We recently connected with Neha Shah and have shared our conversation below.
Neha, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My purpose found me the moment my own health started slipping after moving to the U.S.
Here I was — creating the American dream, still eating my good old Indian staples like rice, lentils, flatbread, yogurt, ghee… and yet, I was bloated, inflamed, and confused.
Everywhere I turned, the advice was the same:
“Stop rice.”
“Ditch dairy.”
“Quit gluten:
“Switch to quinoa, overnight oats and almond milk.”
Oh, how original. 🙄
I tried. I followed the rules. And guess what? Everything fell flat.
That’s when it hit me — it wasn’t Indian food that failed me.
It was where I was buying it from and how disconnected I had become from our ancestral wisdom.
Indian Food Science has already been discovered (or rather rebranded) by modern science — fermented foods, healthy fats, millets, spices… sound familiar?
Yep, Grandma said it first.
So I went back. Not to the Western fads, but to my rich and diverse Indic roots.
Sourcing local, clean, heritage ingredients right here in the U.S.
Bringing back cream-topped milk, freshly milled flour, and real Ayurvedic ghee.
And everything changed.
Not just for me — but now for hundreds of Indian immigrants I help every day.
My purpose?
Simple → Bridge the gap between our ancient Indian wisdom and this modern, disconnected world.
Because our food isn’t the problem.
Forgetting its power is.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
When I first arrived in the U.S., I never expected that the toughest part of my journey would be food. Almost immediately, I noticed changes in my health – I was gaining weight, feeling bloated, and dealing with mysterious gut issues I never had back in India. I soon realized I wasn’t alone.
Moving to America can turn your diet upside down. Research shows that many South Asian immigrants shift from fresh, minimally processed diets to the land of ultra-processed convenience foods, increasing their risk of weight gain and chronic disease
As a South Asian immigrant and a certified nutrition coach, I founded Diaspora Nutrition to help people like me get healthy without giving up the foods that feel like home. My work focuses on helping Indian immigrants in the U.S. reverse stubborn gut problems, balance their hormones, and calm inflammation through culturally-rooted nutrition.
The most exciting part? We achieve these health transformations while still enjoying our beloved dal, rice, rotis and ghee. By combining Indian food science with modern research, I’m proving that our traditional Indian meals can be the key to healing, not the cause of our issues.
Through my signature offering, the India-to-USA Healthy Swaps Directory, I now help Indian immigrants shortcut years of trial and error. This directory connects them directly to trusted U.S. farms and producers for fresh-milled atta, real farm milk, cultured ghee, heirloom rice, pure spices and more — so they can eat familiar foods that actually support their health.
What makes my work special is this →
I’m not here to villainize Indian food or sell another generic western diet plan.
I’m here to bring people back to the wisdom of our grandmothers, now validated by modern science, and make it work right here in America — with real ingredients that feeds your soul.
I believe eating healthy shouldn’t mean erasing your roots.
And that’s exactly the future I’m building through Diaspora Nutrition.
We recently expanded our Directory to include more local farm partnerships and non-toxic kitchenware swaps — because healthy living is more than just food, it’s the entire holistic kitchen experience.
If you’re an Indian immigrant in the U.S. wondering why your health changed and how to fix it — this is your roadmap to home, through food.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Honestly? My journey from struggling immigrant to nutrition coach and founder taught me that soft skills are sometimes your strongest skills.
If I had to pick the top three that shaped me most, it would be:
1️⃣ Curiosity (or in my case… stubborn curiosity!)
When my own health declined after moving to the U.S., I didn’t accept the common answers. “Stop Indian food. Go low-fat. Switch to oats and salads.” — None of this felt right.
I kept asking, “But WHY did Indian food never cause issues before? Why now?”
That constant questioning pushed me to dig deep into nutrition science, food systems, and ancestral wisdom. Today, curiosity still drives my work. I research sourcing, read scientific papers, and never stop learning about how to blend modern insights with cultural traditions.
Advice: Stay endlessly curious. Don’t stop at surface-level solutions — dig deeper until you find what actually aligns with your values and vision.
2️⃣ Empathy (and lived experience as my teacher)
I’m not just an expert — I’m my own client first. I’ve felt the frustration of bloating, inflammation, and food confusion. I know how hard it is when your comfort foods suddenly feel off-limits.
Empathy became my superpower because I could genuinely connect with others facing the same struggles. My coaching, my swaps library, and my content are all shaped by real understanding — not from judgment, but from walking that same path.
Advice: Let your struggles shape your service. The more you understand your people, the more powerful your solutions will be.
3️⃣ Communication and storytelling
The biggest shift happened when I realized — knowledge alone doesn’t change lives. People needed to hear the why in a way that resonates emotionally and culturally.
So I honed my voice: I started using Instagram, email, and 1:1 sessions to explain science without jargon, and make stories (like ghee’s comeback!) relatable. That’s when my brand took off — because people didn’t just learn, they felt seen.
Advice: Master communicating your mission. Teach, but also inspire. Storytelling makes your work memorable, relatable, and magnetic.
Final tip for early-stage founders:
Your lived experience + empathy + communication = your competitive advantage.
Your voice, your values, and your ability to make others feel understood is what makes your work powerful — and impactful.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
My parents rooted me in tradition — and when life abroad got tough, that’s exactly what saved me. Our foods, our rituals, our wisdom… they weren’t the problem. They became the solution. They never let me forget where I come from — and that became my anchor.
Growing up in India, my parents always rooted us in tradition. From morning chai rituals to how meals were prepared — slow, intentional, and always homemade — they modeled a relationship with food that was joyful and deeply connected to our culture.
When I moved to the U.S. and faced health struggles, that grounding pulled me back. I realized I didn’t need to abandon the foods or wisdom I grew up with to get healthy — I needed to return to them, but with better sourcing and science-backed tweaks for my new environment.
In many ways, my entire brand and work today — helping Indian immigrants heal while embracing their traditional foods — is a continuation of what my parents quietly taught me:
“Your roots are never the problem. In fact, they hold the answers.”
That is, and always will be, the most impactful gift they gave me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://diasporanutrition.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diasporanutrition/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diasporanutrition
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/usa-nri-immigrant-nutritionist-neha-shah/
Image Credits
Health Conference 2.0, IDIA USA
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
