I’ve lived it.
Now I help others heal.
Nutritional therapy from someone who understands the ups and downs of IBD, because I’ve been there too.
Certified Since 2024
15 Years with UC
About me
I’m Joe, a certified Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist and someone who has lived with Ulcerative Colitis since I was 17. Back then, I couldn’t play sports without rushing to the bathroom. The bigger the event, the more unpredictable my symptoms became. By 21, I was told I would need to have my colon removed.
Prior to becoming a nutritional therapist, I experimented extensively with nutrition, lifestyle modifications, holistic therapies, and innovative treatments around the world: from hospital wards in the UK to wellness retreats in Costa Rica and Asia. Through these experiences, I developed a personalised, evidence-based approach to managing my IBD.
I knew there had to be another way.
My Approach
Good gut health begins with understanding each individual’s unique needs. I combine personalised nutrition plans, lifestyle interventions, and holistic strategies designed to restore energy, reduce symptoms, and help clients regain confidence in their bodies.
I welcome clients at all stages of their IBD journey and I’m particularly passionate about guiding those who feel frustrated or overwhelmed by their condition. I believe that proactive, holistic care can transform the experience of living with IBD, not just helping clients cope, but enabling them to truly thrive.
Living with IBD doesn’t have to mean living in fear. Let’s figure it out — together.
You deserve support that truly understands.
The Full Story
I started my journey with Ulcerative Colitis at 17.
Unable to play sports without extended sittings on the toilet before training/games. The bigger the occasion, the bigger my need to go to the bathroom, but always at the last minute. Foul smelling bathrooms and passing gas that led to an apocalyptic-style parting of crowds.
I had no idea what was going on, but I just kept on going.
Misdiagnosis and Frustration
I went to the nurse who told me I had IBS and I was given immodium, but the pills did nothing to stem the tide.
Confused that my body wasn’t working like everyone else’s and annoyed that my problems weren’t ones that could be easily fixed or even explained led to me ignoring the issue.
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University Years and a Chance Diagnosis
By the time I was at university I was at my wits end, drinking and partying at night enabled me to feel normal and some newfound friends on my course furthered my want to not be left behind. But I was, in the mornings I was met with horrific discomfort and total exhaustion. In fact my energy only returned.
A diagnosis came by chance, a family friend was discussing my struggles while climbing with friends and one of them, a gastroenterologist, suggested I might have colitis. After some blood tests and a colonoscopy (a terrifying experience the first time) I had a diagnosis, pills to improve my situation and a chronic health condition with the knowledge that i’d have this for the rest of my life.
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The Steroid Years and Their Collapse
3 years of university life and graduate job followed with regular flare ups and a barrage of steroids to control my inflammation. But one day, the steroids stopped working and without the positive effects of restoring my bowel motions to formed stool, the negative side effects of them became all too apparent.
Now steroid resistant and maxed out on all drugs, I took medical leave from work. After trying Humira and other biologics with no positive response, I was told that i would need my colon removed at 21.
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A Turn to Nutrition and Alternative Medicine
I couldn’t accept that I needed surgery and now the alternative medicine path became one that I was interested in pursuing. So I contacted a nutritionist and after an initial discussion being made aware of all the risks and side effects of the drugs I was taking I decided to give dietary alterations a try. I was going to the toiler upwards of 100x a day and I had no energy for anything and hadn’t left the house in 9 months.
After the first day of removing everything and only drinking meat stock I had seen a huge improvement, going down to passing as few as 5 stools a day and my energy level felt restored! 12 weeks of strict adherence and I was on holiday with a family friend and wandering the coastal paths without fear of needing the toilet!
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Relapse and the Harsh Reality
But while my body had healed, my mentality was wrong. I believed that I could eat well for a period of time, then return to eating how I used to… the old bad habits were part of the issue causing my condition to surface and flare up.
Repeating the diet only brought less success and more frustration, restricting my eating for months at a time only brought misery at meal times as well as in the toilet.
Exploring Every Possible Modality
I kept on going though! More modalities were added including; acupuncture, kinesiology, reiki, osteopathy, Fecal transplants, coffee enemas, colonics, varying diets, counseling and yoga! Each providing some benefit, but never quite progressing in the way I wanted them to, some even made things worse!
