We are professionals, researchers, and individuals…
improving how personalized nutrition is understood and practiced.
MISSION:
To advance the legitimacy of nutrition in health care and further the research and practice of individualized (patient-specific) diet and nutrition strategies for the prevention and healing of chronic health conditions.
Co-Founders: Martin and Julie Matthews
Scientific Advisors
The following esteemed professionals help us pursue our mission: to establish the legitimacy of nutrition in health care, and further the research and practice of individualized (patient-specific) diet and nutrition strategies for the prevention and healing of chronic health conditions. Our advisors share a passion for nutrition research, genomics and individualized nutrition, evidence-based medicine, nutrition science, and an integrative approach to health and wellness.
Founder & Instructor
Julie Matthews, MS is a globally respected nutrition expert, award-winning author, and published researcher that holds a Masters degree in Medical Nutrition. Her guidance is backed by twenty five years of clinical experience and published scientific research with complex neurological and physiological needs; particularly autism and related disorders.
Founder & Instuctor
Julie Matthews, MS is a globally respected nutrition expert, award-winning author, and published researcher that holds a Masters degree in Medical Nutrition. Her guidance is backed by twenty five years of clinical experience and published scientific research with complex neurological and physiological needs; particularly autism and related disorders.
Julie has educated healthcare practitioners throughout North America, Europe, and Australia, speaking at leading conferences and professional trainings including Integrative Medicine for Mental Health (IMMH), the Autism Research Institute (DAN!), the Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs (MAPS), and the MINDD International Forum.
Her work has been featured across television, radio, podcasts, and print media, and recognized by organizations including Price-Pottenger and the National Association of Nutrition Professionals. Julie continues to maintain an active clinical practice while serving on scientific advisory boards and advancing the field through education and research.
While studying nutrition in 2001, Julie discovered compelling evidence that food and nutrition could profoundly influence the severity of autism symptoms. Determined to understand why, she dedicated herself to investigating the underlying biology and translating that science into practical guidance that parents and clinicians could use to help children.
Her original research paper at Bauman College became her award-winning book, Nourishing Hope for Autism, which explains both why nutrition influences the biochemical pathways involved in autism and how to apply personalized nutrition to support better outcomes.
After years in clinical practice, Julie recognized that the personalized nutrition strategies producing the greatest improvements for children with autism were equally valuable in many other chronic conditions. Because autism involves some of the body’s most complex interactions—including immune, digestive, neurological, metabolic, and biochemical dysfunction—it became the lens through which she refined a systematic approach to personalized nutrition.
Today, she teaches practitioners how to recognize these underlying patterns, connect symptoms to physiology, and confidently develop personalized nutrition strategies for children and adults with a wide range of complex health conditions.
Julie founded Nourishing Hope to advance the understanding and application of personalized nutrition for autism, and later established the BioIndividual Nutrition Institute to teach practitioners the methodology she developed through decades of clinical experience, research, and practice.
Featured in…
Scientific Advisors
The following esteemed professionals help us pursue our mission: to establish the legitimacy of nutrition in health care, and further the research and practice of individualized (patient-specific) diet and nutrition strategies for the prevention and healing of chronic health conditions. Our advisors share a passion for nutrition research, genomics and individualized nutrition, evidence-based medicine, nutrition science, and an integrative approach to health and wellness.

Dr. Kurt Woeller
Dr. Kurt N. Woeller is an integrative medicine and biomedical autism physician. He has authored several books including “Autism – The Road To Recovery”, “Methyl-B12 Therapy For Autism”, “7 Facts You Need To Know About Autism”, “Methyl-B12 for Alzheimer’s Disease” and 5 Things You MUST Do Right Now To Help With Your Rheumatoid Arthritis.” He is a lecturer (both U.S. and international), educator, and experienced clinician offering specialized health services for individuals with complex medical conditions. Dr. Woeller also works as a clinical consultant for BioHealth and Great Plains Laboratories providing education through training programs and monthly webinars. To learn more about his educational programs, books, seminars, etc. please visit his main website at www.DrWoeller.com.

Dr. Bridget Briggs
Bridget Briggs, MD, is a board-certified family practitioner who specializes in integrative medicine in her private practice in Southern California. She has received certification through The Institute of Functional Medicine, IFM, The American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine, ABIHM, and is a certified Master in Lipidology, from the National Lipid Association. Dr. Briggs quest for knowledge came after her son was diagnosed at age 4 with brain cancer and traditional medicine was failing her. During her son’s horrific ordeal through 5 years of chemotherapy, radiation treatments, and 13 surgeries, she dove into research and discovered the missing link in so many chronic diseases that could be successfully treated using nutrition and life style medicine. Today at age 12, he is a perfect vision of health and vitality due to her relentless passion and research. She is a sought after national speaker, with expertise in Gut health, Hormonal Balance, Methylation, & Children’s Health. Dr. Briggs is the mother of 5 children, and lives the life she preaches in Murrieta California. She and her husband love to snowboard, camp and spend time at the beach with the family.

