{"id":4226,"date":"2024-07-28T21:40:02","date_gmt":"2024-07-28T21:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fitadelphia.com\/?p=4226"},"modified":"2024-07-28T21:40:02","modified_gmt":"2024-07-28T21:40:02","slug":"newtopia-now-the-black-nutritionist-brings-heritage-led-eating-to-the-fore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fitadelphia.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/28\/newtopia-now-the-black-nutritionist-brings-heritage-led-eating-to-the-fore\/","title":{"rendered":"Newtopia Now: \u2018The Black Nutritionist\u2019 brings heritage-led eating to the fore"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conventional nutrition recommendations overlook marginalized communities, so K\u00e9ra Nyemb-Diop is pushing for change. Read this, then attend her keynote.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newhope.com\/author\/kelly-teal\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/eu-images.contentstack.com\/v3\/assets\/blt09e5e63517a16184\/blt405ff1f157bbe675\/64b102d39f691317737b2395\/Kelly_20Teal.jpeg?width=100&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=80&amp;disable=upscale\" alt=\"Picture of Kelly Teal\" title=\"Picture of Kelly Teal\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newhope.com\/author\/kelly-teal\">Kelly Teal<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/eu-images.contentstack.com\/v3\/assets\/blt09e5e63517a16184\/bltf18dfe38bba1f90f\/666a92da24c3b386edc8b55d\/black-nutritionist-preview-feature.png?width=1280&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=95&amp;format=jpg&amp;disable=upscale\" alt=\"Newtopia Now: \u2018The Black Nutritionist\u2019 brings heritage-led eating to the fore\" title=\"Newtopia Now: \u2018The Black Nutritionist\u2019 brings heritage-led eating to the fore\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Canva<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/sharing\/share-offsite\/?url=https:\/\/www.newhope.com\/newtopia-now\/newtopia-now-the-black-nutritionist-brings-heritage-led-eating-to-the-fore\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.newhope.com\/newtopia-now\/newtopia-now-the-black-nutritionist-brings-heritage-led-eating-to-the-fore\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https:\/\/www.newhope.com\/newtopia-now\/newtopia-now-the-black-nutritionist-brings-heritage-led-eating-to-the-fore\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">At a Glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">K\u00e9ra Nyemb-Diop, who bills herself as The Black Nutritionist, was raised in a Caribbean-African family.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Nyemb-Diop\u2019s perspectives and training allow her to help underrepresented people honor their heritage and eat authentically.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nutrition world overlooks Black and other marginalized communities, and it\u2019s time for recommendations to reflect the value of cultural foods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s the main message K\u00e9ra Nyemb-Diop, who bills herself as The Black Nutritionist, will impart at Newtopia Now during her keynote,&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/app.swapcard.com\/event\/newtopia-now-2024\/planning\/UGxhbm5pbmdfMTkyMDk5NA==\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Decolonize Your Plate: A Scientific Journey to Personalized Wellness With \u201cThe Black Nutritionist.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Raised in a Caribbean-African family and trained in France, Nyemb-Diop harbors deep experience around the \u201cbig gap between what I grew up eating and what I love eating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In other words, rather than continuing to take conventional nutritional wisdom to heart, advice that does not necessarily apply across cultural borders, Nyemb-Diop now taps into her own heritage\u2014which, she says, \u201cI have for a long time hidden\u201d\u2014to shape more personalized recommendations for her clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/eu-images.contentstack.com\/v3\/assets\/blt09e5e63517a16184\/blt9c239c71843989f7\/666a92f3dcc15c9b04f08076\/k%C3%A9ra-nyemb-diop-newtopia-pull-quote.png?width=700&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=80&amp;disable=upscale\" alt=\"\u201cEveryone deserves to feel represented and included in the food products we offer to them, the recommendation we offer to them.\u201d \u2014 K\u00e9ra Nyemb-Diop \"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">K\u00e9ra Nyemb-Diop, The Black Nutritionist, speaks at Newtopia Now on Aug. 26 at the Denver Convention Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI thought that that part of me didn&#8217;t belong in the nutrition field, and the more I actually tap into that cultural heritage, and the more I am my whole self, the more I&#8217;m actually able to help more people and have better ideas,\u201d says Nyemb-Diop, who officially embarked on her journey as The Black Nutritionist in 2020. She holds a master\u2019s degree in food science from Universit\u00e9 de Rennes and a doctorate in nutrition from L&#8217;Institut Agro Rennes-Angers, both in France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Related:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newhope.com\/newtopia-now\/newtopia-now-explained-join-us-live-\">Watch on demand: Newtopia Now, explained!