There’s a particular image I can’t shake. A corridor, two chairs, ten patients, and a registered dietitian trying to do her job with no room, literally or figuratively, to breathe.
That dietitian? Helen Phadnis.
That day? The turning point.
During our recent podcast episode, I sat down with Helen, a seasoned NHS dietitian turned founder of The Bespoke Nutrition Coach. Her journey is as raw and real as they come and one I couldn’t stop thinking about long after we wrapped recording.
Let me take you back.
The NHS Years: A Decade of Dedication
Helen began her career like many idealistic healthcare professionals do with passion and purpose. She worked in some of the UK’s most well-known teaching hospitals, spending time in intensive care and renal nutrition, managing complex cases like kidney failure. She thrived in a team environment, built camaraderie, and soaked up clinical experience.
But as Helen described, the NHS started to change. Or maybe it was always like that, and the weight of the system just grew heavier with time.
What struck me was when she described arriving for a fully booked renal clinic, only to find no consultation rooms left. She was given two chairs in a corridor to counsel ten patients, ten minutes each, on some of the most critical nutrition issues of their lives.
“It’s not fair on the patient. It’s not fair on the professional,” she told me.
She went home that night and Googled: How do I start a freelance dietetics practice?
Building Something Bespoke
Helen didn’t leave dietetics she reimagined it.
She earned a postgraduate qualification in sports and exercise nutrition and launched her private practice with two core specialties: gut health and weight management. But this time, she did things her way.
Initial consultations are 60 minutes. Follow-ups? 40 minutes minimum. Patients receive tailored meal plans, shopping lists, and the latest tools in food tracking and planning. No more rushed corridor chats. This was care, done properly.
And here’s where it gets fascinating.
About five years ago, Helen discovered nutrigenomics DNA testing for diet. It changed everything.
The DNA Revolution
Imagine knowing exactly which foods support your body based on how you were genetically built. No more guessing. No more hopping from keto to vegan to intermittent fasting. Helen embraced this with open arms and today, it’s a cornerstone of her coaching.
It’s what makes her work feel deeply personal. And yes, she’s tested her own DNA and her identical twin sister’s in Australia, too.
She smiled when she said, “We both have a sweet tooth. We love sparkling wine. And we get full really quickly.” Their identical DNA explained everything.
Why Her Story Matters
Helen’s story resonated with me, not just as a podcast host, but as a woman, a mother, someone trying to navigate this overwhelming world of health advice. Her leap of faith from the NHS to a personalised, evidence-based practice is what inspired this episode.
We often talk about burnout. About leaving the system. But what we don’t always hear is what happens when someone builds something better. Helen did. And her clients are thriving because of it.
If you’ve ever felt like the system didn’t work for you, or the diet advice you followed didn’t make sense for your body, this episode is for you.
🎧 Listen to the full episode with Helen Phadnis.
🔬 Want to learn more about personalised nutrition? Visit Helen’s website: The Bespoke Nutrition Coach
— Written by Hala Ali
The Visionary with Hala Ali Podcast 