Bulletin
Sherry Torkos P’92
Helping People Live Well, Naturally
High school students make college and career choices for a variety
of reasons, but few make their choices based on personal adversity.
For Sherry Torkos P’92, however, years of
poor health and frustration as a teen led to interest in medicine
and a career as a holistic pharmacist.
Torkos struggled with ill health for years due to undiagnosed celiac disease, an autoimmune reaction to gluten (a protein found in most grains) that lead to malnutrition, anemia, and wasting. The disease has no drug treatment; so after being taken off gluten, Torkos added therapeutics supplements and nutrients into her diet to correct deficiencies and slowly regained health. “This is what opened my mind to the power of nutritional therapies,” said Torkos.
While her interest in natural medicine didn’t begin at her alma mater, it was certainly nourished by it. She willingly traveled from Canada to Philadelphia to avail herself of the University’s pharmacy expertise. “I was drawn to the school’s strong history and heritage and all the University offered. I got tremendous preparation for a career in pharmacy and for my board exams in both Pennsylvania and Ontario.”
After graduation, Torkos returned to Canada and began to practice pharmacy with a group of 10 doctors. “I saw that patients were more and more interested in natural medicine, coming in and asking questions about vitamins, and I recognized it as an opportunity to get involved.” She created a wellness center, offering education and guidance to her patients. She works to integrate conventional medicine with natural medicine and recommendations for lifestyle changes.
Serving as an ambassador for good health and nutrition brought Torkos opportunities to write health and nutrition articles, first in local papers, then in magazines and journals. These spring-boarded her career into media interviews on various health matters for TV affiliates in both the U.S. and Canada. And then the book publishers came calling.
Her 11th book, The Canadian Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, published by John Wiley & Son, was released in 2008. The 450-page tome took three years to write and covers vitamins, minerals, therapeutic foods, health conditions and what therapies help, dosage recommendations, and lifestyle choices. The publisher’s plan is to revise the encyclopedia every two years.
Torkos is still a practicing pharmacist, working part-time at Ridgeway IDA in Ridgeway, Ontario. She took time off to write the encyclopedia, and a Wiley request for another book may mean more time off. A perusal of her website (www.sherrytorkos.com), which contains links to her media interviews and information on her books and articles, quickly confirms how many irons Torkos has in the fire at one time. Maybe it’s handy that she married a firefighter, Rick, in 2007.
In a visit to the University last fall, Torkos was invited by Dr. Daniel Hussar to speak in his class on complementary medicine, sharing her story and experiences with the class. Thankful for all the guidance Dr. Hussar had given her during her time at USP, Torkos appreciated the opportunity to give back and to help current students find the path that’s a natural fit for them.
Visit www.sherrytorkos.com to learn more.
by Carol R. Cool