My name is Ruth Tophill and I have been a Registered Nurse (Adult) since 1988. I started my nurses training in December 1984 and qualified in January 1988. My first post after qualifying was on a general surgical unit in a teaching hospital, where I was promoted to Senior Staff Nurse after a year.  In 1991 I wanted to travel so I qualified as a nurse in the USA and took a job in an AIDS and Oncology unit in a Los Angeles for one year. On my return to the UK in 1992, I joined a team working on a surgical unit in a private London hospital.  I gained a diploma in Nutrition and have been working as a Health Adviser, with an emphasis on Nutrition, since 1994. My enthusiasm for this holistic approach to health care has remained undiminished after more than 30 years working in this field. Every person I see is a unique individual and is treated as such. At the core of my practice is the belief that knowledge is the most valuable route to healing. In other words, if you understand what is wrong and why, then you can do something about it.