about kiran nigam, NTC

My goal is to help you feel better every day: stronger, healthier, happier.

I understand food to be our most ancient form of healing, medicine, and magic. Our ancestral food ways are the accumulation of thousands of years of expertise and wisdom– a gift to be utilized, not ignored. Utilizing food, plants, supplements, meditation, and lifestyle practices as medicine, I offer nutrition education and workshops and one-on-one nutrition consultations, with a special interest in supporting people struggling with chronic and persistent health conditions to feel better every day.

I am committed to a practice that is absolutely, unfalteringly welcoming of people of color, trans, gender nonconforming, and queer people, and bodies of all sizes, shapes, and abilities. I understand the traumas that can come with holding these identities and trying to navigate health care providers. I will respect your food traditions. I will respect your gender identity. I will not body shame you. I will support you in figuring out strategies that work for your ability, your body, and your reality.

Previous to Fortify, I was a founding member and worker-owner of AORTA (Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance) where I worked at local, regional, and national levels to build movements for social justice and a solidarity economy. I am currently a member of the coordinating committee for the Thursday Night People of Color Sangha at the East Bay Meditation Center, and a member of ASATA, Alliance of South Asians Taking Action.

My story

My experience living with hypermobility Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (a genetic connective tissue syndrome) is what fuels my interest in functional nutrition and has led me to voraciously study the world of complimentary medicine and healing practices. When I first went to see a nutritional therapist, I had just started a 6 week health leave from work. I felt nauseous, mildly feverish, and weak almost all the time. I had no energy. I was suffering from chronic headaches. My heart raced, my vision blurred, I would feel short of breath. I was very sensitive to chemical scents. My digestion was a mess. I could go on, but I suspect you get the picture.

I had an intuition that this was connected to me having hEDS, but I wasn’t sure how. I was unhappy with my experiences with many traditional allopathic doctors. We had little time, and I wasn’t seeing the results I needed. I didn’t feel like I even had the time to explain what was going on for me before they had to go on to the next person. I often felt dismissed. I’d be sent for more labs and tests, without needed follow up or action. I felt sick, scared, and alone.

I initially went to a nutritional therapist in the hopes that she could help me address digestive difficulties I was having. After just a few months, I experienced something that felt like a miracle. Yes, my digestion improved and my nausea subsided. But to my great surprise, so many other issues, discomforts and irritations started falling away: My energy increased. My mental fog cleared away. My long term struggles with depression and anxiety eased. I experienced my first day free from chronic joint pain, and started regularly experiencing pain-free days. I share this because it’s easy to underestimate the tremendous impact that can come from nutritional therapy.

I came to realize that I had not been properly digesting my food (and therefore absorbing nutrients)…. for years. If I had known the change that was possible with nutritional therapy, I would have started years earlier. It’s been years now. Managing my hEDS (and all the symptoms that come with it) continues to be a core organizing force in my life. However, many things have changed profoundly for me. I now expect my days to be pain-free. My energy levels are more consistent, as is my digestion. My heart rate is more steady. My chemical sensitivities and allergies have diminished significantly. And maybe most importantly, I feel empowered and able to take a role in my health and well being.

I want this for you, and I’m here to help you get it.