Most nutrition advice assumes your brain works in a particular way. So many of us have a complicated relationship with food as a result — and what’s rarer is someone who actually explains why, without blame, without shame, and without a one-size-fits-all fix. Victoria Bell’s approach doesn’t start there. It starts with you.
Victoria is a BANT Registered Nutritionist and CNHC Registered Nutritional Therapy Practitioner — but what makes her approach genuinely different is where she starts. Before she ever gets to what to eat, she starts with why eating is complicated in the first place for neurodivergent people. Sensory differences. Interoception. Executive function. Trauma. The ways a neurodivergent brain actually experiences food, hunger, fullness, and the sheer cognitive load of just planning a meal.
Most nutrition advice skips all of that entirely — jumping straight to what to eat and how much, as if the relationship with food exists in a vacuum. Victoria doesn’t do that. She also shared openly from her own experience: her late ADHD diagnosis at 40, raising neurodivergent daughters, her own history with disordered eating. This is someone who has lived what she teaches.
What struck me most was how she framed the social and emotional layers — the relentless commentary so many of us received growing up about our bodies and what “healthy” or “good” is supposed to look like. This touches people of all genders, but let’s be honest: women face a particular and relentless scrutiny around their bodies that starts painfully early and rarely lets up. Add unrecognised sensory differences into the mix, and it becomes even more complicated. I remember as a child holding food in my mouth that I couldn’t bring myself to swallow, waiting to be excused so I could quietly get rid of it. Texture aversions are real — and for so many of us they were met with frustration or criticism rather than understanding.
I’m mostly off camera for this one — nutrition isn’t my area of expertise, though I’ve done some deep dives into gut health and I’ve always had my own complicated relationship with food. Which is part of why I wanted to bring Victoria in. Her approach centers on self-compassion first, practical tools second, and never a one-size-fits-all rule in sight.
This was such an information-rich session — genuinely one of those where there are takeaways for everyone, whether you’re neurodivergent yourself, raising someone who is, or simply someone who has ever felt that their relationship with food is more complicated than the standard advice accounts for. Victoria is the real deal: knowledgeable, warm, and deeply generous with her expertise.
You can watch the session on demand at any time. I’m also attaching Victoria’s slide deck for those who prefer to read through at their own pace.
And if you want to know more about Victoria’s work, find her at www.victoriabellnutrition.co.uk or on Substack, Instagram, and Facebook @victoriabellnutrition.
Nothing in this session constitutes medical advice. Please consult your doctor or a qualified healthcare practitioner for personalized support.