Susan Owens
Susan has spent the last 25 years studying lab work and examining the science behind the medical issues in autism and other chronic illness. While looking for common mechanisms, she has uncovered many gaps between basic science research and current medical practice. She learned that nutritional approaches get much closer to what biologists study so that is where Susan has concentrated most of her research and teaching. Susan’s work has been mentioned in more than 20 books, she has made presentations at the Center for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Heath. She’s lectured in Europe, Turkey, Australia, and the U.S. Her Autism Oxalate Project at the Autism Research institute is in its tenth year. One of the fruits of that project is a study published in the European Journal of Pediatric Neurology with a team in Poland showing extremely high levels of oxalate in children with autism even though they had no evidence of kidney stone risks. Working within the oxalate research community, she continues to explore the elevation of oxalate in many other diseases now examining how genetics and oxidative stress may influence where oxalate creates or exacerbates disease.

Dr. James Adams
James B. Adams, Ph.D., is the Director of the Autism/Asperger’s Research Program at Arizona State University. His research is focused on the causes of autism and how to treat it, including a focus on nutritional interventions. He is also the president of the Autism Society of Greater Phoenix, president of the Autism Nutrition Research Center, the co-chair of the Autism Research Institute’s scientific advisory committee, and has received the Autism Service Award from the Greater Phoenix chapter of the Autism Society of America. He has been featured on Dateline NBC, and received a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award from President George Bush.

Dr. Heather Way
Heather holds a PhD in Molecular Pathology and is an expert in the field of nutrigenomics. Nutrigenomics enables genetic predispositions to disease to be understood and managed via epigenetics and nutrition. Dr Way is also a certified GAPs nutritionist, who specializes in helping people with gut issues, particularly children with ASD, ADHD, fussy eaters and multiple food intolerances. Dr Way has a clinic in Brisbane, Australia, where she develops personalized nutrition programs tailored according to the results of DNA profiling.

Dr, Beverly Teter
Beverly Teter has studied the chemistry, biochemistry and metabolic effects of trans fatty acids for nearly thirty years and has worked for 20 years in the lipids lab of the biochemistry department at the University of Maryland. She was the first researcher to report the effects of these isomeric fatty acids on the milk fat in mice, cows and women. Dr. Teter has provided seminars and published numerous research papers dealing with fatty acid composition and metabolism. She has collaborated with Dr. Mildred Seelig and Dr. Mary Enig. Beverly Teter received her B.S. degree in chemistry from George Washington University and her PhD in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Maryland.

Dr. Robert Sears
Robert W. Sears, MD, FAAP, is a board-certified physician in full-time general pediatric practice in Dana Point, California, where he provides a unique blend of mainstream and integrative medical care. Dr. Bob, as he likes to be called by his little patients, received his medical degree from Georgetown University and did his pediatric residency training at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He is a co-author in the Sears Parenting Library, including “The Baby Book” and “The Portable Pediatrician.” Dr. Bob is the solo author of “The Vaccine Book,” and is very involved in speaking and writing to help parents make an educated decision for their families. He is also the solo author of “The Autism Book,” a comprehensive guide to mainstream and biomedical treatments for autism, and is a MAPS trained provider. Dr. Bob has appeared on Dr. Oz, The Doctors, CNN, CBS Early Show, Fox Morning News, and Dr. Phil to discuss parenting advice and pediatric health issues. He is on the medical advisory board for various organizations, including La Leche League International, Talk About Curing Autism, Autism Care and Treatment Today, SafeMinds, and Kaplan University Department of Health Sciences. He is the proud father of three boys, ages 21, 18, and 12, and lives with his wife and kids in Dana Point, CA..

Dr. Katherine Reid
Katherine Reid, PhD, is a biochemist that started her career in biotechnology developing protein therapeutics for treating cancer. After 15 years in biotechnology and medical diagnostics, Katherine was presented with her biggest scientific challenge when her youngest child was diagnosed with autism. She discovered through her own scientific journey that she could manage her daughter’s autistic symptoms by modifying the family’s diet. Through word of mouth, she realized that a similar approach to diet that worked for her daughter also worked for many chronic illnesses and learning disabilities plaguing others. Katherine Reid started a nonprofit, Unblind My Mind, focused on raising awareness of the links between our food and chronic illnesses, like autism. Seeing the profound effect of diet on health, she has become a provocateur questioning food manufacturing and labeling practices as it relates to our health. She has been asked to speak to the National Institute of Health, The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) on the issue of labeling MSG in food. Unblind My Mind helps families and individuals define food that promotes balanced metabolism for the whole body and human ecosystem. Some of the recent press about Unblind My Mind includes: SF Chronicle, Fox News, NY Daily News,KFIAM 640 Radio, and Talk 910AM Radio. Katherine received her B.A. in Chemistry from Wells College and PhD in Biochemistry from UCSC.

Tom Malterre
Tom Malterre MS, CN achieved both his Bachelors and Masters degrees in nutritional Sciences from Bastyr University and is the co-owner of Whole Life Nutrition. Together with his wife Alissa, he has authored the Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook, and Nourishing Meals. For seven years, Tom served as a Medical Affairs Member at Thorne Research and lectured extensively to physicians across the US and Canada. As a an advanced trained Functional Medicine trained practitioner, Tom has taught hundreds of clinicians how to apply alternative and Functional Medicine principals in their clinical practices. He is currently a faculty member of the Autism Research Institute, and loves to spend time teaching his five children about the beauty and science of nature
