Dee Brereton-Patel (BSc (Hons) Dip Nut CNM, IFMCP)
Hi, I’m Dee Brereton-Patel – Functional Medicine and Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified by the Institute for Functional Medicine, lecturer, and founder of Coho Health.
But before I became any of those things, I was a mum trying to save my daughter.
And I had no idea that journey would change my life – and my mission – forever.
When people meet me today, they often assume that I’ve always had the answers.
But the truth is, I started exactly where many of my clients are now: overwhelmed, dismissed, and left to figure things out on my own.
From Pharmaceutical R&D to Personalised Medicine
Before founding Coho, I worked in pharmaceutical R&D at companies like GSK, AstraZeneca and J&J.
I had what most people would call a successful career.
But I had no idea that the health issues I couldn’t see – my own – were about to change everything.
No amount of professional success prepared me for what happened when our first daughter, Anaya, was born with Spina Bifida Occulta.
Everything stopped.
Her condition meant multiple surgeries, long hospital stays, daily uncertainty – and moments no parent should have to face.
We were supported by incredible surgeons. But despite months of care, no one ever asked why this had happened.
So I also saw the other side of medicine: the gaps, the blind spots, the unwillingness to look deeper.
It wasn’t until our final hospital appointment – 18 months in – that a passing comment revealed a diagnosis no one had mentioned before.
That moment changed everything.
It lit a fire in me.
The Turning Point
As someone with a background in clinical research, I started digging.
I reviewed studies, explored risk factors, and uncovered research linking nutritional deficiencies and genetic vulnerabilities to preventable congenital conditions.
And slowly, I began to connect the dots that no one else had.
This wasn’t just bad luck.
It was preventable.
And no one had told us.
That realisation shook me.
From Rock Bottom to Root Cause
This experience didn’t just shift my understanding, it shaped my mission.
I retrained in Nutritional Therapy and Functional Medicine – initially to protect my own family, and ultimately to help others who felt just as lost as I did.
Every person who’s ever felt brushed off, stuck, or told “everything looks normal” when they know in their gut something isn’t right.
I studied. I tested. I built protocols from scratch. I spent every penny we had on education, testing, and tools.
And I applied everything I was learning, first to support Anaya, and later to ensure my second pregnancy was healthy.
Today, Anaya is thriving. And our second daughter, Tia, was born healthy, because this time, we knew how to support my body from the inside out.
That’s the power of root-cause medicine. It’s not just theory, it’s life-changing in practice.
Why I Founded Coho Health
I built Coho Health to offer the kind of personalised, root cause care I couldn’t find when I needed it most.
And to make sure you’re not left in the dark, chasing symptoms, or just managing your decline.
To connect the dots when nobody else will.
Today, our clinics in Manchester and Palma de Mallorca, and our virtual clinic serving clients worldwide, use the Coho you=1 approach to help people get real answers and lasting results.
We’ve now helped thousands of clients from over 25 countries, with complex chronic symptoms, uncover what’s really going on and reclaim their health from conditions that often didn’t show up on conventional test results but still made them feel unwell every day.
We combine deep listening, advanced testing, and evidence-based protocols to get to the root of what’s going on in your body, so you don’t have to keep guessing.
Why Your Story Matters to Me
When I say your journey is personal to me, I mean it.
Because I’ve stood where you are – frustrated, confused, exhausted, and searching for answers that no one seemed to have.
I know what it’s like to be dismissed, or told everything is “normal” when nothing feels normal at all.
And I know how powerful it is to finally feel understood, supported, and empowered to take back your health.
That’s what Coho is here to offer you.
My Promise
Your body knows how to heal. Sometimes it just needs the right kind of help.
So if you’re feeling unheard or uncertain, please know this:
– You’re not alone.
– You’re not imagining it.
– And you don’t have to just live with it.
We’ll never treat you like a list of symptoms.
We’ll treat you like a whole person, with a story that matters.
Let’s find your root cause – and change your story, for good.
To your optimised, healthy future,
Dee & the Coho Health team
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