In this issue of The Vulture Chronicles, I circle with Annika Ek; a healer, weaver, and warrior whose work unravels the diet loops we inherit and rewinds us back to our own wisdom. From loon calls that dive beneath the surface to yarn spun into cardigans and soul patterns, Annika shows us how creativity and vitality come alive when we stitch body, mind, and spirit back together.

Barbara:

Welcome to the High Perch, where we look for the hidden patterns that help creativity and life flourish. Just as vultures transform scraps into sustenance, our stories reveal resilience and wisdom in unlikely places. Today we’re speaking with Annika Ek, RHN, evolutionary nutritionist and genetics guide who helps people decode their DNA and reconnect with timeless wisdom. Annika, welcome. Can you begin by giving us a little background about you and what it is that you’re creating?

Annika Ek:

I’m an evolutionary nutritionist. I’ve been a registered holistic nutritionist for over 25 years, though it wasn’t my first career. Like many holistic practitioners, I was prompted by my own and family members’ health challenges to take ownership and go deeper. Working with clients and navigating my health, I went beyond the plate, above the plate, and below the plate. Nutrition became whole-person care; body, mind, and soul.

People often find me through the body door. They feel inflamed, tired, achy, or they’ve just been told they are pre-diabetic. Or they’re in a life transition. I’ve done a lot with anti-inflammatory eating, cooking, and living because that is where physiology and food meet. Still, knowing what to do and doing it are different. I realized mindset and self-knowing are essential. So I began working with the autonomic nervous system because it’s hard to care for ourselves at a higher level when we’re in fight or flight.

My tools evolved. Today I use two powerful ones. First, integrative genetics: I can peek behind the curtain at key metabolic genes so people can be done with one-size-fits-all diets and finally feed their body according to their genetics. We look at protein needs, carb sensitivity, saturated fat tolerance, and more. The second is evolutionary astrology. It’s not fortune-telling. It is about empowerment and free choice. It offers another peek behind the curtain, into personality and soul patterns, so we can see the habits to break on our evolutionary path.

Put together, these tools offer deep self-knowing so we can live lives that are fun, healthy, meaningful, and impactful. We live in a time that asks us to step up. Most of my clients are women in their 40s through late 70s. The Dalai Lama is often quoted as saying the world will be saved by Western women. I find myself working with those women, as long as we refuse the patriarchal script that tells us to blend into the wallpaper after menopause. That is exactly when we become more powerful.

Barbara:

Fantastic. So many things you’ve shared feel relatable, the loops, why something works for someone else and not for me, the refusal to fade into the wallpaper. Thank you. Let’s warm up with a few playful questions, then follow our usual Vulture Chronicles arc. If your creative process had an animal guide or spirit creature, what would it be?

Annika:

The loon. As a kid at lakeside cottages, I listened for its call, elusive, present, and then suddenly diving deep. That feels like my process. The loon has appeared to me at different times. It is mysterious and guiding.

Barbara:

What’s something you never expected to get away with?

Annika:

Letting my heart lead. I’ve changed careers and even countries. My first degree in Sweden was in economics, and I loved environmental economics before it was common. I can be analytical, but I don’t let my head lead. Following my heart meant letting go of things I had invested time and money in, trusting it would come full circle. And it has. When I talk about impact now, I see how the people I empower may create environmental and social benefits far beyond what I could have planned.

Barbara:

I love the power of shedding what no longer fits to make space for what’s next. What’s a piece of advice you love ignoring?

Annika:

“Exercise.” The word itself never worked for me. I prefer “movement,” especially when I’m doing something; gardening, hiking, being in nature. Some people find movement easy and food hard. For me, food came more naturally. Language matters. Calling it “movement” removes resistance and helps me actually do it.

Barbara:

Tell me about a time a project felt like a disaster and turned into something great.

Annika:

During a truly difficult season about eight or nine years ago, I became quite ill and had to leave the clinic where I practiced. For the first time, I stopped doing. Out of curiosity, I signed up for a weekend workshop and found evolutionary astrology through a teacher who emphasized empowerment, not prediction. What began as a low point became a core part of my work.

