John Barnes BSc, MSc, RNutr
I’m a fully qualified nutritionist fascinated by food and passionate about harnessing its power to change lives, one bite at a time.
I’m also a microbiome specialist, trained health coach, ultra-distance cyclist and an accomplished cook.
I combine these skills to promote better health through positive nutrition and lifestyle change.
Seeing food in a new light
Following the latest scientific evidence, I promote positive nutrition that does not involve dieting, restrictive eating or rigid meal plans. Instead, I encourage an abundance of nutritious food to fuel your metabolism and a diverse, plant rich diet to feed your microbiome. When your gut bacteria and metabolism are in harmony, they do all the work for you, balancing your body’s key systems and leaving you free to enjoy the rewards of better health.
Forget about counting calories, count how many different types of plants you eat and how many friendly gut bacteria you nurture. Rather than eating less, start enjoying more delicious, nutritious food. Instead of giving up specific ingredients, give up dieting and take up healthy eating.
Seeing food in a new light
Your body is an amazing machine, beautifully complicated yet incredibly simple to operate by ensuring it receives all the essential nutrients its needs to run smoothly.
Every mouthful has the power to heal and protect
Thats why investing in your health through good nutrition can offer incredible returns, maximising your potential to be the best version of yourself, to thrive and experience life at its fullest.
Like all investments, however, the long-term gains can be far more significant where strategic dietary choices can prevent the onset of chronic disease and cushion from the effects of aging to enjoy a longer ‘health-span’.
Nutrition can help you...
- Manage long-term weight and blood glucose levels
- Improve mental health, cognitive function, mood and sleep
- Boost energy levels and immunity
- Alleviate gut and digestion issues
- Protect from certain cancers, cardiovascular disease and dementia
- Reduce inflammation and blood pressure
- Promote better skin and hair health
Why settle for anything less than your best life?
By combining evidence-based nutrition with a compassionate and empathic approach, I will teach you how to make food work for you, rather than against you. As exercise is an incredibly powerful way to increase the effects of nutrition, I will work with you to discover enjoyable ways to increase activity so that you can optimise health today and into the future.
My philosophy centres around making small changes to daily habits that make a big difference. Regardless of age, circumstance, background or fitness, maximising potential through food and movement is an incredible journey which is open to everyone.
I can offer...
- An evidence based approach proven for effective and lasting results
- Personalised nutrition advice to fit your specific goals and unique body
- A holistic approach that considers your entire lifestyle
- Support, motivation and accountability to encourage progress
- Lifestyle and behaviour change advice to help habits stick
- Help with cooking and food preparation to make healthy food irresistable
Your journey to better health
… starts with a free, informal chat to find out how I can help
The discovery call gives us a chance to get to know each other, understand your goals and establish how I can help. If you would like to work with me, I will then ask you to complete a health questionnaire and food diary before an initial consultation, either in person or online. With a clear picture of your current dietary and lifestyle habits, alongside your health goals, I will develop an action plan suggesting how to make beneficial changes.
As my approach involves helping you develop a completely different relationship with food, a series of regular appointments is recommended. This gives me the opportunity to offer ongoing support and motivation which will establish new behaviours with life-long health benefits.
Costs
Initial consultation £145 (involves 2 x 1 hour appointments and includes a written action plan)
Reset package £295 (the above plus 4 x follow up appointments)
Follow up appointments £50
A fresh approach..
Rooted in the latest scientific research for optimising health through positive nutrition and lifestyle change.
Systematic
Metabolism, microbiome and mitochondria work synergistically to regulate your body’s important functions including energy generation, weight & blood glucose management, and regulation of neurotransmitter and hormone levels. Supporting these key systems with proper nutrition, regular exercise, stress management, and adequate sleep is crucial for maintaining optimal health and preventing chronic disease.
Holistic
A full body approach is essential; hence I consider how elements such as sleep, relaxation, social interaction and environment all interact with diet to optimise your health. As exercise is the most important element of all, I focus on discovering enjoyable and achievable ways to increase your physical activity levels, allowing you to receive the full benefit of good nutrition.
Appropriate
Everyone is unique. Genetics, age, allergies, intolerances, heath conditions and individual dietary patterns all require different solutions to optimize nutrition. Considering your personal history alongside any possible insights from genetic, microbiome, allergy and blood testing, I offer dietary advice and supplement recommendations targeted to your individual needs.
Lasting
No amount of nutritional advice would have any benefit if it not adopted permanently. Using the subtle art of behaviour change to gently unpick old habits and establish healthier alternatives, I encourage small changes to daily routines that create a big difference. Making the healthy option fun, tasty, accessible and rewarding creates life-long positive change.
Proven
Mixed messaging and conflicting information about nutrition is abundant, often from sources who put their profits before your health. A significant part of my training and ongoing professional development involves critically analysing and interpreting the latest scientific research, to offer sound advice that only has your best interests at heart.
Delicious
To be effective, nutrition must be simple, delicious and fun. Using diverse and plentiful food choices gives your body enough of the nutrients it depends on to thrive. By encouraging a varied and colourful diet with exciting flavours and textures, I will teach you to love delicious, healthy food designed to tempt you into better health.
Registered associate nutritionist with a first-class master’s degree in nutrition.
About me
Shocked by how sick the general population is becoming and amazed at how food improved my own health, I returned to full time education after a 30-year absence to study Nutrition and Food Science at Reading University.
The course is accredited by the Association of Nutritionists (AFN), the professional body for nutrition practitioners which ensures I meet and uphold rigorously applied standards for scientifically sound evidence-based nutrition and its use in professional practice.
My areas of specialisation and interest include:
Microbiome
Learning from world renowned microbiome experts at Reading University (where the term prebiotic was first coined) inspired my choice of research project – the relationship between diet, exercise and the microbiome. Eating for our gut bacteria can have a profound effect on our physical and mental wellbeing and I use this specialist knowledge to help patients enjoy the health benefits of a balanced and harmonious microbiome.
Diabetes
Alongside my freelance activities, I work for Momenta Newcastle helping NHS patients manage type 2 diabetes through dietary and lifestyle changes. Thorough and ongoing training into effective health coaching and behaviour change techniques, alongside my experience as a nutritionist, has enabled me to help patients reverse their condition and enjoy the benefits of improved health through diet and exercise.
Flavour
In today’s unhealthy food environment, it is almost essential to take control of your kitchen if you are to take control of your health. I am an accomplished cook and have even enjoyed the privilege of cooking for the late Queen – dressed salmon, cucumber sandwiches and madeira cake in case you are wondering! I use my experience to teach basic cooking skills and help make the healthy choices deliciously irresistible.
Metabolism
My nutrition degree was built on the foundations of my bachelor’s degree in biochemistry. Deep insights into the latest research, exploring the fundamentals of nutrition on a molecular scale, helped me appreciate the subtle interactions between metabolism, mitochondria and the microbiome. Understanding the synergistic relationships between these systems allows me to identify possible pathways that may need focus for optimising health.
Mental health
Feeding the mind with key nutrients for the synthesis of neurotransmitters and hormones is essential to promote good mental health and well-being. By optimizing diet and addressing nutritional imbalances I can use food to help with better mood and also play an important supportive role in managing symptoms of autism spectrum disorders, depression, OCD and anxiety.
Dementia
I am particularly interested in how a good diet rich in plant bio-actives, antioxidants and essential brain fats, alongside an active lifestyle, can improve cognitive function in the short term whilst offering a significant amount of protection from dementia in later life. I can offer specific advice as a preventative measure, which has proved far more effective than any current pharmaceutical intervention in slowing the progression of dementia, especially Alzheimer’s.
Nutrigenetics
Following my passion for learning, I am currently studying to become a ‘genetic nutritionist’ with Lifecode GX. This fascinating new field of nutrigenetics uncovers how our individual genetic make-up determines which food groups and nutrients may need special attention. As a practitioner I will be able to offer precise dietary advice based on someone’s unique DNA.
Endurance nutrition
I am an ultra-distance cyclist (an unforeseen side effect of my own health journey) and regularly compete in multi-day events over hundreds of miles. Not only has this given me first-hand experience into the power of exercise to improve health, but it has also highlighted the importance of nutrition at the hard end of endurance sport. I can help coach nutrition to anyone brave enough to explore their limits at the edge of ultra-distance sports.