Kyle Dardashti tried numerous options — including pharmaceutical drugs — to treat his Crohn’s disease, which causes inflammation in the digestive tract. But none of these options worked — until his doctor recommended the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, a diet that can treat Crohn’s disease. The experience later led him to help create Los Angeles-based Heali, a food as medicine startup focused on combating chronic diseases that launched Thursday with $3 million in seed funding. .

Kyle Dardashti尝试了许多选择-包括药物-来治疗他的克罗恩病，这会导致消化道炎症。但是这些选择都没有起作用-直到他的医生推荐了特定的碳水化合物饮食，这种饮食可以治疗克罗恩病。这一经历后来使他帮助创建了位于洛杉矶的Heali，这是一家专注于打击慢性病的食品医药初创企业，周四推出了300万美元的种子资金。 .

“[My doctor] said, ‘There is a diet testing as effective as the pharmaceutical drugs that you’re on and if you’d like, you can give that path a try.’ … After about three or four months, I felt healthier than I’d ever felt. I got my life back,” Dardashti said. “Through that process, I became really fascinated with this concept of medical nutrition therapy, this idea that there are different therapeutic dietary protocols that can treat and manage different conditions.” .

“[我的医生]说，'有一种饮食测试与你所服用的药物一样有效，如果你愿意，你可以尝试这条道路。”……大约三到四个月后，我感觉比我以前感觉到的更健康，我恢复了生命，”达达什蒂说。“通过这个过程，我真的对这种医学营养治疗的概念着迷，这种想法认为有不同的治疗饮食方案可以治疗和管理不同的疾病。”。

Heali’s AI-driven app offers personalized nutrition plans for more than 200 chronic conditions, including diabetes, allergies, autoimmune issues and gastrointestinal issues. These plans take into account the user’s goals, preferences, weight, activity level and dietary restrictions. The AI models are trained to connect health conditions to certain dietary protocols beneficial to those conditions, and can evaluate whether certain foods are good, fair or bad for that condition.

Heali的AI驱动应用程序为200多种慢性病提供个性化营养计划，包括糖尿病，过敏，自身免疫问题和胃肠道问题。这些计划考虑到用户的目标，偏好，体重，活动水平和饮食限制。AI模型经过培训，可将健康状况与有益于这些状况的某些饮食方案联系起来，并可评估某些食物是否对该状况有利，公平或不利。

Users can also access nutrition studies that explain the benefits of certain foods, as well as recipes that fit their diet. .

用户还可以访问营养研究，解释某些食物的好处，以及适合他们饮食的食谱。 .

In addition, the app allows users to plan out their meals and track their progress. The app also has a scanner that can be used on items while grocery shopping. The scanner will say whether the product matches the user’s diet and will offer replacement options if it doesn’t match.

此外，该应用程序允许用户计划他们的膳食并跟踪他们的进度。该应用程序还有一个扫描仪，可用于杂货店购物时的物品。扫描仪将说明产品是否符合用户的饮食习惯，如果不匹配，将提供替代选项。

Heali is selling its app mostly to providers (including Boston Heart Diagnostics), who can recommend the app to its patients needing dietary support. It is also working with Blue Shield of California and aims to work with employers in the future, according to Dardashti. While Heali’s focus is B2B, consumers can also access the app directly.

Heali主要向供应商（包括波士顿心脏诊断公司）销售其应用程序，他们可以向需要饮食支持的患者推荐该应用程序。根据Dardashti的说法，它还与加利福尼亚州的Blue Shield合作，旨在未来与雇主合作。虽然Heali的重点是B2B，但消费者也可以直接访问该应用程序。

For the direct-to-consumer option, the app is currently free but will cost $15 a month or $75 annually down the line..

对于直接面向消费者的选项，该应用程序目前是免费的，但每月将花费15美元或每年花费75美元。。

The $3 million in seed funding was led by Astanor Ventures, which chose to invest in Heali because it is “advancing personal care by offering an accessible and affordable way for anyone, anywhere, to leverage food as medicine and achieve sustainable nutrition practices,” said George Powlick, partner of the firm, in a statement..

