My Story | Dr Laura Holland

I’ve always been fascinated by what allows people to flourish, and equally, why so many experience unnecessary suffering. I genuinely believe that much of the suffering we see today isn't inevitable. Often, it's the consequence of becoming disconnected from ourselves, our bodies, and the environments we live within.

My career has taken a slightly unconventional path. I hold a Degree in Economics, a Diploma in Clinical Nutrition and a Doctorate in Integrative Medicine.

I initially trained as an economist before making what many considered to be quite the career pivot into nutrition, eventually continuing my studies into Integrative Medicine, but looking back, it doesn’t feel like a career change at all.

Economics taught me to understand systems, incentives and human behaviour. Integrative medicine taught me to understand the human system, within the context of consciousness being the basis of reality, and therefore upstream of the mind and body, and the implications of this relative to healing and optimising human capacity. Together, they continue to shape how I see the collective and individual experience of health and wellbeing today.

For more than fifteen years I've worked with private and corporate clients, often at the highest levels, supporting people with everything from body image and disordered eating to complex medical conditions, chronic stress, burnout, fertility challenges and major life transitions.

Every person has taught me something. My work has never really been about food. Nor has it simply been about medicine. It's about helping people understand themselves more deeply, develop an identity rooted in health, regain confidence in their own sovereignty, and feel empowered to nurture their wellbeing in ways that can genuinely change the course of their lives.

Over the years, I’ve come to realise that understanding one person deeply gives you remarkable insight into human beings. And perhaps that's where the economist in me reappears, because I can't help but ask, if we know what helps an individual change course, heal, build supportive habits and experience genuine wellbeing…

How do we translate that into society?

How do we create environments that make healthier choices feel easier, more natural, and more sustainable?

How do we improve health and wellbeing at scale in a way that genuinely enhances healthspan, human capability and quality of life?

These questions gradually led me beyond clinical practice and towards the wider systems that influence health.

In 2020, I founded Trialwell, a health research venture created to support participation and recruitment into clinical research, with a particular interest in strengthening the evidence base around traditional, complementary and integrative approaches to health.

Trialwell’s mission was about being open to different ways of understanding and supporting health, empowered by scientific curiosity and rigour.

Trialwell was part of Helsinki's health innovation ecosystem and secured early-stage investment. Although the venture ultimately didn't progress beyond its early stages, I remain deeply committed to looking beyond conventional thinking relative to health, alongside a deep respect for evidence, enquiry and intellectual honesty.

That same curiosity has continued to take my work upstream, into projects sitting at the intersection of preventative health, education, business and leadership.

Beginning Earlier with Vegemi

The philosophy behind BeU doesn't begin in adulthood.

I am also Co-founder of Vegemi, preventative health infrastructure helping children develop healthier relationships with food, wellbeing and themselves from an early age.

While BeU works predominantly with adults, Vegemi begins much earlier, nurturing a child's connection with their body, emotions and inner world, and helping them develop the confidence and agency to make choices that genuinely support them.

Rather than simply telling children what is "healthy", Vegemi uses characters, play, storytelling and everyday experiences to help children notice, understand and participate in their own wellbeing.

In many ways, BeU and Vegemi are expressions of the same belief;

The earlier we learn to know ourselves, listen to ourselves and care for ourselves, the more naturally wellbeing becomes a way of living.

Insight into Human Behaviour

I love working one-to-one, it gives me an insight into human behaviour that is irreplaceable. They continually remind me that data and statistics alone cannot illuminate the subtle, deeply human factors that shape our behaviours, decisions and health outcomes.

If we want policies, systems and environments to genuinely improve health and wellbeing, they must first understand the human beings they are designed to serve.

This is why I continue to work with individuals. Every conversation deepens my understanding of human behaviour and continually informs the perspective I bring to organisations, partnerships and systems-level advisory work.

This website is a place to share some of those thoughts.

Alongside my private work and advisory roles, I'll be sharing longer perspectives on health, behaviour, leadership and prevention, exploring what I've learnt through science, practice and life itself.

If even one of those perspectives helps someone see themselves, or their health, a little differently, then they've served their purpose.

With love,
Laura