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Back to Western Medicine, Another Disappointment
I gave up on the alternative approach and went back to my doctor, who suggested we use steroid foam enemas in place of the pills to directly target the inflammation. This was in the midst of lockdown and included infusions of a new drug, vedoluzimab another immune suppressant with a 65-80% efficacy rate in trials, but after 6 months it was apparent that I was in the small portion who didn’t respond positively.
The Storm – A Turning Point
While away with my family I went surfing in a storm, no one was out. It wasn’t just dangerous, it was life threatening. I had lost my will to go on at this point, despondent from the steroids having no effect, mentally ground down I wanted to just surf one last time. So as I was fighting for hours to get out to the lineup amidst a raging stormy sea, channeling my frustration into a battle where there could only be one winner.
Weary from the fight I saw a monster wave form, I was in the perfect spot. I turned and caught it and was riding alongside a wall of dark water, thrilled that my efforts were not in vain. Here my endeavours meant something, here I was rewarded. Then came the downfall. When surfing in storms, waves become unpredictable and loose their uniformity. Making it nearly impossible to read what lies ahead. I found this out when 15ft of dark water surged through the wave I was riding on, throwing me down hard onto the water. When you fall into water with speed and force, it winds you. So I was about to enter the inky black wash cycle of the pacific.
A Near-Death Experience
Unable to see which way was up, unable to discern where my leash was pulling me and with no air in my lungs to sustain me I realised that this was it. What I had thought of in years before when being bullied, what I had envisioned was my only escape from the life I found myself in, had come to claim me. Instead of fear, I felt at ease. I relaxed and welcomed the final curtain.
Then a physiological response to relaxation occurred; I breathed in. Under water.
Suddenly, this end was not so peaceful. It was like being kicked in the chest by a horse. My body, trying to breath air and only finding water, fought between the impulse to inhale more to seek the precious substance that would keep me alive, while my body rejected what was coming in and used every sinew of muscle to reject the incoming water that would drown my lungs.
I realized in that moment that I wanted to live. I wanted to live so badly. I wanted more than anything for the pain to stop. I wanted air. I wanted to see the sky. Then as if by magic, I felt a tug on my ankle. My leash which felt as if it had disappeared before, was tugging me back to the surface. I grasped for it madly, pulling myself up on it, but my weight only dragged it down with me. I was convulsing and desperately clawing in the direction it had come from. There had to be air. There had to be. I just needed to hold on a little longer.
When my head broke the surface I thought I was saved. In that moment there was such relief. Albeit interrupted by me throwing up the water i’d already ingested into my lungs. Mother Nature was not done with me yet though, and another freight train of a wave smashed into me. With little air in my lungs this was now a horrific repeat of before, fear gripped every part of my body. I scrambled for my leash, to lead me to my board, and I kicked hard for the surface. For a second time I was saved. I was reborn. I now knew I had to get out of there but I had no strength left, I pointed the board inland towards the beach and clung to it hoping that I would eventually be able to stand once again.
After being washed up on the beach, I lay there. For a long time. Partially from exhaustion, partly from my body continuing to retch as the remaining water was jettisoned. Eventually a friendly passer by asked if I was okay, not wanting to cause a fuss, I picked up the board and wandered over, attempting to encourage my swaying limbs to work.
A Renewed Will to Live
I never spoke of this incident. I was too full of shame. I was so lucky, yet I didn’t see it. But now I knew I had to fight on, so I resumed my passion for eating well and researching my condition.
A Global Healing Journey
Pachamama
Mexico City
Bangkok/Bali
Turning Experience into Service
Now after years of experience trialling multiple modalities and technologies to improve my health, i am looking to support others in their journey with IBD and to provide evidence based insights into how to attain your best self.
Rewrite the Rules of Well-being
Follow me as i continue to live a full life, while also supporting my healing from Ulcerative Colitis.
Rewrite the rules of well-being by booking an appointment that transcends mere healing into a new dimension of health empowerment. Let precision innovation and cutting-edge care define your journey to a revitalized life.