Mugdha Pradhan runs iTHRIVE, a health and wellness startup focused on reversing diseases with functional nutrition. Her own journey towards healing, both mentally and physically, inspired the creation of this startup.

Initially, an HR manager working in Canada after marriage, Mugdha struggled with the challenges of being alone in a new country while striving for perfection in her personal and professional life.

As her marriage showed signs of not working, she started using food as a coping mechanism. Her mental and physical health further worsened postpartum. Diagnosed with clinical depression, she reached a breaking point in 2016.

“It all slowly kept building up. I was living an inauthentic life in a bad marriage. One fine day, my soul screamed from the inside, and I asked myself what I was doing. That was the day everything changed for me. That was my wake-up call,” says Mugdha.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Better India (@thebetterindia)

She moved back to India in 2017 and started working on herself. She consulted many doctors, but nothing seemed to be working. Then her background in nutrition led her to discover functional medicine, which focuses on addressing the underlying causes of illnesses.

Slowly, she saw improvements in her health, skin, and mental health. Seeing her transformation, others asked her to help them, which led to the birth of iTHRIVE. The team at iTHRIVE, including nutritionists, now help clients, while Mugdha particularly focuses on improving people’s mental health.

“I have dealt with so many complex emotions in life. I have seen trauma and betrayal. It’s in healing people that I find my joy. I have nothing else to do in this world,” she shares.

Edited by Pranita Bhat