Ayumi's Journey

My first inspiration to become a nutritionist came from my own mother - much, much before other inspirations from my career as an international public servant at the United Nations where I worked for a little over 10 years. It all started when I was a child!

​

My mother, a very ordinary (yet, very extraordinary in my eyes) Japanese woman, used to love cooking for her children and husband, and was a firm believer that Food can be Medicine. She used to collect various newspaper and magazine articles on “health and foods” and would passionately experiment on those foods - trying home-made this, and home-made that (she even made miso from soybeans!). She impressively made the best use of the healthy food ingredients, which are sometimes not so palatable, turning them into simple, yet delicious recipes. She always did so with lots of love, thoughtfulness and care for her family. I remember, I used to crave for my mother’s shiso-dressing marinated warm Tokyo negi (a vegetable of onion family) topped with freshly roasted white sesame seeds, despite the fact that I used to hate negi per se for its slightly pungent aroma, as do many children in Japan. (BTW, Negi is a very healthy anti-inflammatory veggie, often used as an aromatic veggie like a leek, fennel, etc., or an herb like coriander in Mexican or Indian cuisines, or basil in Italian cuisine.)

​

Certainly, she taught me one thing. Cooking is an art which creates a sense of happiness in everyone with a little creativity and inspiration from the artist. Foods/ingredients are like paints, and the more colorful they are, the more nutritious they are, but each one of them has some unique characteristics worthy of being recognized before combining. Lastly, love is a paint brush, which enables the art to give rise to its meaning, with which the foundation for one's "wellbeing" is fortified. Through my mother, I learned that every meal I prepare, I should cook with all my heart and sense of gratitude to the Earth and to the people who were involved in each step of the food production chain. Then love and happiness will follow us, naturally. I feel I should do the same for my practice, helping one client at a time sincerely and whole-heartedly, then, peace and happiness will follow that individual and beyond! 

​​                                                                                                                              

My second inspiration came from PEOPLE across the world.

​​

I grew up in Japan and pursued further studies in the US and the Netherlands in graduate programs (MS degrees in Psychology and in Nutrition and Integrative Health in the U.S. and MS. in Public Policy and Human Development in the Netherlands). I also lived and worked in South and Central Asian countries and the Middle East, where I worked as a UN officer in my early career in the fields of development assistance and humanitarian interventions for children. During this earlier period of my life, I encountered unique vegetables, fruits, legumes and grains that are available in different parts of the world in different seasons. The exposure to these geographically diverse settings with varying climates/altitudes, foods produced and dishes created by the people from different cultures for different occasions (ranging from daily meals to religious social gathering) was truly eye opening. They were all strikingly different from what I used to be familiar with in the country where I grew up or the countries where I studied. What fascinated me the most was the fact that the people in those countries cooked (or used) those foods very “wisely” to keep themselves healthy in their own living environments. For example, in India, as the basic foundation of their cuisine, many people use “phodni”, which is nothing but a combination of multiple “anti-inflammatory spices” with some healthy fat (in moderation). This, now, makes good sense to me, once I consider the science of the bioavailability of the active compounds in the anti-inflammatory spices as well as energy-demanding climate (i.e., mostly very hot and humid) in which the Indian people have to live. (whether they have been doing so intentionally or not, this particular combination of spices not only enhances the taste, but it also maximizes the health benefits.) Working and living in 10 different countries plus traveling in more than 17 countries, gave me whole different perspectives as to the people’s relationships to foods and environments as well as the implications for their physical and psychological health. It motivated me to scientifically pursue human nutrition through a geo-cultural lens, and to explore what we can do with its knowledge to improve people's health and promote their lasting wellbeing, one individual at a time. My journey continues…