Like many women with fibroids, Ehime Eigbe-Akindele was presented with several options, such as surgery and hormone therapy, when she was first diagnosed. Uncomfortable with the options she was given, she instead decided to look at ways to change her nutrition, but she never could have imagined that this diagnosis would lead her toward a path in the food industry.
“I started doing some research and found that food could be a good way to change a diagnosis,” she tells Black Enterprise. “I started learning about nutrition and how our body needs the right kind of nutrition to support cell regeneration, armed with so much information, I decided to change my eating habits and adopt a healthier lifestyle.”
The link between diet and fibroids
If you want to treat or lower your fibroid risk without needing medication, changing your dieting habits is a great solution.
A balanced diet high in fiber can help balance your body’s estrogen levels by removing excess estrogen via digestion. Fiber-rich foods such as broccoli, kale and cauliflower help regulate blood sugar levels. This is an important part of maintaining hormonal balance.
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Your hormone levels can also change if the good bacteria in your gut are off balance. Probiotic-rich foods such as yogurts can help balance your hormones and lower your fibroid risk.
Taking heed of this, Eigbe-Akindele decided to make her own mark on the food industry.
RELATED: Day 1: Just Been Diagnosed with Fibroids
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Changing health one pint at a time
“…I struggled with dessert,” Eigbe-Akindele says. “I’m a big sweet tooth. I love my chocolate. I was trying to figure out how I could create a healthy dessert that fit my nutritional needs but was still great tasting.”
Her favorite childhood treat, a Greek-style yogurt by Müller, came to mind. So the Nigerian immigrant from London, Great Britain, began making yogurt in her kitchen.
“I started out using honey,” says Eigbe-Akindele, who was working at Citigroup in Dallas, Texas, where she was handling corporate loan restructuring, default banking and bankruptcy. “I would take it to work. My friends loved it and would always raid my lunch.”
“My boss [at Citigroup] kept telling me I could sell it,” Eigbe-Akindele shares. “I never considered myself an entrepreneur. I loved getting my paycheck every two weeks. My boss said it so many times, that one day I thought, ‘Let me take a chance.'”
Eigbe-Akindele was now on a newfound mission to create tasty, healthy frozen yogurts that also support the body in absorbing proper nutrients. The result of this was Sweetkiwi, which was launched in 2011 and consists of low-calorie, nutrient-dense treats that are high in protein, probiotics, fiber, and a proprietary blend of immune-boosting superfoods.
Just one pint of Eigbe-Akindele’s whipped Greek yogurt contains about 22 to 25 grams of protein, probiotics to help increase protein absorption, and prebiotic fiber to support the growth of probiotics, according to Black Enterprise.
“I learned how to make ice cream and cultured dairies at Penn State and took courses to prepare me for entrepreneurship in the food industry,” the mother of two shares.
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When choosing the ingredients for Sweetkiwi, Eigbe-Akindele chooses ones that would promote better gut health.
“The immune system is primarily in the gut and is influenced by the gut microbiome. As a result, we formulated Sweetkiwi with a holistic approach backed by clinical research and carefully selected ingredients that function better together to support gut health, wellness and nutrient absorption,” she explains.
She also decided not to add high fructose, which has been linked to several diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and liver disorders, into her products.
“Sweetkiwi Whipped Greek Yogurt is low in sugar yet tastes delicious,” Eigbe-Akindele adds. In fact, her products have no sugar alcohols and contain 50 percent to 75 percent less sugar and 50 percent to 75 percent more protein and fiber than leading ice cream brands.
“Our product strikes the delicate balance between sweet and tart, hence the name Sweetkiwi, a delicious, rare golden kiwi that offers a sweetness alongside the tart taste, which is what we created using Greek yogurt,” she says. “You get the high nutrition Greek yogurt is known for with sweetness derived from other ingredients to make a delicious, well-balanced, and nutritious frozen dessert.”
The product is something Eigbe-Akindele can vouch for herself because it changed her own health for the better.
“A year or two after making all the nutritional changes, I went back to my doctor and my fibroid was gone. She told me if she hadn’t seen the fibroid the first time, she would have thought whoever made that assessment did it wrong because it was completely gone,” she says.
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Giving back to the community and plans for expansion
Eigbe-Akindele is also committed to giving back to the community. She partners with Black Girl Ventures, where she donates her time. One percent of Sweetkiwi’s profits support the Black Girl Ventures’ programs and the entrepreneurs in their ecosystem.
“As a Black founder who has boot-strapped my business with the support of organizations dedicated to supporting Black entrepreneurs to reduce the equity gap, it was important to me to pay it forward and to ensure that the Black Founders coming after me have an easier time of it,” Eigbe-Akindele says.
“Supporting Black entrepreneurs is a passion for me because when one of us wins, we all win,” she adds. “I coach Founders who are behind me in the journey, I share knowledge and my experiences and encourage. I pour into others what was poured into me as it is my duty to pay it forward. ‘I am because we are.’”
In addition to continuing her work in the community, Eigbe-Akindele has plans to grow Sweetkiwi’s retail presence and diversify its retail channels.
Sweetkiwi is sold in approximately 2,000 retail locations, including Kroger stores, Whole Foods, Walmart, MOM’s Organic Market, and three to-go locations in Nigeria.
When to see a doctor
Many people with uterine fibroids experience no symptoms at all. However, others may experience extreme discomfort that impacts their quality of life. If you experience any of the following symptoms, you should consult with your healthcare provider:
- Heavy menstrual bleeding
- Painful periods
- Lower back pain
- Abdominal pain
- Needing to urinate frequently
- Pain during sex
- Enlarged lower abdomen
- Depression
