About Fairfield Nutrition (and Stephen Ward)

Stephen Ward from Fairfield Nutrition here. This is my backstory on how I developed such a passion for all things health, nutrition and lifestyle related.

Stephen Ward (MSc Personalised Nutrition)

As with many practitioners, it started with my own health issues. At 35, I wasn’t feeling great –  I found myself feeling tired most of the time, increasingly feeling depressed and anxious, and slowly putting on weight. I wasn’t sure what was going on but when I went to see my GP and had some testing done, I was told that I had Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an auto-immune disease. I was shocked as I felt I was a healthy person!!!

I quizzed my GP about why I had developed the condition, and what I could do to avoid taking the suggested replacement hormone (thyroxin) for the rest of my life. I was basically told it was ‘just one of those things’ and little could be done but take the pills and continue on with my life exactly as before.

But I’m the kind of person who likes to understand the reasons behind things, and so I wasn’t satisfied with this response. But at the same time, I had grown up with a faith in conventional medicine, believing that the doctor knew best – I presumed it would be able to help me here to find out what was really going on. I felt confused, isolated, and somewhat let down. I wanted to know what I could do… And so I started my own research  into the factors which contribute to the development of auto-immune conditions.

I spent the next few weeks excitedly devouring what I found… Source after source was showing me that my previous diet and lifestyle likely played a part in the development of my auto-immune disease. I learned how particular foods, such as gluten, is best avoided by people with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. I transformed my diet there and then, eating real food, and a large diversity and quantity of vegetables, and cutting out gluten and sugar. I quickly felt the benefits and enjoyed how the Paleo style diet made me feel.

I realised that what I put into my body had a huge effect on my health, energy, and well-being. I also took up running, reduced my exposure to everyday chemicals, and generally started taking care of what I put into my body. By doing so, I was able to reduce my thyroid antibodies to within the normal range, meaning that there likely wasn’t ongoing damage to my thyroid. Although I did end up taking the thyroxin, taking control of my diet and health was empowering and I was feeling better than ever before, losing around 10kg in weight.

I loved geeking out on the research so much, and was so inspired by the Functional Medicine approach, that I decided to study for a MSc in Personalised Nutrition, which was based in Functional Medicine practices and understanding. Functional Medicine presents a radically different view of disease that addresses the root causes, rather than just the symptoms. It helps to provide a framework to answer many of the questions as to why chronic diseases develop.

I am now thrilled to be able to share this knowledge and experience with my clients. I am excited when they feel the difference, nutrition and lifestyle can make to their own lives. I believe that with simple, and non-invasive, changes we can all improve our health.

To help you get to know me better, I’ve also put together this list of what we stand for and stand against, so that you can get to know our values and see if we are a good match for you.