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI really try to blend my academic expertise with my cultural heritage,\u201d she says, to achieve the goal of helping people \u201cimprove their eating habits in a way that will align with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As part of that line of thinking, Nyemb-Diop will address at Newtopia Now how current nutrition guidelines are lacking when it comes to the demographics she serves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMaybe the way a thing has always been done is not the best,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Black women, in particular, face \u201cunique challenges,\u201d per Nyemb-Diop, and she hopes the natural and organic CPG founders and other suppliers at Newtopia Now absorb that reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen you look at mainstream nutrition guidelines that define healthy eating by white standards, it leads us to believe that that our cultural foods and body are inherently unhealthy,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That, coupled with the food insecurity issues among marginalized communities, translates into \u201ca lot of guilt and shame\u201d that lays the blame for any struggles on Black women themselves, Nyemb-Diop says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe recommendations and the narrative around health are really focused on individual effort and do not recognize the systemic and community impact. It creates a lot of guilt and shame. It creates difficulties to adhere to the recommendation, and so people end up feeling that they are wrong, and that there is a problem with them, and so they need to change their own bodies instead of understanding that they have options,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Related:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newhope.com\/newtopia-now\/boost-natural-organic-business-network-newtopia-now-agenda-highlights\">Boost your business and network: Newtopia Now agenda highlights<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those options usually mean looking for the variety of foods outside of typical American- or European-centric diets, says Nyemb-Diop. Think Caribbean Jerk spice, for example, as well as rice and curries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are so many flavors we could tap into, but they\u2019re never represented or when they are, they\u2019re going to be only the most indulgent food.\u201d And instead of just seeing vegetables as a side dish, consider that they deliver the same benefits when included in sauces and smoothies while, at the same time, honoring heritage-led ways of eating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s understanding that they have an asset in their culture,\u201d Nyemb-Diop says. \u201cKnowing that variety is actually one of the biggest pillars in nutrition, you have an asset.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That reality also helps erase damaging scarcity mindset, she adds, or that inherent hesitation to go beyond the bounds of \u201cI can only eat this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAny prescriptive recommendation is wrong,\u201d Nyemb-Diop says. So, too, is the insistence that people should never eat processed food and always choose organic. Those attitudes, Nyemb-Diop says, are elitist and harmful, largely due to issues of affordability and accessibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To be sure, Nyemb-Diop\u2019s unique perspectives and academic training give her the tools to help people from a range of often marginalized backgrounds view and consume food more authentically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[A] lot of people I work with are first generation, meaning our parents were not born here, but we are born here,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd so, we are really always at the interface of our parents\u2019 culture and the country we live in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That intersection provides the basis for expanding personal definitions of healthy diet and nutrition, and it delivers welcome relief to Nyemb-Diop\u2019s clients, all of whom have tried multiple ways of eating and found them wanting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s really important to question the way we do things,\u201d Nyemb-Diop says. \u201cEveryone deserves to feel represented and included in the food products we offer to them, the recommendation we offer to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Join K\u00e9ra Nyemb-Diop at 12:15 p.m., Monday, Aug. 26, at 12:15 p.m. on the Represent stage for her keynote,&nbsp;<\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/app.swapcard.com\/event\/newtopia-now-2024\/planning\/UGxhbm5pbmdfMTkyMDk5NA==\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Decolonize Your Plate:<\/a><em>&nbsp;A Scientific Journey to Personalized Wellness with \u201cThe Black Nutritionist.\u201d For more information and to register, visit the&nbsp;<\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newtopianow.com\/en\/home.html\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Newtopia Now website<\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Conventional nutrition recommendations overlook marginalized communities, so K\u00e9ra Nyemb-Diop is pushing for change. Read this, then attend her keynote. Kelly Teal Canva At a Glance The nutrition world overlooks Black and other marginalized communities, and it\u2019s time for recommendations to reflect the value of cultural foods. That\u2019s the main message K\u00e9ra Nyemb-Diop, who bills herself<\/p>\n<div class=\"more-link\">\n\t\t\t\t <a href=\"https:\/\/fitadelphia.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/28\/newtopia-now-the-black-nutritionist-brings-heritage-led-eating-to-the-fore\/\" class=\"theme-btn theme-btn-line hvr-bounce-to-right\">Read more<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[408],"tags":[936,935,933,934],"class_list":["post-4226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet","tag-african-food","tag-caribbean-food","tag-cultural-foods","tag-the-black-nutritionist"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fitadelphia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fitadelphia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fitadelphia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fitadelphia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fitadelphia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4226"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fitadelphia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4227,"href":"https:\/\/fitadelphia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4226\/revisions\/4227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fitadelphia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fitadelphia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fitadelphia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}