Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
In this podcast Anna and Danielle chat to Dr Liz Leigh-Firbank, a nutritionist and product developer with expertise in nutrition communications and strategy, food product development, regulatory and sensory evaluation.
Currently with Lintbells, an animal nutrition company that produces products for pets, it’s fair to say that Liz’s career path from studying Nutrition and Food Science at Surrey (the same as Anna and Danielle!) to her current role has been career pivoting in action!
Liz could give us a masterclass in navigating opportunities, making brave choices that balance both career aspirations and personal life as priorities change and circumstances dictate. At one point, Liz re-trained as a teacher – a living example of open-mindedness and forging your own path!
Thankfully for the nutrition world, Liz made her way back and drew on her extensive experience to land on her current position with Lintbells.
It raises the question – are there any parallels between working in human nutrition and animal nutrition? The short answer is yes! It will be no surprise that we share challenges eg problems exacerbated by weight or joint pain and this can be impacted by diet. With reference to the work Liz does in product development, we learn about the commonalities:
· sustainably sourced ingredients
· nutrient composition
· safety
· evidence of clinical benefit
· adherence to regulations
· ending with a product that is acceptable and palatable
There are of course differences that are acknowledged, especially the complexity around demonstrating clinical benefit of products in human health, partly because of the relatively much wider diet variety compared to animals, and the challenges in developing a product for a different species!
We end with an acknowledgement of the power of friendship and networks – Liz and Nutrition Talent’s Anna were colleagues during their time at Unilever, and Nutrition Talent wouldn’t exist without the enduring friendship of Anna and Danielle!
Nurture your network – and be open to the opportunities that arise as a result!
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
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Get in touch to find out more about our company, Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Email: info@nutritiontalent.com
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle
LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy