What is your major and minor (if applicable)?

Patel: My major is biological sciences and I am minoring in Business management

How long have you been attending NYIT?

Patel: I have been attending NYIT almost two years now.

What does nutrition mean to you?

Patel: To sum it up, I would say nutrition plays a crucial role in supporting physical, mental, and emotional well-being throughout the lifespan. I have come across many humans who are really concerned about their health and weight, they start measuring the calories of every single bite they take. Which I personally believe is not necessary because food is not something you should stress about while taking every bite. Everyone is beautiful in their own way, if you have a healthy balanced diet, then you don’t need to worry about anything. I would like to spread this quote to everyone "Eating nutritious food should be enjoyable, not stressful. When we focus too much on counting calories, we can lose sight of the pleasure and nourishment that food provides”.

Why is nutrition so important?

Patel: Good nutrition is essential for everyone because it provides the building blocks for a healthy body and mind, and can help prevent chronic diseases and improve quality of life. Personally, for me it’s like good food = good mood!

What is your favorite healthy meal or snack?

Patel: I don’t have one particular healthy meal or snack, I love everything that’s spicy and is rich in flavor. Since I am international student I do miss my mom’s cooking especially gujarati thali made by her. Basically, it includes mix vegetable called Undhiyu - This hearty salad is a traditional Gujarati cuisine baked upside-down in a clay pot (Matla) and comprises various winter vegetables such as eggplants (Brinjals) and broad beans (Surti Papdi), along with that you get “Patra” which are colocasia leaves rolled in flavorful spices (When steamed, the iron-rich Colocasia leaves become even more delightful with a smooth besan paste. These leaves are then rolled into little roundels, heated, and sliced), then there’s spicy chickpea curry with naan and gujarati flavor “kadhi” (gujarati curd curry) served with khichdi (rice and lentil porridge). All of this as one dish. As I am writing this my mouth is full with water, I might have to call my mom and cook this tonight. This is my most favorite meal as it is very rich in nutrients and delicious at the same time. 

What are your plans after graduating?

Patel: After graduating, hopefully I get into a good MD PhD program and give a huge contribution to society in the medicine field. My only mission is I don’t want any human being to live as a patient, and suffer when they are sick. We cannot control life or death but what we can control is if we want people to suffer and live as patient when they are sick. We can give them normal life where they can enjoy, smile and when death arrives at their door, they do not regret a single second of their life. Basically, in order to do that I want to research and study therapies that can help everyone get better without having any side effects and without them being in pain during and after the treatment. Hopefully, I get successful doing that and inspiring others to do the same. I will dedicate my whole life if I have to in order to achieve that.