Praises
Audra
Maxime has been an invaluable resource for me as I navigate the waters of health and nutrition. Her guidance and recommendations are always spot on! I am feeling more energized, focused and grounded with her expert teachings and recipes.
I have referred Maxime to several friends and they too are seeing immediate and lasting results in their energy, weight management, and stress reduction.
Janet
Maxime Zahra Thank you for your brilliance! I've noticed changes in just two days!
Rob
Having had some serious knee surgery last year that yielded a good amount of complications and pain, I was in need of serious help with inflammation and healing.
Maxime provided me just that by helping me get things sorted out. I am feeling much better and owe a lot of that to Maxime's VERY educated advice.
On a side note: I have experienced some bodywork as well with Maxime and can easily state that she is a truly gifted healer.
Thank you, Maxime.
J.S.
I saw Maxime at Prasad Nutrition for recovery from severe stress--adrenal fatigue and PTSD. I had been self-treating with vitamins and 5-htp, but wasn't getting over the hump and was starting to wonder if I needed anti-depressants, something I consider a last resort. I called her instead and could tell right away she knew her stuff. She was able to see what was missing, and suggested adding some additional amino acids and herbs to my regimen. She also designed a food plan for me that made sense and wasn't crazy strict.
I have no more afternoon energy slumps. I am no longer crying over nothing. I feel normal again, with my stress under control.
Maxime is extremely knowledgeable and also a wise and empathetic teacher. Highly recommended.
Karen
Maxime is a true healer! I knew that Maxime was the right person to work with from our first consultation. She is professional, knowledgeable, warm and a great listener.
I've spent the past ten years struggling with insomnia issues and bouncing around between many Western doctors that were, quite frankly, useless.
Maxime was the only person that recognized my "addiction" to overachieving and refusal to slow down was putting my health in jeopardy. She immediately recommended a very specific diet, comprehensive supplement protocol, and extensive self care routine. It wasn't a quick fix, it was a lifestyle change.
I now think more clearly, sleep better, and am more present in life. She taught me so much about how to listen to my body and not to see it as selfish for putting my needs first. I am a better parent and more effective at work now that I am able to feel my emotions, versus choosing to ignore them by being in a constant state of "busy."
Thank you Maxime!
Pam
I have been working with Maxime for a couple of years and I feel so blessed to have a wise consultant who has personal experience in the spectrum of diets from plant based to healthy omnivore. She is able to guide me by doing a thorough case history and having me provide a sample food diary that she assesses with a nutrition software program. These tools and her vast knowledge of nutrition and experience allow her to determine the best course of action for me to fine tune my body for optimal health. I like that she focuses on whole foods and herbs as the dominant "remedies," with supplements as an adjunct.
She is a warm, caring, dedicated, curious, free spirit, and fun to work with. Our first consultation was at the beach, so expect a unique experience! Highly recommend her as a doorway to the best you you can be.
Van
Maxime is a very gifted health practitioner. She takes time to get to know all your health issues and goals, and methodically plots out a plan to get you healthier. She really helped me in a couple of key areas including reducing my sugar intake and quitting smoking, which were instrumental in reversing my pre-diabetes! Cutting out sugar and not feeling deprived is possible, people!
Maxime has helped a number of other people I know too. She really cares about her clients and the work she does, and is constantly improving her craft.
I wholeheartedly recommend her for any and all health issues!
Josie
Maxime is professional, thoughtful, heartfelt, and knowledgable about nutrition, herbs, supplements, therapy practices, etc. She is able to assist and is not afraid to take risks and build community.
She is particularly good at supporting brain chemistry, mood, and a healthy diet. I recommend her to anyone who is making diet and lifestyle changes. She also leads a healing Facebook group for anyone who needs extra support!
April
Maxime is fiercely committed to uplifting the quality of life through sound nutritional science. She has the background and training to provide value and clarity at every step. I am supremely grateful for the work we did together -- to see my health dramatically improve after embracing her recommendations. She is a gifted and talented guide to health recovery. I am happy to sing her praises!
Lawrence
Maxime has a very unique program of recovery. I tell everyone I know about Prasad Nutrition. It's the best investment in your health. If you have been diagnosed with depression or anxiety, you can get some real help here without addictive medications.
When I first came to see her in San Francisco, I hadn't been able to work in ten months. I had been on a prescription tranquilizer for insomnia, and when I tried to get off of it, became very ill from the withdrawal. On top of the insomnia, I was anxious, depressed, exhausted, and had no appetite, so it was very hard to regain any energy. I had lost a lot of weight. None of the medications I was prescribed relieved my symptoms.
