A Yorkshire-based Registered Nutritional Therapist, Laura Naylor specialises in fertility, pregnancy and postpartum health, guiding and empowering women with the knowledge and tools they need to optimise their reproductive health, nurture a thriving pregnancy and enhance their postpartum experience. Her goal is to first help women understand the root cause of their health issue, then provide support in overcoming this using bespoke, evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle modifications to improve health and wellbeing. Here she talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind Laura Naylor Nutrition, how she started out in the beginning, the challenges she has overcome along the way and her hopes and dreams for the future.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
A big fat positive pregnancy test! Let me explain. There I was in the depths of my nutrition studies, trying to come up with a research question for my thesis. Now, having lived with the autoimmune disease Alopecia Areata since the age of 23, I was planning to focus my thesis (and subsequently, my life’s work) on understanding and supporting others with autoimmune disease. And then wham, I got a positive pregnancy test. I was delighted of course, though shocked too – it had happened much quicker than I’d expected!
I’d never needed to know about antenatal nutrition before as this was my first pregnancy and so, like most first-time mums, I felt rather in the dark. Naturally, I headed online to learn what I should and/or shouldn’t be eating and drinking during pregnancy but instantly felt overwhelmed. There was SO much conflicting and confusing information, from so many different sources, each with their own agenda and bias. Even the official guidelines had their limitations. And that was when my lightbulb moment happened: this is what I would focus my thesis on and this is what I would specialise in.
The rounder my belly grew, the more entrenched I became in my studies and before long, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. It became my mission to support as many women and couples as I could to optimise their fertility, thrive in pregnancy and recover postnatally. And I would do it using holistic, evidence-based, sustainable and most importantly, enjoyable nutrition, lifestyle (and supplement, if required) strategies. Cut to three years, two daughters and one Masters degree later and Laura Naylor Nutrition was born, my third baby if you will.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
I’d pinpoint the start of my nutrition career back in 2012, on a stomach-achingly funny hen in Barcelona. There I was, head in hands (we’ve all been there) when the bride-to-be asked, “Is that a bald patch on your head!?“. Indeed it was, about an inch in diameter, totally white with every single hair missing. You can imagine my hungover horror. What had happened? Why? What did it mean? Would it get any bigger? I hopped off the plane back in London and rushed to see my doctor. I was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata, with the explanation, “We don’t really know what causes it, could be stress. You just need to reduce your stress“. Now my doc might have had a point. I’d recently moved from the fairly tame city of York to the heart of south-west London. I’d also started a new job on the mental health wing of a London prison. So yeah, pretty stressful. But why was it happening? Why now? I’d been stressed before. And how does stress cause your hair to suddenly fall out? I needed answers. And funnily enough, “We don’t really know” wasn’t cutting it.
So, I found out for myself. I discovered that Alopecia Areata is considered an ‘autoimmune disease’, a condition in which your immune system mistakenly damages healthy cells in your body. My immune system was mistakenly attacking my hair follicles, causing my hair to fall out. I also discovered that there are over a hundred autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis and endometriosis. Who knew, right? But the most surprising thing I discovered was that there was no cure, no treatment that was proven to, for want of a better phrase, tell my immune system to calm down and that my hair follicles weren’t the bad guys. So I did more research. And I discovered that what, how and when I ate had a huge impact on my health. And my immune system.
A week after said hairy discovery, I came across the Optimum Nutrition Bible by Patrick Holford in a charity shop. I quickly devoured it on the torturously long bus journeys to work and by the end of one week, I. Was. Hooked. It was like a light had been switched on. Yes, stress was a factor, but so was how I supported and nourished my body through it. Cut to more and more reading, tweaking my own nutrition, seeing great results and that was it: I finally knew what I wanted to do.
So my next question was, what do I do about this burning desire to help others on their quest to better health? Find the best place to study nutritional therapy of course. And it just so happened that I was working with one of the top nutritionists in the country at the time so I asked him. His response? The “Northern College of Acupuncture in York, hands down“. Skip forward to September 2017 and there I am, lucky pants on, ears wide open and all my shiny new pens lined up on my desk in York. It was day one of my three-year Nutrition Science and Practice Masters degree and I’ve never looked back. In fact, I loved it so much I’ve since returned as a lecturer and clinic supervisor.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
In the health and wellness industry, trust is huge. In the fertility, pregnancy and postpartum health world, it’s everything. Choosing a clinician to support you on your journey to motherhood can feel like a real leap of faith, but the beautiful feedback and testimonials I get from clients really make me feel like I’m making a difference. I’m sure a lot of small business owners would think of a breakthrough as perhaps achieving an income target, but for me it’s seeing time and again how impactful nutritional therapy truly is. I’d call that my breakthrough.
