Jennifer Medhurst - The Imperfect Nutritionist
Jennifer Medhurst, known as the imperfect nutritionist, has amassed a following of over 100,000 followers on Tik Tok; as a result of her accessible and fun healthy recipes. Initially feeling alienated by a health industry that felt like perfection was the only way to be healthy; Jennifer set about creating a more accessible way to help support and improve diets.
Jennifer's journey into nutrition was not a planned one at all. After completing her Law degree at Bristol University; Jennifer was looking forward to a successful career in law; however, soon after completing her degree she started suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Her autonomic nervous system struggled to function properly; which meant that she could not control her heart rate and blood pressure properly, so she would have regular fainting spells and terrifying heart palpitations. She also had a whole host of other issues from sore joints; unbearable stomach problems; constant headaches; burning muscles and rashes. She tried everything that conventional medicine had to offer, which was very little, so she spent almost all of her time in bed. She really struggled to get her head around what was happening and sunk into a very unhappy place.
One day by chance a friend asked her, if she had seen a nutritionist. Desperate for help, she went to see one. Within a month, the ailments of 3 years had somewhat dissipated. She was completely shocked. How had the change in her diet had such a powerful effect on her health? Unable to afford any more consultations she began researching nutrition and natural healing approaches, then started formulating a new way of eating, this time with health in mind.
“Diet is one of the simplest ways to improve and support your health; as well as prevent illness and increase the quality and length of your life.”
Prior to her illness, she never took any interest in cooking and would happily eat ready meals. She also discovered one of the most shocking things about her recovery namely that there was an inordinate amount of sugar and unhealthy ingredients in pre-packaged food. Jennifer had never looked at the ingredients of foods in great depth. She taught herself how to cook and as a consequence there have been a lot of failed experiments. She found there was a shortage of recipes with easy to source nutritious ingredients, that were quick and easy to make. She started recording the recipes she created. She also desperately needed something to do, to help her mental state, so her social media platforms served two purposes.
Over time she was able to manage the symptoms of her illness and establish a health food catering business utilising all the cooking knowledge she had acquired. Recovering from CFS has been the biggest challenge of her life so far, and when she finally did; she didn’t want anyone else to waste their life to poor health because of lack of information. So, she decided to retrain as a nutritionist to help others who may be facing their own health challenges. Diet is one of the simplest ways to improve and support your health; as well as prevent illness and increase the quality and length of your life.
Jennifer Medhurst is a registered nutritionist (mBant & rCHNC). Her website or Instagram account provides further information.