Hayley Woods Email & Phone Number

Science tells us that certain foods can increase our chances of major chronic illness such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes. We know that these diseases can be managed and mitigated by proper diet. But what about invisible illnesses? Millions of Americans every year silently suffer with unexplained or dismissed symptoms: migraines, chronic fatigue, IBS, POTs, fibromyalgia, PMS, the list goes on. These symptoms can be dismissed even faster for those assigned female at birth, as if being in intense pain is just "period stuff".When I began to feel unwell in my mid-twenties, I found more questions than answers. Our medical system is designed to push patients through by matching their symptoms to a common ailment, and then pushing them out with a pill or a task. Most doctors are ill-prepared to assist a patient whose symptoms have no easy solution. Seeking answers, I deep dived into medical journals and health blogs alike, extracting any information that was relevant and properly sourced, and I came to four conclusions: 1) There is an underwhelming amount of science-backed research in chronic, unexplained symptoms. Often the research that is available has small sample sizes, is only done on animals, has unduplicatable results, or inconclusive evidence. 2) There are always multiple systems involved: food, sleep, stress, physical health, genetics-they all play a role.3) Food is always a recurring theme. We know that food plays a major role in mitigating major diseases, so it would be reasonable to conclude that food plays a role in minor diseases too. Managing my diet was one of only a few things I had control over that helped to mitigate my symptoms. While anecdotally, many individuals have experienced similar results, more science-based research is needed to understand the role of food in health. 4) Lastly, I learned that I was fascinated by the human body. I could spend hours reading technical medical journals, researching how the body worked, and checking the sources. I developed a passion and a desire to turn poorly accessible information into practical tools that can help people. My long term goal is to become a registered dietitian that specializes in nutrition research specifically focused on invisible illnesses and their relation to food. In addition, I want to have my own private practice so that I can help clients directly and support them with a functional and holistic approach to Medical Nutrition Therapy. Lastly, I want to ensure that my practice and research is heterogeneous and applicable to a wide and diverse range of people.