300万美元的种子资金由Astanor Ventures领导，Astanor Ventures选择投资Heali，因为它“通过为任何人，任何地方的人提供一种方便且经济实惠的方式来推进个人护理，以利用食品作为药物并实现可持续的营养实践，”公司合作伙伴乔治·鲍里克（George Powlick）在一份声明中说。。

With the financing, Heali is focused on commercialization and growing its customer base, Dardashti said. The company also has plans to offer health coaching and meal kit delivery options in the future.

达达什蒂说，随着融资，Heali专注于商业化和发展其客户群。该公司还计划在未来提供健康指导和餐包交付选项。

Heali has already achieved results as well. The platform received recognition from the CDC, which is given to companies that meet certain quality standards, such as using a CDC-approved curriculum. A clinical trial on patients with irritable bowel syndrome found that Heali users’ symptoms improved two times more than those who didn’t use Heali.

Heali也已经取得了成果。该平台获得了CDC的认可，CDC授予符合某些质量标准的公司，例如使用CDC批准的课程。一项针对肠易激综合征患者的临床试验发现，Heali使用者的症状比不使用Heali的患者改善了两倍。

Symptoms of IBS include abdominal pain and cramping, diarrhea and bloating. .

IBS的症状包括腹痛和痉挛，腹泻和腹胀。 .

The food as medicine movement has been rising in popularity recently, leading many companies to enter the space. Another company is Season Health, which offers clinical nutrition care, meal recommendations, education and food delivery. NourishedRx is also a food as medicine company and offers medically-tailored meals, grocery support and diet education..

食品作为医药运动最近越来越受欢迎，导致许多公司进入太空。另一家公司是季节健康，提供临床营养护理，膳食建议，教育和食物输送。NutrishedRx也是一家食品医药公司，提供量身定制的餐点，杂货店支持和饮食教育。。

In launching Heali, Dardashti said he ultimately aims to live in a world where “food isn’t an afterthought” and is a key part of treatment for patients.

Dardashti在发起Heali时表示，他最终的目标是生活在一个“食物不是事后考虑”的世界中，并且是患者治疗的关键部分。

Photo: fcafotodigital, Getty Images

照片：fcafotodigital，Getty图片

Promoted

促进

Heard at HLTH: PurpleLab

在HLTH听到：PurpleLab

CEO Mark Brosso of PurpleLab talks about how the company specializes in gathering real world data and the steps taken to gather the correct data from disparate sources.

PurpleLab的首席执行官Mark Brosso谈到该公司如何专门收集现实世界的数据以及从不同来源收集正确数据所采取的步骤。

PurpleLab and MedCity News

PurpleLab和MedCity新闻

Promoted

促进

Heard at HLTH: Davita

在HLTH听到：达维塔

CEO of Davita Health, Javier Rodriquez talks about the importance value-based-care brings to its kidney patients He also discusses the company’s launch of the 2023 Davita Health Tour to help provide better health equity and community outreach.

Javier Rodriquez的Davita Health首席执行官谈到了基于价值的护理对肾病患者的重要性。他还讨论了该公司推出的2023年Davita健康之旅，以帮助提供更好的健康公平和社区外展。

Davita and MedCity News

Davita和MedCity新闻

Heard at HLTH: PurpleLab

在HLTH听到：PurpleLab

CEO Mark Brosso of PurpleLab talks about how the company specializes in gathering real world data and the steps taken to gather the correct data from disparate sources.

PurpleLab的首席执行官Mark Brosso谈到该公司如何专门收集现实世界的数据以及从不同来源收集正确数据所采取的步骤。

PurpleLab and MedCity News

PurpleLab和MedCity新闻

Heard at HLTH: Davita

在HLTH听到：达维塔

CEO of Davita Health, Javier Rodriquez talks about the importance value-based-care brings to its kidney patients He also discusses the company’s launch of the 2023 Davita Health Tour to help provide better health equity and community outreach.

Javier Rodriquez的Davita Health首席执行官谈到了基于价值的护理对肾病患者的重要性。他还讨论了该公司推出的2023年Davita健康之旅，以帮助提供更好的健康公平和社区外展。

Davita and MedCity News

Davita和MedCity新闻