underpins fatigue, as well as inflammatory conditions, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, so it’s a really hot topic! I will present some of the latest research in key areas of cellular energy production and translate this into simple and effective nutritional protocols that I have had great success with in my clinic.
In addition to your session, why would you recommend practitioners/nutritional therapists visit camexpo?
camexpo is a fantastic way to keep up-to-date with the latest research and products that can make a big difference to the success of your practice and career. It’s an opportunity to network but most of all get out of the clinic and be sociable and learn with like-minded people! I look forward to seeing you all there…
