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Cynthia Sass, MPH, MA, RDN, CSSD

Nutrition Science Advisor · Love.Life

Nutrition science advisor with plant-based, sports, nutrigenomics, media, and bestselling-author depth

Metabolic HealthPerformance & RecoveryGI & Gut HealthEnglish
Cynthia Sass, MPH, MA, RDN, CSSD portrait

About

Cynthia Sass is Love.Life's Nutrition Science Advisor, supporting the nutrition science, culinary, and personalized-plan side of the model. She is an RDN, CSSD, Certified Plant Based Professional Cook, three-time New York Times bestselling author, and longtime media nutrition voice. Her background spans Syracuse nutrition training, an MPH from the University of South Florida, professional sports consulting, the UCLA Executive Health Program, Sass Consulting Services, and more than a decade as contributing nutrition editor at Health magazine.

What to Know

Signature approach

Sass brings three lenses into Love.Life: plant-based nutrition, sports performance, and nutrigenomics. The practical value is translation, turning evidence, genetic context, and performance goals into meals, recipes, and patterns a patient can actually follow.

What sets them apart

  • Early CSSD specialist. She was among the first registered dietitians to earn the sports-dietetics specialty credential.
  • Plant-based culinary training. She can connect nutrition science to practical cooking, not just macro targets.
  • Major public educator. Bestselling books, national media work, and pro-sports consulting give her unusual reach for a clinic advisor.
  • Executive-health relevance. Her UCLA Executive Health Program work aligns directly with Love.Life's high-performance audience.

Before You Book

  • Advisor role. Routine member nutrition is more likely to run through Emily Mitchell and the care team.
  • Care focus. Plant-based nutrition, performance nutrition, nutrigenomics, and culinary translation.
  • Availability. Her Love.Life role sits alongside Sass Consulting Services and other advisory work.

Expertise

Focus areas

Metabolic HealthPerformance & RecoveryGI & Gut Health

Patient types

Executives & High PerformersEndurance AthletesGeneral Adult LongevityMetabolic & Weight Management

Credentials

Education

  • BS, Dietetics

    Syracuse University

  • MA, Nutrition Science (concentration: counseling)

    Syracuse University

  • MPH, Public Health (concentration: community and family health education)

    University of South Florida

Board certifications

  • Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)

    Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (Commission on Dietetic Registration)

    The credential that legally identifies a clinically trained nutrition professional in the US - supervised practice plus a national exam plus continuing education.

  • Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD)

    Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (Commission on Dietetic Registration)

    Sports dietetics board specialty - held since 2006, when she was among the first cohort of RDNs to earn the credential.

Additional certifications

  • Certified Plant Based Professional Cook

    Rouxbe / Institute for Culinary Awakening

    Formal culinary training in plant-based cooking - useful for translating nutrition prescriptions into actual meals.

  • Personal Training Certification

    Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research

    Recognized exercise-physiology training credential - the Cooper Institute is one of the field's pioneer research bodies.

  • Mindfulness Meditation Training

    UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC)

    Formal mindfulness training - folds into how she handles eating-behavior and performance counseling.

Affiliations

Dietitian

El Segundo, CA

Thought Leadership

Books

  • Slim Down Now: Shed Pounds and Inches With Pulses - The New Superfood · HarperCollins, 2015
  • S.A.S.S! Yourself Slim: Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds and Lose Inches · HarperCollins, 2011
  • Flat Belly Diet! · Rodale, 2008
  • Flat Belly Diet! Cookbook · Rodale, 2009
  • The Ultimate Diet Log · Mariner Books
  • Your Diet is Driving Me Crazy: When Food Conflicts Get in the Way of Your Love Life · 2004

Media Appearances

  • Contributing Nutrition Editor (10+ years) · Health magazine / Health.com
  • Contributing Editor · SHAPE magazine · 2008-2012
  • Nutrition Director · Prevention magazine
  • ABC News Contributor (New York) · ABC News · 2009-2011
  • Featured guest · The Today Show
  • Featured guest · Good Morning America
  • Featured guest · The Rachael Ray Show
  • Featured guest · The Dr. Oz Show
  • Featured guest · Nightline
  • Featured guest · ABC World News Tonight
  • Yankees performance-nutrition feature · The New York Times · 2015-03-20

Notable Collaborators

  • New York Yankees (MLB) · Team nutrition consultant, 2015-2019 (5 seasons)
  • Tampa Bay Rays (MLB) · Nutrition consultant
  • Philadelphia Phillies (MLB) · Nutrition consultant (2008 World Series era)
  • Brooklyn Nets (NBA) · Nutrition consultant
  • New Orleans Pelicans (NBA) · Nutrition consultant
  • New York Rangers (NHL) · Nutrition consultant
  • San Diego Wave FC (NWSL) · Nutrition consultant
  • UCLA Executive Health Program · Nutrition consultant - 10+ years

Other specialists at Love.Life

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