It's our pleasure to be interviewing Gita Vellanki of Neeshi and spotlighting South Asian Heritage. Gita tell us about yourself!
GV: I am a caregiver, mother and corporate operations professional who has suffered from extreme symptoms from my own menstrual cycle, and as a result, became reliant on birth control medication since I was 14 years old to control hormonal balance and reduce heavy flow and pain. However, as with most prescription drugs, birth control came with its own side effects which left me feeling worse. More recently, when my oldest daughter began to struggle with the same issue, I set out to solve this problem naturally. I started Neeshi to share the products I developed with the world.
What motivated you to start Neeshi?
GV: Our journey started as a very personal one: to help my daughter with her heavy & painful periods without the need for prescription medicine. Rooted in the principles of natural food healing and Ayurveda, we began baking these daily treats to assist in balancing her hormones. Seeing the amazing benefits, we launched Neeshi to free women from the burden of their menstrual cycle.
Neeshi means positivity, independence & self-confidence...without letting your period hold you back!
We love that your products are rooted in the Ayurvedic tradition, which is a value we share here at De Lune. What does Ayurveda mean to you?
GV: Rooted in the principles of food healing, Ayurveda leverages the natural properties of everyday pantry ingredients. When combined in the right ratios, there are many superfood ingredients that offer tremendous benefits during your period. Flax seeds, cacao, maca, and even bananas offer nourishing ingredients your body needs to balance hormones.
Why did you choose to use Ayurvedic ingredients when starting Neeshi?
GV: Noticing my daughter hugging her ibuprofen bottle, dealing with leaks and countless days of heavy flow - I had flashbacks to my miserable teenage periods. I knew exactly how she felt. My first thought was, what would my grandma do? Visiting her in India, she always had these magical ayurvedic treats she would whip up in her kitchen to heal our ailments. Given my side-effects and negative experience with birth control - persistent headaches, stomachs and other issues, I didn’t want to risk my daughters experiencing these problems. My goal was to create a solution that was as natural as possible.
Grandma would be proud! How do Neeshi products work?
GV: Neeshi helps by nourishing your body from the inside out to ease your menstrual struggles that stem from these imbalances. Our products are made from functional foods, such as flax, maca, pumpkin seeds, almonds, cacao and bananas; all of which contain essential vitamins and minerals published in medical literature to support your body’s hormonal balance. Flax seeds are high in lignans, which can aid your body in removing excess hormones from your bloodstream, while cacao is high in magnesium, easing cramps and adding nourishment. All of our recipes are optimized to address women’s menstrual health concerns. Neeshi treats are the only all natural, fresh baked solution to support hormonal balance. An all-natural and tasty solution to resolve your heavy periods & PMS naturally.
About Gita
Gita Vellanki is the founder of Neeshi. She is a caregiver, mother and corporate operations professional who has suffered from extreme symptoms from her own menstrual cycle, and as a result, became reliant on birth control medication since she was 14 years old to control hormonal balance and reduce heavy flow and pain. However, as with most prescription drugs, birth control came with its own side effects which left her feeling worse.
More recently, when her oldest daughter began to struggle with the same issue, she set out to solve this problem naturally. She started Neeshi to share the products she developed with the world.
You can find Gita and her daughter, Anjali, on Instagram @shopneeshi