Maxime helped me recover from the effects of the benzos, the withdrawal, and restored my appetite. She taught me simple things to do to get the most nutrition from what I ate, so I could taste and enjoy food again. She knew exactly what I needed when no one else did, and she encouraged me to stay with the program, through all of my resistance. The nutrients she recommended helped right away with my mood and sleep, and without the side effects I had from the drugs.
I found my enthusiasm for life again. I can report that I am working and creating art once more, have regained my previous vitality, muscle tone and mental well being, as well as being free of all those toxic prescriptions. I can't recommend Prasad Nutrition highly enough.
Kate
Before working with Maxime, I was always tired and bloated after eating, my energy level was consistently low, and I had constant struggles with my bowels. I was confused with all the diets and food information out there. I was tired of trying to "figure it out." Do this, don't do that, try this, try that, etc. Maxime shared her expert knowledge to support me in finding a path with foods that work right for me. She understood I wasn't looking to go on a diet, but wanted to change my relationship with food, gain knowledge, and transform how I think about eating and what I eat.
Learning how to support my body with good food and nutrition has changed my life. I feel better, have more energy and love that I am able to make healthier choices to support my well being with food, herbs and supplements. I am grateful to say that my former issues are a thing of the past. If I do have a bit of trouble, I now know why, and what to do to get back on track. Working with Maxime has been a gift, her knowledge and support are invaluable.
Janine
Maxime created an open, non-judgmental, healing space for us to work in regarding nutrition and health.
Through Maxime's gentle guidance, I was able to learn so much about healing my body, eating really healthy, and what works for me. Maxime helped me transition from feeling unwell and extremely fatigued, to becoming energized and healthy!
She is extremely knowledgeable and insightful, and has given me tools I will use the rest of my life. I have loved working with Maxime, and will continue to do so.
Tomas
My health issues began early on when I sustained a slipped disc while serving in the military. This exacerbated the scoliosis already present in my spine. Eventually, I had back surgery to repair the slipped disc, but ever since then, there was a weakness in my lumbar spine. For the next 45 years I successfully maintained the health of my back by practicing yoga. I was fully active and would describe my general health as good to excellent. Starting in my mid-sixties (2017) I began to notice that my balance was off, my right foot was occasionally dragging, and leg spasms would disrupt my sleep at night. A compression surgery in December 2018 to remove a bone spur on my spine at first corrected the foot drag and the spasms, but as 2019 wore on, both the foot drag and the spasms got worse. By 2021, my walking was rapidly deteriorating, and I began using a cane, a staff, and even walkers to move about both inside and outside.
The medical solution for the spasms was a prescription of Gabapentin. This is a medication that works on the central nervous system, and while I slept well and didn’t wake up from the spasms while on it, I felt foggy-brained and more wobbly during the day. During the year I was on the Gapapentin, I lost 20 pounds and my weight dropped to 131, which is way too thin for someone who is just under six feet tall. In January 2024, I had a five-week bout with bronchitis and lost another seven pounds. I was literally wasting away and could barely walk, with or without a walker.
At that point, my wife (see testimonial from Alia C.) called Maxime and requested a consult. Maxime looked at me, heard and read my symptoms and paused the consultation after about 30 minutes in, posing the possibility that I might be dealing with Parkinson’s Disease, and that I should get a complete neurological evaluation before continuing our work together. My wife and I were shocked, especially when we did a quick internet search and found that I had many of the common indicators of Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Because I couldn’t get an appointment for the PD evaluation until April, I began working with Maxime in early March to see if we could manage some of my symptoms.
One of my main goals was to find an alternate solution to using Gabapentin for sleep and spasm relief. Maxime guided me through the process of fine-tuning amino acids and other supplements, and we made progress rather quickly. The spasms persisted, however, and only subsided completely when, after getting the consultation with the neurologist in April and starting the standard dopamine supplement medication for PD, I finally succeed in having restful sleep without spasms.
Maxime also brought my awareness to the foods that I was eating which increased inflammation in my body. She told me that inflammation equaled irritation (which I had plenty of) so that led to altering my diet. I had already been gluten and dairy free for a couple of years, but I was still eating a certain amount of cane sugar and drinking wine and beer about three times a week with meals. She introduced me to fish oil and within a month or so, I began to notice that I was calmer and less reactive when my usual triggers showed up.
