What the “Nutrition Doctor” Always Has in Her Kitchen: Power 9 Interview with Dr. P.K. Newby
Dr. P.K. Newby, the “nutrition doctor,” is a nutrition scientist, gastronome, author, and adjunct associate professor at Harvard. Her new book, Food and Nutrition: What Everyone Needs to Know, addresses over 100 “need to know” nutrition topics like how what we eat affects our health and environment. We sat down for a rapid-fire Power 9 interview:
1. What are three foods you always have in the kitchen?
Beans, salad greens, and seasonal fruit from the farmers market (currently apples).
2. When or where are you the happiest?
I’m a wanderlust! I’m happiest prowling around new cities and experiencing the art, culture, and food in new places. Closer to home it’s the simple stuff, like taking long walks (or runs) with my dog. (I’m a marathoner and my pup is up to 12 miles!)
3. What is your purpose or ikigai?
My life’s purpose is to harness my passion for science and food to create a healthier and more sustainable world, in all the ways that I can, through projects that inform, inspire, and incite meaningful changes in individuals, communities, and society. And to fight anti-science with everything that I have.
4. What do you most value in your friends?
In a world with so much noise, and so little (perceived) time, the most important thing I need from the people in my life is to listen. Ultimately, we all want to be heard, and understood; that’s friendship.
5. Where would you most like to live?
I’m happy where I’m at right now … but I do fantasize about moving back to New York (I’m a New Yorker.).
6. What is the greatest love of your life?
My two great loves are science and food (My husband is pretty cool, too.).
7. What is your motto?
Life is short. Make it funny.
8. What is your greatest extravagance?
Experiences like live music, theater, and travel … and I have a weakness for luxurious hotels, when finances allow; it’s such a gift when traveling.
9. What are you most proud of?
Living through getting my doctorate at Harvard!
Dr. P.K. Newby’s new book Food and Nutrition: What Everyone Needs to Know answers common nutrition questions on themes ranging from gluten-free to Paleo, superfoods to weight loss diets, and how your “foodscape” affects how you eat. Read an excerpt from her book at Foodscape 101: How Our Food Environments Make Us Bigger and Sicker.