We were lucky to catch up with Maria Jose Hummel recently and have shared our conversation below.
Maria Jose, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
Yes, there was. When my daughter was diagnosed Crohn’s disease at the age of 9, I decided to investigate the causes of this condition and what could be done to improve it. The medical field did not provide any answers. The gastroenterologist said the condition did not have anything to do with what she ate, and there was nothing we could do to change the course of the disease. But as I read more and more, I found different information. I decided to take a small risk and delay giving her the prescription for a little while. I tried a nutritional and lifestyle approach first, and it worked. Her symptoms resolved quickly and never came back. This was a defining moment for me and change the course of my career and my life. I went from being an engineer to being a nutritionist and health educator and never looked back.
Maria Jose, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am currently the program coordinator for Eat for the Earth, which is a non-profit organization in Santa Cruz, California. The program I am responsible for is Salud en Tu Plato, which is a 10-day plant-based nutrition intervention program primarily geared toward the most marginalized and underserved communities in our county, which in our case are Spanish-speaking, low-income, working-class Hispanic/Latinos. Our program provides biometric testing, nutrition education and mentoring and support.
We have seen amazing outcomes and transformations through this program. We typically see significant decreases in LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol and fasting glucose. Some of our participants have achieved complete reversal of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension.
My role was to help customize the program to our target population, help find community partners that we can work with to make the program flourish, do the education and mentoring part for our participants, and coordinate the medical aspects of the program. I also helped to organize the first Food as Medicine conference in our area, which was designed for physicians and other healthcare providers to learn about the benefits of a plant-based diet for the improvement and reversal of chronic conditions. After this conference, we have seen an increase in interest in our program from local healthcare providers, so our next goal is to scale up and expand our reach so we can help more individuals to improve their health.
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
If I could go back I would probably choose to go into my profession sooner. I consider myself a lifelong learner and I do not regret getting my bachelors degree in engineering and then getting into health later, but I think if I had to do it over again I would do it differently. I would probably be a Physician’s Assistant AND a nutritionist.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
Humility. I think it is important to recognize that we don’t always know better, that we can be wrong. Science is always in a state of flux, and real scientists are always willing to admit it. It is the same with health. We need to be flexible and willing to learn. We also need to learn from the people we are trying to help, allow them to be the experts of their own experience, and guide them to make the best choices they can, instead of paternalistically telling them what to do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.healthfortoday.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjhummel_phd/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariajose.jaureguihummel/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-jose-hummel-phd-mph-ms-dipaclm-9bab289/
Image Credits
JUAN AVILA PHOTOGRAPHY LLC