Amanda Ursell

Amanda Ursell

You are a qualified nutritionist and trained as a dietitian, plus you are an award winning journalist, television presenter and author. What first inspired you to pursue a career in nutrition?

I was always interested in food and loved 'helping' in the kitchen when I was little. In fact I was probably a complete nuisance because I always wanted to get my hands into the bowl of fruit cake mix my Grandma was making, or help to stir or whisk or whatever was going on at the time. I also loved eating and my grandparents took our family out quite a lot to restaurants so this probably stoked the fire of my interest.

When I was 11 years old I was in my domestic science class when our teacher Mrs Chapman announced: "Girls, today we are making cocoa". We all groaned and thought it was totally beneath us. To our horror she then made us leave it cool so that a skin formed on top before we were allowed to drink it. We groaned some more.

Finally Mrs Chapman asked if we knew why the skin had formed. We had to sheepishly shake our heads as she went on to explain that the protein in the milk had coagulated and changed its structure due to the heat from the pan; hence the skin. She told us that protein was needed for making muscles and that milk also contained calcium which our bodies used to build strong bones. I was totally hooked on nutrition from that moment on.

What has been the high point in your career to date?

One thing I shall never, ever forget is being invited to make a 20-minute speech at the Women's Institute AGM at the Royal Albert Hall in London. I felt that it was a great honour to be asked. There were 6,000 very well informed, very feisty, motivated, intelligent WI members sitting in the audience. They were a sea of colour in their wonderful bright outfits and as ever, they were ahead of their time.

I was asked to speak about the importance of school dinners and children's nutrition. This was two years before Jamie Oliver's campaign began. I knew that the AGM audience had slow hand-clapped Tony Blair the year before and so I was pretty nervous. My father was the only man in the audience so I had to start by saying "Madame Chairman, distinguished guests, ladies and my Dad".

At the end when applause broke out I was shocked at what a tremendous buzz it was to hear so many people clapping. I can completely understand how pop stars and so on get addicted to that. It's just as well I can't sing a note or I'd be stalking Simon Cowell, begging him to let me on X-Factor.

What has been the most challenging time in your career to date?

It's a daily challenge because I have to always accept that I'm only as good as the last piece I wrote or the last television programme I presented. There are always loads of deadlines flying around so it's a constant challenge to make sure I don't miss any. I have to be ready to jump when asked to as well. GMTV only ring you the day before you go on the sofa because anything you talk about is news related. This means quickly fitting in the research you need to do for the item among your other work so that when I'm sitting on the sofa the next morning, I know 100% what I'm talking about. You can't get it wrong on national television.

Do you have anything exciting planned in the near future?

As far as my work is concerned, I genuinely love it and get excited by the variety I experience most days. One day I can be interviewing a professor in America about substances in cola drinks which reduce bone density and potentially weaken your bones (Mrs Chapman would probably say 'I told you so' on hearing this piece of ground-breaking research), to interviewing Jaqueline Gold the Chairman of Ann Summers or ex-Olympic Champion Daley Thompson, to nipping off to a conference on novel health-giving foods which the UK could soon be importing from China, or just writing my Times or Sun columns.

Why should we include berries in our diet?

Well, obviously firstly because they taste so nice! Also, they add lots of colour to life - they are so vibrant and fresh looking that it is hard not to feel good when you see and eat them. And of course they are incredibly good for you. Even if you don't think about any of their other amazing nutritional advantages, they are really low in calories so you can chomp away happily and know that you are having a fabulous treat without piling on the pounds - there are not many other foods you can say that about.

How do berries compare to other fruit in terms of health and beauty benefits?

The wonderful thing about berries is that they are an absolute treasure-trove of vitamins and super-nutrients which all seem to work together to potentially help boost various aspects of our health.

For example, the beautiful deep purple, blue and red pigments in blueberries and blackberries, strawberries and raspberries are believed to help keep the walls of tiny blood vessels in tact. In theory this may help reduce the risk of little spider veins under our skin. All berries are good for vitamin C which, along with vitamin E in blackberries, helps protect the skin from ultraviolet damage from the sun's rays and so may play a role in anti-ageing. Then there is ellagic acid in strawberries and raspberries believed to help fight pollutants in our bodies.

I also love the fact that they are such a tasty way of getting fibre. Raspberries are especially rich because each raspberry is actually a small cluster of 75 to 125 fibre-rich seeds, with each seed encased in a tiny, juicy lobe of its own.

What is your favorite berry and why?

That's a tough one because I love them all but I probably would have to say blackberries because of the memories they hold. We lived deep in the countryside as children and it was that annual treat which lasted a few short weeks to be able to scramble all around the brambles and pluck those delicious, sweet, plump, juicy berries from the bushes. Once our tummies were full we then collected more to take home which we enjoyed in apple and blackberry crumble - heavenly. I always think of blackberry picking when we were little and the donkey Sam who lived close to the bushes whenever I see and taste them, so I guess that's why they are my favourite.

What is your favorite way to eat berries?

I like them plain rather than being drenched in sugar and cream. It's not because I'm a nutritionist and I'm being 'good', I just prefer them that way because you get all the texture, flavour and aroma - just as nature intended.

For further information on Amanda, visit www.amandaursell.com.