By Charlotte Witvoet, Contributing Writer
Chandler teen Diya Nath refuses to look back and regret the shots she didn’t take, so at only 14 years old, she is a published author and entrepreneur of a nutrition company.
Diya shares that she struggled with health problems most of her life and took the responsibility of changing that when she began writing smoothie recipes. She began extensively researching how your diet affected health. Most of us are familiar with the idea that a healthy diet leads to a healthier life, but Diya dove much deeper in the topic. She began researching how different bacteria functioned to aid in digestion and overall health. And when she found gaps in the scientific knowledge, she decided to conduct her own research on how chemicals we intake daily affect those bacteria.
She pursued the cause even further and took it upon herself to find a way to protect the microbiome in your gut. Now, she’s creating a company based on a product that adds “flavonoids” to food: a component of fruits and vegetables that aids in heart health, inflammation, the immune system, and much more. “I wanted to reach out to people like myself so that they also can reap the benefits of my experience and stay healthy,” Diya says.
Her recipe book “Healthy Habits for a Healthier You” is more than a guide to smoothie making. “Hence, I included my two years of research so that the book becomes more meaningful and informative to teens like me,” Diya explains. She hopes to encourage young people that their diets don’t have to simply be a matter of what’s put on the table, because they can all be more responsible of their own health.
Diya’s dream is to one day become a ‘culinary neurologist,’ or someone who studies the impact of food on the brain. She hopes to research what nutrients and foods truly promote health and happiness to carefully curate a menu for her own restaurant. When asked what advice she’d give to fellow young people who might want to be entrepreneurs or authors, she encourages them to work hard at anything they want to do and says, “All of this is worth it when you finally reach that goal or dream.”
Diya has a discord server for young people to be able to gain support and kindness from each other. At the end of the day, she hopes to spread the message that teens shouldn’t ignore their health and can do anything they set their mind to. She’s teaching this in the best way anyone can: by simply showing her peers that nothing is impossible. You can learn more about her book and other work at diyasworld.com.
Charlotte Witvoet is a 17-year-old high school junior who loves to write and owns her own Etsy shop.
