Tamar Samuels
Tamar Samuels is a Registered Dietitian, Nutritionist and the Co-Founder of Culina Health. She utilizes a unique and holistic approach to healthcare that integrates functional medicine, positive psychology, and behavioral change techniques pulled from her training in clinical nutrition and coaching science. Tamar has her Masters in Clinical Nutrition from New York University, and is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach through the National Board of Medical Examiners. In this IG Live Recap, Tamar discusses why she co-created Culina Health, misguided nutrition information online, and some of her tips and tricks to stay healthy!
What is Culina Health?
Culina Health is a personalized nutrition platform backed by registered dietitians to help individuals best understand how to fuel a satisfying and well balanced life. Tamar feels that health is very intimate and therefore, wanted people to feel like they had a safe and comfortable space to talk about their health.
The platform was originally created because both Tamar and her co-founder, Vanessa Rissetto, felt that there was a huge gap in the nutrition space of scientifically-backed, personalized nutrition care. “Everyone is confused about nutrition advice,” Tamar stated. She went on to explain that much of the information we’re fed on the internet is unreliable or unrealistic. Because nutrition information is accessible to everyone online, many individuals believe they can figure it out on their own and end up getting into a cycle of misinformation, frustration, guilt, and shame. This is because the information out there is not personalized to you, the reader. Culina Health, on the other hand, delivers personalized care that touches on all of the facets of what it means to feel and be healthy.
Culina Health was created to be able to support individuals in achieving their goals. “It’s about you and what you want to do,” Tamar explained. “You tell me what your goals are and I’m here to give you all of the resources, tools, and support that you need to get there.” Culina supports their patients in understanding their relationship with food and how other factors, such as stress, impact their nutrition. You can use Culina Health on an as needed basis, whether that's just a few sessions or for years on end. You are able to customize a plan based on what works for you.
Why it Works:
“It’s not always about weight loss here,” Tamar told us. “It’s about us finding a plan that works for your own lifestyle, supports your health, and makes you feel good.” Culina has a team of nearly 30 registered dietitians who have different counseling styles and specialities. They specialize in everything from weight management, to perinatal health, autoimmune conditions, hormone conditions, cardiovascular disease, and more. Tamar felt it was important for Culina to have practitioners with diverse skill sets and counseling styles, as some patients need more tough love, while others thrive with more gentle support. She is confident that by educating and empowering her patients, they will be much more likely to make changes.
Our founder, Rachel, has been working with a registered dietician (RD) at Culina for the past few months and has loved her experience thus far. Rachel feels that her RD has been amazing at helping her figure out what type of foods work best for her body, as well as switching up her routine. For Rachel, that meant adding a built-in 2 p.m. meal to her routine so that she is not starving by dinner.
The best part is… Culina Health accepts insurance! They are passionate about making sure nutrition care and support is accessible to everyone. Additionally, they are a Telehealth company, making it even easier to access.
Tamar’s Tips:
“Make sure that you are eating and do not skip meals! It is so important for you to fuel yourself appropriately and if you are not doing that, it will throw off a number of things in your body,” she stated. Her #1 tip is to ensure you are eating three structured meals each day that are balanced with protein and fiber. Every 3-4 hours, she suggests adding in a snack or two depending on what one’s goals and body size are. She believes that if you do that, you will likely see and feel significant changes in your energy levels, mental clarity, hormone balance, the list goes on.
She feels that it is not just about the food you consume, it’s about behavior. In order for people to be successful, they need very clear goals. Therefore, under Culina, you work with your RD to come up with clear, time-bound goals that feel good and look realistic to you. You revisit the goals each week and reassess from there.
Culina is generously waiving the $99 onboarding fee (!) for ah.mi's Le Health Club members*. If you are interested in booking a free discovery call to learn more, click below and we will connect you directly to Tamar, who said she will take special care of you!
*Note - The fee is specifically waived for ah.mi's Le Health Club members that do not have insurance, or who's insurance does not cover Culina Health's services (they are in-network with Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, and reimbursed by certain PPO plans - read their FAQs here).
