MEET
JESSICA DeLUISE
PA-C, CCMS
Physician Assistant, Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist, AAPA Nutrition Fellow, TV Host, On-Air Guest Expert, Emmy Award Winner
ABOUT
Jessica
Jessica DeLuise, MHS, PA-C, CCMS, is a Physician Assistant with a master’s degree in Health Science and Physician Assistant studies. She is also a Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist, TV chef, Emmy award-winning TV host, QVC on-air guest expert, wellness entrepreneur, and 2022 AAPA Nutrition Outreach Fellow.
Jessica is the founder of The Wellness Kitchenista. She believes food is fundamental to chronic disease prevention, lasting wellness, and mental health enhancement. Jessica delivers ‘easy-to-digest,’ practical information across social media, at private and corporate events, and as a valued expert on various media outlets around the country, including ABC, Fox, CBS, The Dr. Oz Show, and as the Our Place brand expert on QVC.
You can watch her Emmy award-winning show, Eat Your Way to Wellness, streaming on TubiTV.com and DBTV.TV. She recently worked with the Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council (PAHIC) on a 2023 Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Industrial Hemp Promotion Grant. In 2024, Jessica is currently in development of a new TV show, prepared food line, and an educational cookbook.
Jessica believes lifestyle and food choices can considerably impact overall wellness. Always an energetic go-getter (lovingly described by her husband as a ping-pong ball), Jessica faced many hurdles on her personal road to wellness. You can read about Jessica’s health struggles below – and how the lifestyle and dietary modifications she made now allow her to live symptom-free.
That’s why Jessica’s mission is to champion and share impactful information about the potentially life-improving benefits of food, wellness, and balance. To carry out her mission, Jessica committed to becoming well-rounded with her education and experience, which include:
Whether with patients, in front of an audience, or engaging with her social media following, Jessica demystifies food facts and science – and shares delicious meal ideas. A proud Italian-American, Jessica finds a way to bring her heritage into many of her recipes.Our
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History
Jessica’s passion for culinary medicine is rooted in her own life experience. Jessica has fond memories surrounding food and her Italian American family home. She learned treasured family traditions and culinary techniques from her mother, a Sicilian American who trained at the Culinary Institute of America and worked in food service.
Around the age of 16, Jessica began to have episodes of syncope (fainting). After seeking evaluation from healthcare providers and undergoing a variety of testing, Jessica was prescribed various medications. At this same time, Jessica began to experience symptoms of GERD (chronic acid reflux), and an endoscopy showed esophageal ulcers. She received two additional prescription medications for these diagnoses.
The dietary recommendations included eating less GERD food triggers, such as tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, citrus, coffee, and peanut butter. Many of these restricted items were what Jessica and her family ate regularly. Meal time became confusing – and she also started to experience constipation. She recalls her primary care provider recommending that she address the problem by stocking up on stool softeners and taking them as often as possible.
For years, Jessica managed her symptoms primarily with medications. When she learned about anatomy and science in college and PA school, Jessica decided to make a change. Jessica consulted with additional specialists regarding nutrition and her health, asking questions and advocating for herself. She used what she learned, began a food and lifestyle journal, and slowly implemented changes.
Jessica learned which foods triggered her symptoms – and transformed her diet. She found that many of her symptoms were markedly improved with dietary interventions and lifestyle modifications like stress management, regular exercise, and quality sleep.
While this isn’t the case for everyone, Jessica’s goal is to bring the potentially transformative benefits of food and life balance to the forefront.
Advocacy
American Heart Association (AHA) Advocate
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in both men and women. Heart disease affects Jessica’s family, which is why she advocates for patient self-awareness, mindfulness of dietary choices, and widespread CPR education. Jessica was the 2023 Philadelphia AHA’s Woman of Impact for raising the most money in support of women’s health. Jessica continues to work with the American Heart Association to raise funds and partner on educational events.
Hemp Industry Advocate
Due to its vast implications and eco-friendly attributes, Hemp is one of the Pennsylvania (PA) Foundation crops that Jessica believes will be part of its future. Hemp also has the ability to replace other commodities, such as plastic, cotton, and almonds.
In 2023, Jessica worked with the Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council (PAHIC) on a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Industrial Hemp Promotion Grant. The grant, which was for the promotion, education, and support of hemp hearts, aimed at the application of hemp in concrete, housing insulation, nutritive sources, and more. Jessica, along with a team of hemp professionals, created online content, cost models, and a cookbook. Their goal is to strengthen the crop infrastructure and build demand for Pennsylvania-based farmers and businesses.
ABOUT
Jessica
The Wellness Kitchenista, Jessica DeLuise, MHS, PA-C, CCMS, is a seasoned medical practioner, culinary medicine specialist, TV-chef and wellness entrepreneur.
Jessica’s mission is to make the road-to-wellness fun, easy to follow, budget friendly, and delicious! Jessica holds a Masters degree in Health Science from Drexel University and certification in Culinary Medicine from Tulane University’s acclaimed Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine. She has more than eleven years of clinical experience as a Physician Assistant.
Jessica’s passion for culinary medicine is rooted in her own life experience. As a teen and young adult, Jessica suffered from unexplained episodes of syncope (fainting), complex migraines, GERD, esophageal ulcers, and other intrusive health symptoms. At this time in her life, Jessica felt confused and frustrated with lack of guidance, prescription pushing, and cold bedside manner of many practitioners she visited with. As Jessica empowered herself and transformed her diet, she began to learned which foods triggered her symptoms. Now, due to her lifestyle and dietary modification, she is able to live symptom-free. While this isn’t the case for everyone, lifestyle and food, Jessica believes can have a considerable impact.
Inspired by her own experience, Jessica has made it her mission to bring to the forefront, the potentially transformative benefits of food and life balance. Whether with patients, in front of an audience, or engaging with her social media following,
Jessica can be counted on to demystify facts and science behind the food and share delicious meal ideas. Jessica is the host of “Eat Your Way to Wellness”, a cooking and lifestyle program streaming on Amazon Prime. You can also spot Jessica on one of her frequent TV appearances, include the Dr. Oz Show, Insider, Fox 29 and many others. She is a brand ambassador for several trusted national and local brands, including OXO, Calphalon, Tropical Fruit Box, Mooala, Hungry Harvest, and more.
Jessica’s social media content is relatable and easy to understand – plus, she makes everything fun! Her posts have encouraged me to try new recipes – and I’ve learned a lot about various wellness topics through the resources she recommends. I love seeing her posts and videos in my feeds!
Jennifer M.
Thank you so much for welcoming me into your kitchen. I believe that wellness shouldn’t feel overwhelming and complicated.
Whatever wellness means to you, I can’t wait to share my journey and inspire you to make the food that makes you feel your best.
COOK WELL, EAT WELL, BE WELL!
Jess
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