Barbara:

What’s something you let die, in a good way, to make space for something better?

Annika:

That same period helped me recognize I had lost the fire for the way I used to practice. I’d been focused on anti-inflammatory work and would accept anyone, including people who wanted to be “fixed.” That dynamic drained me. I let that version of my work die. I had always studied consciousness quietly and used it with some clients. When the flame returned, it burned differently. I knew I had to include wisdom alongside health and then impact. That is how Evolutionary Nutrition was born. It is work I can see myself doing into my eighties.

Barbara:

Time to scavenge for the unexpected. What’s the weirdest inspiration you’ve pulled into your work?

Annika:

I’m an Aquarius, so weirdness is part of the package. Around that same stepping-back time, I studied shamanic traditions and became a mesa carrier. I start many days with sage, drumming, or flute. I make mallets. To others that might seem unusual, but curiosity is my oxygen. The “weird” slowly and appropriately finds its way into my work.

Barbara:

If you could scavenge a skill, talent, or idea from anyone, what would you grab?

Annika:

Consistent marketing. Doing the work and studying comes naturally. Sharing it publicly is the stretch. When people hear about my approach, it resonates. I’m learning to get the word out with more regular videos and messages.

Barbara:

Where do you feel most creative outside of work?

Annika:

Knitting. I did it as a kid and picked it up again during that pause. I often knit in the mornings. The repetitive motion settles the nervous system. It connects me to a long lineage of women who sneaked creativity into functional work. I also cook and garden. Cooking is a wisdom practice for me. Chop, chop, chop, rhythm, beauty, and nourishment.

Barbara:

Do you have a go-to knitting project?

Annika:

Lots of cardigans and wraps. Socks, hats, mitts, scarves. I love good yarn, clear patterns, and learning something new each time. The detail and the hands-on process are food for my soul.

Barbara:

Coming in for a landing. If you could leave a feather or small gift for future creators, what would it be?

Annika:

The reminder that we grow more powerful as we age. Refuse the wallpaper. We keep evolving through our forties, fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties. I don’t like the word “retirement.” Keep going on purpose, with your best health and growing what I call inner agency: the capacity to do what you want in the moment. Connect with purpose, expand your social circles, and have impact. Start by knowing yourself more deeply, and never assume you’ve finished that work.

Barbara:

What is something delightfully unhinged about your creative process that you hope never changes?

Annika:

Using my hands. I recently saw a headline about Viking women as healers, weavers, and warriors. I’m Swedish, a healer, and a weaver of fiber and meaning. The warrior shows up as fierce devotion to women’s empowerment. We are battling old stories. Call it wisdom rather than dogma. Build a direct connection to the universe or creator by any name. Do it your way. The women who walk this path feel alive, and that aliveness is contagious.

Barbara:

Beautiful. Anything else you want readers to know or how they can work with you?

Annika:

Don’t wait. The more scientific side of my work, genetics, longevity, epigenetics, responds best the earlier we begin, though it’s never too late to start. Be curious. If you think in terms of an eighty- to ninety-year lifespan, many of us are in the second half. Let that be positive urgency. Make these years count. I write a newsletter called Moon & Molecule near the new and full moons. I’m also creating a video series that explains my approach. You can find me at trulyu.com and the Moon & Molecule page at trulyu.com/moon-molecule.

Barbara:

I’m a subscriber. I really enjoy it.

Creation isn’t clean. It’s a glorious scavenger hunt and today, Annika Ek showed us how the stories coded in our genes and the food on our plates can become tools for growth, balance, and evolution. Stay sharp. Stay weird. Keep circling. Until next time on The Vulture Chronicles.

Learn more about Annika

Want to explore Annika’s work?
Annika Ek, RHN, is the creator of Evolutionary Nutrition, blending integrative genetics, nervous-system work, and evolutionary astrology to help women build health, inner agency, and impact. Subscribe to her twice-monthly letter Moon & Molecule and watch for her upcoming video series that breaks down the approach in plain language. Learn more at trulyu.com and trulyu.com/moon-molecule. You can also follow Annika on Instagram at @annikaekofficial where she shares tips and resources for women navigating midlife.