Ann Ashworth graduated with a BSc (Hons) Nutrition degree from the University of London and after completing a post-graduate diploma, qualified as a Dietitian in December 1984. She worked for over 20 years as a clinical dietitian in the NHS in various specialist areas, including nutritional support, home enteral feeding, oncology, intensive care and was Chief Dietitian at the Radcliffe Infirmary NHS Trust, Oxford. During her NHS career, she developed an interest in sports nutrition alongside her clinical role. Since then, Ann has been involved in various aspects of sports nutrition, advising individual clients and teams and was a regular contributor for Yachts and Yachting magazine. She is a Registered Sports and Exercise Nutritionist as well as a Registered Dietitian.
Having been inspired by a newspaper article about the potential effects on nitrate in beetroot juice on athletic performance, Ann started a part-time PhD in 2010 to study the effects of dietary nitrate on health, whilst working as a 'Bank' dietitian. This area of research is relevant to dietitians, as nitrate is still seen as a contaminant in both food and water. Ann's work is contributing to an increasing body of evidence that suggests that dietary nitrate obtained from vegetables can be beneficial for cardiovascular health.
Ann successfully graduated with her PhD in February 2019. She has presented her research widely and continues to have an interest in the area of dietary nitrate and health, whilst working as a clinical dietitian.