Food As Medicine

Celebrity nutritionist Haylie Pomroy’s book helps readers feed their body back to health.

By Linda Childers

Haylie Pomroy knows what it feels like when your body turns against itself. The celebrated nutritionist was a 19-year old-college student when she was diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a rare autoimmune disease that affects the blood’s ability to clot and heal, and the immune system’s ability to fight off infection.

“My doctor put me on prednisone,” she says, which is a steroid used to treat inflammation, “but it made my symptoms worse.” So in an effort to take matters into her own healthcraving hands, Pomroy began to educate herself—and she learned her experience was not isolated. In fact, medications used to treat autoimmune diseases such as lupus, thyroid disease, and rheumatoid arthritis, all failed to address the root cause of the disease.

But if medical science wasn’t helping her and legions of others heal, what if she could find a way to heal naturally and from within? Pomroy began studying how targeted nutrients found in specific foods could be used either in conjunction with, or even in place of, medication to address a variety of chronic health problems.

Her studies led Pomroy to become a registered wellness consultant. In 1994, she opened her first integrative practice in Fort Collins, Colorado, bringing nutritionists, homeopaths, and doctors together to work collaboratively.

Twenty-one years later, Pomroy now has a thriving practice in Los Angeles, and a celebrity roster of clients that includes Jennifer Lopez, Robert Downey, Jr., and LL Cool J. She is also the author of three best-selling books and offers online nutrition counseling programs at Hayliepomroy.com.

In her fourth book, Fast Metabolism Food RX (Harmony, February 2016), Pomroy offers food solutions for those suffering from autoimmune conditions, as well as those battling out-of-whack hormones, blood-sugar control problems, fatigue, high cholesterol, and mood and cognition difficulties.

“When you experience any of these conditions, it’s your body’s way of sending a message that everything isn’t properly working and you aren’t getting the nutrients you need,” Pomroy says. “Food RX serves as a playbook for readers, helping to lay the groundwork to improve health through diet and lifestyle changes.”

Pomroy, who currently has a six-month wait for appointments, takes readers through the same steps as clients who visit her office.

“I illustrate how to read your body’s messages and identify food therapy solutions that target specific symptoms,” she says of her new tome’s prescriptive counsel. “I also offer advice on how to work with your health-care team to optimize your health.”

Pomroy’s book offers seven prescriptions for conditions including gastro-intestinal stress, fatigue, hormones, mood, cholesterol, diabetes, and autoimmunity. And if you find that you have symptoms of more than one disorder, that’s not uncommon—many people have crossover symptoms, and the book works well for aiding more than one malady.

“Food is medicine,” Pomroy says. “I want people to see how they can achieve health victories and get to the root cause of their symptoms by relying on food—not medications.”

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