So, getting pointed toward PD was a huge assist, as my medical providers were looking at multiple symptoms and addressing each one separately. Maxime, looking at the symptoms holistically, saw the umbrella that most of my symptoms fit under. Although it was a shock to consider PD, it was also a relief that finally there was a bigger picture forming. Getting off the Gabapentin was also huge for me. Sleeping soundly and waking up refreshed in the morning feels like a small miracle, after years of little or disrupted sleep which left me feeling ragged if I tried to go without the strong, allopathic medication.
Perhaps, most of all, I appreciate that Maxime is a trusted professional (who feels more like a friend) who is there, ready to monitor the different issues I am dealing with and reflect back to me from her holistic perspective how I can adjust my diet and/or supplementation to further improve my health. She’s willing to “tell it like she sees it” and that is probably the reason I trust her the most.
I’m really pleased with the progress I have made in these first four months. Although my weight is still low, my energy and sense of wellbeing is much stronger and I have the motivation now to keep going toward more optimal health. Gratefully, Tomas Q.
Alia
I have been a student and practitioner of nutrition for over 50 years, and have managed most of my health issues through eating well and taking nutritional supplements. Now, at 76, I am in very good health and take only one prescription medication (the lowest dose) for blood pressure. I had known, Maxime for four years in another context and was aware of her in-depth understanding of health and nutrition. So when my husband (see testimonial for Tomas Q.) became seriously ill in January of 2024, Maxime was the only person I wanted to confer with to see how we could get him back to health.
That consultation for Tomas put both of us on a nutritional journey that has been in progress for about four months now. I began by doing most of the things that Maxime suggested for him, because I recognized the value of those recommendations as a baseline for health. After about a month, I asked for my own consultation, which personalized my regimen and addressed my particular health needs: insomnia, high-ish blood pressure, low blood sugar, restless leg syndrome, and neuropathy.
I had suffered from insomnia for most of my life. With Maxime’s guidance, I have the experience of deep sleep. This has hugely improved my life and, as I am now my husband’s primary caregiver, I need my sleep even more to get through my days. Maxime has made recommendations for how to improve my blood pressure and the restless legs; I am working on both of those, aware that some things take time when going the natural way.
Maxime did not demand that I “give up” any of my old habits. I still had a penchant for whole grain bread, and was eating at least one slice a day. Then I remembered that I had once made a highly nutritious breakfast bar. I recreated that recipe to be GF and added even more nutrient-dense ingredients. After eating my first slice of that (and feeling the difference) I gave away four loaves of gourmet, glutinous bread without a second thought. Same with cane sugar. I wasn’t eating much of that, and so I had thought it couldn't possibly be an issue, but cutting it out entirely solved my low blood sugar problem of seven decades! I sometimes can’t believe that I don’t crave sweets anymore.
In closing, I want to add that I have never had an “intake” from any medical professional in my life as thorough as the one Maxime does. The paperwork looked daunting, but every question I was asked to answer provided her with data that returned to me many-fold in her ability to hone in on the specific needs of my body, mind and spirit. Her compassionate, comprehensive, holistic, and pragmatic approach, coupled with her depth of knowledge regarding symptoms, conditions, health and wholeness, impressed me deeply and is what has made it possible for me to make the adjustments (in some cases, changing habits of a lifetime) as quickly as I have. Of course, the improvements in my sleep, energy and general feeling of wellbeing are what keep me going without feeling “deprived” in any way.
Only recently, our improved health and well-being, due to your coaching, brought us through several months of being in survival mode, to a place of stability and maintenance. Our lives feel easier now and there are many moments of enjoyment and creativity.
Thank you Maxime, for sharing your knowledge and for your generous encouragement of me to implement these changes. I am so grateful.
"Thank you for your work, Maxime. It's all related, what we put in our bodies, how we think, how we feel and how we affect the world. I appreciate the reminders every day." –AE
"I used to lie awake with anxiety, finally fall asleep, then wake up anxious before 5am, my head spinning. I was also carrying extra weight, having a hard time with sugar crashes, and I couldn't focus. I've worked with Maxime for 3 months, making food and supplement changes. I am wearing a smaller pant size, feel great, have tons of energy, sleep through the night, and wake rested. Lately people have been telling me I look lighter and brighter! I couldn't have done it with out Maxime's support. If you have been considering talking to her about what you are struggling with, don't wait! This has been a major upgrade for me in my life and my work as an entrepreneur. Sleep is everything!!!" –AG