Susan Wyler, MPH, RDN, LDN

Functional Nutritionist

Susan Wyler is the Plum Spring Clinic’s functional nutritionist. A native of Connecticut and graduate of the University of Chicago, Wyler spent most of her adult life in New York City as a cookbook writer and high-end culinary editor, including a long stint as food editor of Food & Wine magazine. An assignment to write a book with the esteemed Swiss doctor Thomas Rau led her to a clinic in Switzerland where she learned about his approach to biological medicine, especially effective at treating chronic inflammatory and degenerative diseases, and the importance of the gut microbiome in the regulation of health. This new perspective of food as medicine led her back to graduate school. With a firm grounding in integrative and functional medicine, she wanted to make sure her basic knowledge of dietetics and medical nutrition therapy was robust.

Wyler obtained her Master of Public Health and Registered Dietitian certification from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the highest rated program in the country. In the course of her studies, Wyler completed internships at Durham County Public Health, which centered on diabetes self-management education; New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, which had a dedicated bariatric surgery department and an active cancer clinic; and Institut Gustave Roussy, a 10-story cancer research hospital outside of Paris. There she counseled patients and completed an observational study on nutrition and chemotherapy.

After graduation, Wyler practiced private integrative nutritional counseling for almost a decade, during which time she served on the board of both the Durham-Chapel Academy of Dietetics and Nutrition and Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine. Her integrative approach means that her approach to wellness includes not just dietary habits, but physical activity, stress, sleep patterns, and other lifestyle issues.

In addition to The Swiss Secret to Optimal Health, written with Dr. Rau, Wyler co-authored two other health books with recipes: The Acid Reflux Solution: A Cookbook and Lifestyle Guide for Healing Heartburn Naturally and The Diabetes Solution: How to Control Type 2 Diabetes and Reverse Prediabetes Using Simple Diet and Lifestyle changes with Dr. Jorge Rodriguez. She still loves to cook and considers food one of life’s greatest pleasures.