November 2019 update:
My research interests in plant-based (later 100% plant-based/vegan) nutrition commenced when I was 14, when, besides becoming a vegetarian for ethical reasons, I also decided to be and keep healthy. ‘You are what you eat’. I commenced researching, analysing, and questioning all the nutritional information I could find and to apply the findings directly on myself, thus obtaining ‘the first person experience’ of what is working and what – less so. I switched from being vegetarian to vegan 12 years ago.
After obtaining a BSc (Hons) in clinical psychology and an MA in music more than a decade ago, I completed my PgDip in nutritional therapy at the Northern College of Acupuncture (validated by the Middlesex University) in 2016 and I have been working as a nutrition consultant since. In September 2017 I submitted my MSc ‘What is the current evidence on alpha-linolenic (ALA) to docosahexaenoic (DHA) acid conversion in adult vegans? – A systematic review’. Doing a systematic literature search, the critical appraisal, and a narrative synthesis of the findings has hugely contributed to my research and critical evaluation skills.
Besides my general interest, both personal and as a clinician, in 100% plant-based nutrition vs health, my main areas of research are the effects of vegan nutrition on mental health as well as further researching about the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (EPA and DHA) status in vegans (the latter follows my MSc thesis). Both areas require much more primary research both because of their relevance and for the lack of data.
At the moment I am also in the process of looking into opportunities for doing a PhD. I would like to continue my research into further establishing the omega-3 status in vegans (by the use of health and additional laboratory data). The next step – and even more fascinating and important one, in my opinion – would be to gather enough long-term health data from vegans with established lower-than-recommended omega-3 levels in blood in order understand if there are any mechanisms due to the vegan diet that compensate for the lower levels of omega-3 or if supplementation should be recommended. (Which at the present moment is more about 'erring on the side of safety'.)
