Dr. Kirstie Lawton: Motor Neurone and Neurodegenerative Disease; Systems-Based Nutritional Medicine

Neurodegenerative diseases, including Motor Neurone Disease (MND)/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's Disease and Huntington's Disease, are generally considered progressive and irreversible, but a personalised, systems biology-based approach could challenge this view. A better understanding of the biology, modifiable contributors, and the use of personalised nutritional medicine is radically changing the way we think about neurodegenerative disease, and in this episode Dr. Kirstie Lawton, PhD explains why.

About our guest:

Dr. Kirstie Lawton, PhD is an AfN registered Nutritionist, a BANT registered Nutritionist, and a CNHC registered Nutritional Therapist, with a nutrition career spanning more than 20 years. She obtained a BSc Hons in Public Health Nutrition and a PhD in Nutrition from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, and a DipION in Nutritional Therapy from the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in Richmond, London. She obtained a PGCE in Higher Education at the University of London to support her academic role. She is also completing an MSc in Neuroscience and Neurodegeneration through the University of Sheffield School of Medicine and Population Health.

In addition to her clinical role, Kirstie was integral in the establishment of the UK's first level 6 Graduate Diploma in Integrative Functional Nutrition at the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in collaboration with Portsmouth University, which was developed to support medical doctors, allied and complementary healthcare practitioners, to understand and incorporate functional nutritional concepts into their current practice. She is also a member of the editorial board of the Nutritional Medicine Institute (NMI) and journal.

Her interest in brain health is based on her own experience with a seemingly undiagnosable range of neurological symptoms, which have improved through diet, lifestyle and nutraceutical support. She is currently focusing her clinical work on diet and lifestyle approaches to support those with Motor Neurone Disease (MND)/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's Disease and Huntington's Disease.

Guest websites and links:

https://www.younutritionclinic.com/

Additional publications:

Crayle J, Lutz M, Raymond J, Mehta P, Bedlack R. Study of "ALS reversals": LifeTime environmental exposures (StARLiTE). Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener. 2023 Feb;24(1-2):54-62.

Okun MS, Dorsey R. The Parkinson's Plan: A New Path to Prevention and Treatment. PublicAffairs. 2025.

Dedication:

Dr. Lawton would like to dedicate this episode to Ray Griffiths (1959-2025), who’s work on Parkinsons disease inspired her own and was important for laying foundations for a systems-based approach to personalised nutrition and lifestyle medicine for neurodegenerative disease.