After a major period of hospitalisation, involving two weeks fasting and regular intrusive procedures, Nina Netland has learnt how radically food affects her gut, and her mood, and has create her own brand called Purpose Foods selling prebiotic-rich, vegan, dairy- and gluten-free bars.
“My IBS got really bad in 2014 and I was eventually hospitalised in 2016," explains the 28-year-old, "I come from Norway and that’s where I was living when the symptoms started to get really bad.
“The doctors there told me if I don’t do anything there was a strong chance I would develop abdominal cancer.
“But the only things the doctors told me to do were the FODMAP diet and the raw food diet. It actually turned out that the raw food diet was the worst thing for me as my body doesn’t digest raw food well at all.
“The FODMAP diet also didn’t help because it removed many foods which could be very beneficial such as onions which have a lot of the fibre that your body needs. So I went through this vicious cycle for a long time where I was trying to eat the right things and making myself worse. The doctors didn't know what else to suggest.
"One in five people get IBS. It’s a shocking epidemic and people don’t know how to get better.”
She also suffered a period of depression due to her gut issues.
“I couldn’t work out why. I even went to see a counsellor to try and work out what was wrong with me and they didn’t know.
“It wasn’t until further down the line when more research started to come out about the gut-brain axis, that I realised it was all starting in my gut.”
Extreme measures
Eventually Netland heard about a hospital in Bali which specialised in the treatment of patients with issues like hers so she moved there for three months.
“It was there that I found out that there was this part of my digestive system that was sort of locked in place which meant none of the food I was eating was moving anywhere.”
The 29-year-old explains that, at its worst, her digestive system had completely stopped working and her gut became so full that she would feel sick if she tried to eat.
“By this point they had to tell me I had to stop eating entirely while they tried to get my organs clear and working again.
“For two weeks I lived on lemon water. Eventually they were able to clear my body and my digestive system was able to reset.”
Once she was over the worst of her symptoms Netland moved to Australia to do a Masters in sustainable tourism development.
It was in Australia, that she became inspired to indulge her artistic side with some food innovation.
“It’s not something I would have thought to do in Norway but in Australia you’re surrounded by so many health innovations and trendy new food and drink products that it inspired me to create something of my own.
“As soon as I got the idea in my head it was all I could think about, I couldn’t concentrate in lectures, and when we got our three month breaks from lectures, I worked 12 hour days, six days a week, and just saved saved saved to make my idea a reality.”
After her Masters, Netland moved to the UK to be with her boyfriend who she had met on her travels, and she set up the business in Northampton.
The portfolio
The trio of bars contain the ‘ideal’ balance of fibre, healthy fats, easily digestible (pea) protein, vitamins and minerals, and are available in three flavours serving three different purposes: Almond Butter & Oat named Breakkie On The Go, Salted Caramel & Maca named the Post Gym Fix and Crunchy Choc Brownie named Crave Kicker.
The bars all contain pea protein and chicory root fibre alongside other ingredients such as maca powder, cocoa, almonds, vanilla, oats, dates and cashews.
“The packaging reflects the products themselves as they’re clean, with not many ingredients, no additives or anything unnecessary.
“The means the shopper can easily see what’s in the bar and when they should eat it.”
With gut health being her primary purpose, Netland is also in the process of gaining an official health claim for her products and is confident that she will be able to make the official claim of ‘good for digestive health’ by October this year.
The products were only launched two months ago but they are already stocked at a number of health food and vegan stores with listings on retail websites in Ibiza, Marbella, and the Netherlands.
Netland is next working to secure listings for Scandinavian and Israeli customers.