Amy Golumbia, founder of supplement brand Goodphyte, is using science to unlock better lives for people around the world.

When talking with Amy Golumbia, founder of Goodphyte, I understood two things clearly. First, she founded her business out of hard work and passion. Second, it’s a business that is making a profound impact on people’s lives.

With a vision to be a catalyst for improved global nutrition and immune health and a mission to “unlock the benefits of nutrient absorption and strengthen human potential,” Goodphyte offers a range of supplements that help your body gain access to micronutrients it needs by helping to break down something called phytate.

To understand exactly what phytate is and the science behind Goodphyte, it’s best to hear from Golumbia herself.

“Phytate is the anti-nutrient in beans, grains, nuts and seeds, and any foods made from those, like cereal, pasta and pizza. It’s an anti-nutrient that binds to zinc, iron, calcium and magnesium in your gut and prevents you from being able to absorb them. It also affects the way you use protein,” she says. “Our product is an enzyme that breaks down that anti-nutrient and makes all those other nutrients available. So rather than just eating food, this helps you absorb it.”

“THE END GOAL IS THAT WE WANT TO MAKE A DENT IN MALNUTRITION AND HIDDEN HUNGER AND REALLY IMPACT THAT, ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN.”

As someone who studied nursing at the University of Alberta, has worked as a holistic nutritionist and was the CEO and national race director of 5Peaks, which promotes Canada’s trail-running community, Golumbia has always been surrounded by health and wellness. In 2008, when she was researching phytate, the “aha!” moment struck, and the wheels for Goodphyte started turning.

After diving into more research, specifically about how phytase, which helps to break down phytate, could help with HIV, and speaking with as many doctors, immunologists and professionals as she could, she built a case but became discouraged, not knowing what to do with it or how to keep it funded. In 2019, a year after her son was born, she felt her idea was something she needed to act on.

“I couldn’t know this information and how many people it could help and not bring it forward,” she says. “There are two and a half to three billion people worldwide suffering from hidden hunger and malnutrition.”

In 2021, she sold 5Peaks to fully dedicate herself to Goodphyte. It started to take off, and began attracting scientific advisors and, as soon as they brought it to market, she started receiving letters from people with autoimmune diseases saying their symptoms had gone away.

“That wasn’t our intention at the beginning,” Golumbia says. “It was knowing there was something big here, but not knowing how it could impact autoimmune disease. That was a complete surprise. There were people with inflammatory bowel disease whose flare-ups just stopped. Some have gone into remission, and some have no disease left in their body.”

One person whose life has been changed by Goodphyte is Mathew Embry, a filmmaker and founder of MS Hope, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1995 and today is symptom- free. After Golumbia was told about Embry and his work she reached out, and they met. Today, Embry doesn’t just talk about Goodphyte on social media but has also included it to his daily supplement regimen.

“We did a mini-interview and after that he said, ‘This is something I have to try,’” Golumbia says. “He tried it, and results hit him on day two. He had incredible results. He’s very strict with his diet but had a huge boost in energy and strength. No more brain fog. He was sleeping better and had this sense of elation and hope.”

Looking to the future, Golumbia tells us other product ideas in their pipeline would be beneficial to people’s health and that she’s constantly driven by curiosity.

While we’ll have to wait to see what exactly those are, it seems like the best is yet to come. accomplishment, she says. “But it’s in progress. The end goal is that we want to make a dent in malnutrition and hidden hunger and really impact that, especially for women and children. There are so many children under the age of five who die every year because of malnutrition. I hope that I can have a big impact in that area, look back and say, ‘That was my biggest accomplishment.’”

goodphyte.com
@jointhegoodphyte

INTERVIEW BY MARC CASTALDO