Pharmacist and micronutrition specialist based in Bordeaux, Laurence Massip isn’t afraid to shake up modern eating habits. For her, everyone should take a closer look at what they put on their plate.
“Our modern medicine is merely symptomatic. What I try to do is trace dysfunctions back to their root cause and offer my patients a fully holistic approach,” explains Laurence Massip, 47, micronutrition specialist in Bordeaux and Biarritz. Sleep, stress, lifestyle, diet…: the founder of Solutions Nutrition provides a complete and uncompromising assessment to each person who consults her and many referring to her as their “last resort” before designing a personalized “sustainable health nutrition” protocol and targeted dietary plan.
A pharmacist by training, Laurence Massip has always been driven by a desire to care for people, support them, and enhance their well-being. After graduating in 2000, she worked in pharmacies for 14 years. “But I didn’t want to settle permanently into that role. I’ve always needed to explore other fields.” A thirst for learning undoubtedly linked to her nomadic and exotic childhood. Early in her career, ten years in Bordeaux and two in Savoie, Laurence was already interested in nutritherapy (dietary supplements). Shortly after moving to Haute-Savoie, she enrolled at the University of Dijon for training in “health nutrition and micronutrition.” She graduated with a thesis on beetroot, “an extremely promising superfood in cancer treatment.” She then honed her practice in a Geneva city-center pharmacy specializing in alternative and gentle medicine, where she eventually moved with her husband. “Back then, micronutrition was already very advanced in Switzerland, and clients were seeking non-medicinal solutions without side effects.”
The art of eating well
It was in Switzerland, renowned for the excellence of its healthcare system, that Laurence fully realized “food is the first medicine” (Hippocrates) and that “nutrition is the key to well-being.” But her American experience would strengthen her conviction even further. Soon after settling in Geneva, the tireless globetrotter crossed the Atlantic with her husband and two sons and moved to California as a consultant. Laurence continued to train and took remote courses in “sustainable health cuisine,” taught by Professor Olivier Coudron at the SIIN (Scientific Institute for Intelligent Nutrition). As an ambassador for the network, she had the opportunity to lead cooking workshops and collaborate with a private chef in New York and Miami. Returning to Bordeaux, her student town in 2017, Laurence joined the Darwin incubator, an ecosystem of startups dedicated to ecology and well-being. Alongside her consultations, she led micronutrition workshops there before opening her two practices.
The power of the microbiota
“Most of my patients suffer from digestive discomfort, malaise, or functional disorders. I remember one who, at 50 years old, told me I had saved his life after he had endured digestive issues since the age of four.” Some turn away from traditional medicine, others seek a new way of living, one that respects taste, pleasure, and the planet. In any case, all have realized that the modern diet is completely unbalanced. In just half a century, it has lost its fibre and micronutrient density (magnesium, calcium, vitamin D, omega-3 and 6...). Yet these antioxidants are essential for healthy cell function! “A lack of fibre weakens our system and reduces the diversity of our gut microbiota. We must feed our good bacteria and compensate for a nutrient-poor diet if we want to age healthily.” Combined with stressful, sedentary lifestyles, today’s eating patterns contribute to so-called “diseases of civilization”: diabetes, obesity, allergies, cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, our planet’s health is deeply intertwined with our food choices. Isn’t the Earth itself shaped like a plate? As predicted in 1903 by Thomas Edison, inventor of the phonograph (another round object!): “The doctor of the future will give no medication but will instruct his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”