BANT chairman and speaker at the April CAM Conference in collaboration with BANT
The CAM Conference team spoke to Miguel Toribio-Mateas about how he developed an interest in nutrition, and why he extended his study into nutrigenomics.
What sparked your interest in complementary and alternative medicine?
I have always had an inquisitive mind and been slightly uncomfortable with dogma, in all areas of my life. I was massively into Yoga during my teens, and during my 20s I trained to achieve a British Wheel of Yoga teaching qualification. Having grown up in a traditional Spanish home where I can count with the fingers of one hand the ready meals I had in the first 20 years of my life, food is one of my passions. I discovered Ayurveda and ‘food as medicine’ during my Yoga training, and that was the trigger for me to train in nutrition, taking a more complementary approach, rather than the more traditional dietetics route.
Why do nutrigenomics and the effects of foods on gene expression fascinate you? What made you want to further your studies into this subject?
It’s the fact that genes are not destiny, and that within every one of us lies a whole world of quantifiable opportunity to either enhance or inhibit gene expression with the help of foods. And I’d go even further and say that the ‘next big thing’ will be psychogenetics and how we can also modulate gene expression by means of our thoughts and feelings. It’s clear we can do that from existing data. Anger inhibits sIgA, for example. It’s widely-known these things are real, but science is scared of emotions…
You have lectured at many top British education institutions providing nutritional therapy qualifications, as well as the Institute for Optimum Nutrition and at previous IHCAN Conferences. What do you love about speaking to an audience?
The world is changing at a very rapid pace. Paradigms are torn down daily, and new science replaces old evidence. I feel I have a mission to spread the word and to facilitate change. When I’m on stage, it’s all about the audience and what they need. I’m like a DJ who plays for a crowd, rather than just his own favourite tunes!
Who inspires you in the CAM industry?
Too many to mention, and I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, although I should say Americans are light years away and that the British scene feels stale. I get this ‘seen it all before’ feeling often, and look towards the other side of the pond for inspiration most days… I’m most inspired by my students. Those who’ve just graduated in the last couple of years and who are going through training now have a special energy that I’ve not seen before. They’re the next generation of practitioners who will replace the stale and old and will help change the current health care system for the better.
