As an MScN student, Jamie Manzel ’23 took advantage of business development resources to set herself up for entrepreneurial success.

After working as an herbalist for more than a decade, Jamie Menzel pursued a degree in nutrition from the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) with the goal of opening her own clinical practice.

Menzel’s goal became a reality in September when the NUNM alumna launched Sword Fern Nutrition, a functional nutrition practice dedicated to improving mental health through nutrition and the concept of food as medicine.

Relationships first, nutrition second

Menzel, who earned her Master of Science in Nutrition from NUNM in 2023, said owning a practice has allowed her to prioritize her unique values around patient health. This includes making care more financially accessible by becoming an in-network practitioner with insurance companies that provide free and low-cost access to medical care.  

She also wanted to challenge the harmful weight stigma that she said is present in the nutrition field and employ a philosophy of Health At Every Size®  that celebrates the natural diversity of each client’s body. 

“My background in harm reduction strongly informs my desire to take a non-judgmental and client-centered approach to care that emphasizes relationships first and nutrition second,” Menzel said. “There’s an important therapeutic value to simply listening since it helps develop trust, allows clients to tap into their own expertise, and feel understood.” 

While nutritionists are not diagnosing practitioners, she said that viewing care through the systems biology and whole-foods approach taught at NUNM helped her as a practitioner to identify patterns that might point to a root cause of illness in patients. 

“It doesn’t matter what we’re calling the thing—what matters is how it feels in your body and figuring out why it’s manifesting that way,” she said.  

Sword Fern Nutrition focuses on principles of nutritional psychology and the relationship between nutrients and brain health, helping to identify how deficiencies, poor digestion, food allergies, and other dietary factors could cause or exacerbate mental health challenges.  

One goal of her practice has been to shift how clients view food and consider its effect on their mental state.

“Everybody eats every day so there are these micro-moments where we can influence our mental health and it can feel really empowering,” she said. “Mental health challenges and mood disorders can often feel disempowering and hopeless, so to feel there’s something within grasp you can do to positively influence your situation can be really meaningful.”  

Set up for success

Menzel said Sword Fern Nutrition combines everything she learned throughout her career and on her way to earning her MScN degree.

As an undergrad at Evergreen State College, Menzel studied psychology and then worked with individuals who experienced mental health issues related to homelessness, substance abuse and trauma.

Later working as a clinical herbalist and organic farmer, she said she began to study nutrition on her own to examine how physiology might also impact overall health outcomes.

“I showed up to grad school ready to do the work for that and just wanted to squeeze everything I could out of it.”

Throughout this journey, Menzel found there limitations to what she could learn without a formal and structured approach. This led her to NUNM, she said, where she was intent on seizing every academic and professional opportunity possible.

“I had a love for research and really wanted to understand the ‘why’—the science and biochemical mechanisms behind things,” she said. “I showed up to grad school ready to do the work for that and just wanted to squeeze everything I could out of it.”

At NUNM, Menzel worked as a teaching assistant at the Food as Medicine Institute and then as a nutrition analyst at the Helfgott Research Institute. She also sought out clinical internships and was encouraged by faculty who connected her to a nutritional practice that provided trauma-informed and gender-affirming mental health care.  

With the goal of eventually opening a solo practice, Menzel took advantage of business development and entrepreneurship resources at NUNM. 

“One thing that set me up for success was looking at all the skills I needed to learn to launch a small business as opportunities,” she said. “Approaching it knowing there was going to be continued learning after graduation helped the process feel rewarding and less like a stumbling block.” 

The next chapter

After completing her MScN degree, Menzel transitioned to an adjunct faculty position at NUNM teaching the Nutrition for Mental Health course  and focusing on nutritional psychology 

“I wanted to cultivate a deep understanding of the field and its experts,” she said. “Integrating evidence-based research with my previous life experiences allowed me the unique opportunity to synthesize and translate the research for others.” 

There had been barely a pause as she worked to complete her clinical hours at a practice where she provided nutritional counseling for clients struggling with mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, and ADHD.  

Once she had obtained her credentials as both a Licensed Dietitian and Certified Nutrition Specialist®, it came time to move forward on her initial goal of opening her practice. Menzel said it felt risky, but she had an added support layer through her network and training at NUNM.  

Although it has only been a few months since Menzel established Sword Fern Nutrition, she said her new goal is to hire a team of nutritionists and expand the business reach to enable more clients access to nutrition from a mental health standpoint. 

While offering telehealth appointments and building a client base through her new practice, she also plans to continue teaching as she loves its potential for continuous learning and exchange of ideas.  

“I feel excited for this next chapter,” Menzel said. “I think people should take leaps whenever they can, or whenever it’s responsible and appropriate to do so, and I recommend putting the wheels in motion as early on as possible to set yourself up for success.”  

Written by Ashley Villarreal, Marketing Content Specialist