I am a board-certified pediatrician, mother, plant-based home-cook, teacher, and perpetual student. I have over two decades of experience caring for children and currently serve as an instructor for Stanford’s Healthy Living Program and oversee the nutrition curriculum for the Stanford University Pediatric Integrative Medicine Fellowship. I have received teaching awards from Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and from Stanford University School of Medicine.
In addition to my medical degree, I have a Masters in Public Health and additional training in plant-based nutrition and cooking. My growing interest in nutrition and its role in supporting the health and well being of families has lead me to understand that cooking for our families is a powerful way to not only nourish our bodies but also to nourish our spirits and our connections to one another. Through additional training and extensive research, I have come to realize that a plant-centered diet is the foundation for good health, not only for ourselves and our families but for the world at large.
On a more personal note, after living and working in Cleveland, Ohio for 15 years, my family and I moved to California in the summer of 2014. I love traveling, cooking, and having a long lunch with a good friend. I wear my heart on my sleeve, am most definitely an extrovert (though I love alone time too!), and have more books than I can manage on my bedside table. Most Sundays you can find me at our local farmer’s market in Palo Alto. It’s where I find weekly inspiration for our family meals.
EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATIONS
I am a registered dietitian, wife, mother, grandmother, and passionate lover of learning. I became a registered dietitian in 1983, adopted a plant-predominant diet in 1976, and a plant-exclusive diet in 1989. My work over the past three decades has focussed on ensuring that everyone who wishes to be plant-based can succeed brilliantly. I believe that when people adopt a plant-based diet, we all win – humans, other animals, and our precious planet.
My career began as a public health nutritionist, and I continued as a clinical nutrition specialist, nutrition consultant, and academic nutrition instructor. I became the lead dietitian in a diabetes research project in Majuro, Marshall Islands, and continue to assist in health initiatives in that country. I was also involved in a Lifestyle Medicine Demonstration in Lithuania. I am a past chair of the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and sit on the board of many plant-based health organizations.
I have had the privilege of writing a dozen vegetarian and vegan nutrition classics with close to a million copies in print, in 14 languages. In addition to Nourish (Shah and Davis, 2020), my most recent works include Kick Diabetes Essentials (Davis, 2019), The Kick Diabetes Cookbook (Davis and Melina, 2018), Becoming Vegan: Comprehensive Edition (Davis and Melina, 2014), Becoming Vegan: Express Edition (Davis and Melina, 2013), and Becoming Raw (2010). Becoming Vegan: Comprehensive and Express Editions have received several book awards, and also received a star rating by the American Library Association as the “go-to books” on plant-based nutrition. I have also co-authored several peer-reviewed articles published in medical and nutrition journals.
I have had the immense honor of being a featured speaker at medical and nutrition conferences in over 20 countries on 5 continents. In 2007, I was inducted into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame.
My personal life is filled with family, fitness, and nature. I love birds, wildflowers, and flowing streams, and to me, a perfect day is being in nature with the people I love. I have two grown children and two grandchildren. My personal and professional life goals are one in the same – to make this world a kinder, more compassionate place.
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