Cynthia Thurlow, ’00
“Nothing prepares you for being a patient when you are used to being the health
care provider,” says Cynthia Thurlow, a nurse practitioner, nutrition and intermittent fasting expert, two-time TEDx speaker, and author of Primal Eating.
Yet there she was, a ruptured appendix leaving her bedridden and miserable, but suddenly with a lot of time to ponder holistic approaches to eating and wellness. So, she focused on what had become, after two decades of clinical nursing, her passion: “helping women find wellness through the healing power of nutrition and solving health problems from the inside out.” That, and getting well enough to look after her two boys, a husband, and a pair of dogs in the Washington, DC area.
Thurlow, founder/CEO of the Everyday Wellness Project, spent nearly 20 years in emergency medicine and cardiology, where “the power of Western medicine’s approach to acute and life-threatening disease and emergencies is undeniable.” Still, she did question its approach to chronic health problems. Starting with her own family, she began exploring connections between how and what we eat impacts on well-being. Today, as a wellness speaker, consultant, blogger, podcast manager, and guru to better living through our bodies’ natural chemistry, Thurlow preaches and practices intermittent fasting, eats a diet free of gluten, grains, and dairy, and travels the world for fun and the nation to spread the word to women on living their best lives.
“I have advanced training in functional approaches to support health and wellness. I strongly focus on these concerns with my patients,” she says. “One of the most rewarding aspects of being a nurse practitioner and functional nutritionist are the relationships I develop with patients and clients.” They know that she understands their health struggles, because she’s been there.
Her website is cynthiathurlow.com.
