The right nutrition saved my babies’ lives. That’s why I do this.
My passion for nutrition began with my own children who arrived far earlier than expected. They were in the neonatal intensive care unit for months and I was told we should ‘wait and see’. Once you get to know me better, you’ll quickly understand my passion for helping others. And that there is no point in waiting! The right nutrition saved my twins’ lives—and continues to be a force that is helping them reach their full potential as they become teens.
What is functional medicine?
In conventional medicine, there’s a different doctor for every part of your body: cardiologists for the heart, gastroenterologists for the digestive system, neurologists for the brain and nervous system, podiatrists for your feet, and ophthalmologists for your eyes. Due to this siloing, conventional medicine focuses on individual body systems but does not look at the whole person to understand the interrelated causes underlying disease and chronic illness. Rather, it looks at symptoms in order to name a disease and find a corresponding drug or treatment.
Functional medicine sees the body as an interconnected whole, within a larger environment. We recognize that in order to treat one part of the body, all other parts must also be considered. This breaks apart artificial divisions of the body. Functional medicine looks at underlying phenomena that occur across specialties (inflammation, oxidative stress, toxicities, gut health, etc.) in order to understand the root cause of disease and find the right tools, at the right time, individualized for each person.
Liz Renaut
Elizabeth Renaut, PT, DPT, CNS, LDN
Licensed Nutritionist and Physical Therapist
When I saw my own children thriving on an ancestral diet, I became even more fascinated by groups of people still eating traditional diets—ones untouched by modern processing and convenience. I learned that those still eating traditional diets don't suffer from chronic illnesses—they maintain their health throughout their life, even in old age. I further witnessed the benefits of a nutrient-dense, whole foods diet when I began to follow an ancestral approach to my own nutrition and lifestyle. I stopped having cravings, my hormones practically balanced themselves and my allergies disappeared.
Lifestyle and nutrition have a strong relationship in research, and that relationship has guided my personal life too. I've always been focused on physical health and how to build and keep my strength. As a high school athlete, Division I lacrosse player at Hopkins, personal trainer, and now a doctor of physical therapy, my next step to round out my background with nutrition and functional medicine made sense.
Today, I can tell you with full confidence that most chronic diseases can be treated through diet and lifestyle choices—functional nutrition. Everything from heart disease, autoimmune issues, fibromyalgia, allergies/asthma, eczema, and so many other conditions rooted in chronic inflammation. Let’s get started.
CREDENTIALS
ADAPT Trained by the Kresser Institute for Functional and Evolutionary Medicine, 2016
Doctorate in Physical Therapy, University of Maryland, 2010
Masters in Health Science in Human Nutrition, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2006
Bachelor of Arts in Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 2002
