Hi my name is Christina Higgins and I am a recently qualified Nutritionist after studying Human Nutrition in University College Dublin. I first studied BESS in Trinity College Dublin but realized after graduating that I had to pursue my lifelong interest in food, which has brought me to where I am today.
I am now working as a consumer nutritionist in the fresh produce industry where I have the opportunity to reach out to both school children and students and demonstrate to them the necessity of a healthy diet and really how simple and budget-friendly it can be. I am a complete advocate of healthy eating with no fuss attached. I don’t believe in diets of any form unless a certain disease or medical condition warrants it. Instead, I believe in good, clean and healthy dishes that are easy to whip up and hassle free. In recent months, I have also set up an Instagram account called ‘Miss Nutricious’ which has allowed me to showcase how easy and delicious eating healthily can be, be it cooking in the comfort of your own kitchen or dining out with friends. That being said, I also believe that balance is really everything and that it is in fact healthy and normal to break out and enjoy a chocolate bar or dessert every once in a while.
In terms of my background in sports, I was never the ‘sporty’ kid or student. Having poor eyesight and refusing to wear glasses obviously didn’t help matters. Instead, I dabbled in tennis, hockey, sailing, cycling and even dance. Even though, I never excelled in any of them, I always enjoyed that feeling of being outdoors and that adrenalin rush after sailing a race or playing a tennis match. It is only in recent months that I have started training at my own pace. I’ve never been a huge fan of the gym so I’ve taken my exercise to the outdoors where I’m slowly beginning to see a transformation in both my endurance and overall physique. I now understand how important it is to exercise and the ‘feel good’ factor you benefit from afterwards. Needless to say, if I can manage to get to some sort of adequate fitness level, really anyone can.
Overall, I hope that my background in nutrition and passion for good food will encourage others to adopt a healthier lifestyle. As that cringe saying goes ‘life is not a sprint, it’s a marathon’. In summary, take everything slowly, any changes you make to your diet or exercise is not going to happen overnight but if you make an honest attempt at doing something, I promise you’ll reap the rewards.
All the best,
Christina