Down To Earth With A High Flyer

Catherine Morgan speaks to ‘nutritional therapist to the stars’ Amelia Freer

- Catherine Morgan

With an Instagram following of more than 118k, A-list celebrities beating a path to her clinic door, and three best-selling nutrition books under her belt, Amelia Freer could be described as a poster woman for healthy eating. It would also be easy to label her as part of the so called ‘clean-eating’ movement that took the UK by storm, and which has more recently seen a negative backlash. But as a qualified nutritional therapist — she is an alumna of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition (ION), which is also the home of Optimum Nutrition — Amelia is clear on the difference between an enthusiastic blogger and a qualified professional.

Common sense

“We need to bring a little common sense to the clean-eating debate,” she says. “Firstly, probably the most important step is to drop the ‘clean’ label, because what may have started out as a phrase used to describe a diet that was free from highly-processed or refined foods has now become a value judgement with a whole lot of emotional baggage attached to it. This is unhelpful for everyone.

“Secondly, although the media may have portrayed me as a part of the trend, I would have to disagree. I am a qualified and experienced nutrition professional — and I take my role in promoting the importance of good nutrition very seriously indeed.

“I, therefore, feel that I am a different entity to many of the other bloggers or Instagram stars, who promote overly restrictive nutrition and an unhealthy body image, without any background in nutritional science.”