About Me
My Story
Since a young age I dealt with anxiety and panic attacks. In a quest to find natural solution I eventually discovered mindful practises and eastern philosophy, such as yoga and meditation. Even thought I felt benefits of these practises, it was difficult to keep myself focused and motivated especially through challenging times in life.
One thing never changed - I always felt there is a huge power in nature, human body and mind and in the connection between them.
My journey into nutrition world started after my Mum gave me a book about combining particular group foods and herbs to help improve digestion, support elimination of toxins and combat diseases. I found this facinating and it simply made a complete sense to me, so I began to research more and more about how foods and herbs can effect the body. This is what ignited the passion that led me to chose to study a Nutritional Therapy at CNM.
Paradoxically, not long after qualifying as Nutirtional Therapist I woke up one morning and couldn't get out of bed with excruciating pain in my hip which, as I later discovered, was caused by a severe inflammation in the sacroiliac joint. Shortly after this, I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis, which is an autoimmune disease mainly affecting the large joints in the body, such as spine and hips.
According to a Conventional Medicine, just like many other autoimmune diseases, the cause is unknown but it has a genetic predisposition. In terms of treatment, there isn't much one can do about it apart of taking anti-inflammatory medicines and introducing daily exercise.
Although as practitioner I knew about number of different factors that may contribute to developing an autoimune disease, the diagnosis still came as a big shock to me. I thought I was living a healthy lifestyle and I wasn't aware of anyone from my family having this condition.
I started to really focus on evaluating all areas of my life and began to identify high levels of stress that I had dismissed as unimportant. Moreover, right after hearing the diagnosis I started to develop number of other symptoms, and immediately started feeling worse. I could now see that this again, was triggered by the stress of a diagnosis that was about to change my life in many ways.
I spent days researching about autoimmune conditions and their link to the gut health, food, environment and epigenetics - the study of how the behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way the genes work.
After the diagnosis, it became clear to me what I wanted to do next. I joked with colleagues and friends - 'I didn’t even need to think about where to specialise after graduation, life chose my mission for me'.
From my personal experience and profesional knowledge I truly trust there is so much one can do to improve their health and I am truly dedicated to help people on their journey.
Hi, I'm Gintare, I have been practicing as a Nutritional Therapist for over 5 years, registered with the professional bodies BANT and CNHC. I graduated with a diploma in Nutritional Therapy from the College of Naturopathic Medicine, London in 2016. I consistently engage in professional development, attending various lectures and seminars as well as conducting much of my own research to stay up to date with advancements in my field. I have worked with clients to tackle a range of health concerns and lifestyle improvements. I believe that it is best to treat our health using a holistic approach involving the mind and body. I specialise in autoimmunity and gut health with a particular emphasis on the strong impact that stress and emotions have, as well as nutritional imbalances, in the body.
