Shakira Niazi

Shakira Rahimi Niazi is an Afghan-born refugee who became a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, built three companies across three decades, and founded Zen Basil with her two sons. Together, they introduced edible basil seeds to more than 100,000 American consumers and built a family-owned company, without outside capital, committed to making better health simpler, more transparent, and rooted in unprocessed whole foods high in fiber.

Her work began with a question that became both a personal reckoning and a public mission: What the heck is healthy anymore?

After struggling with Hashimoto’s thyroid disease, menopause, and debilitating joint and back pain, Shakira transformed her metabolic health, reversed obesity, reduced her thyroid medication, restored her energy, and rebuilt her strength and mobility after 50. Today, she challenges the health industry’s assumptions and helps women distinguish between what is marketed as healthy and what can actually be proven.

Zen Basil offers a powerful whole-food alternative to heavily marketed chia seeds. Gram for gram, Zen Basil provides nearly twice the fiber, calcium, potassium, and iron. Under Shakira’s leadership, the company has become a leading basil seed brand on Amazon and expanded nationally through Sprouts Farmers Market.
Her mission is simple less toxic conversation about our broken food system and more positive solution.

After discovering that even certified-organic ingredients can test positive for glyphosate, Shakira raised the standard by taking the rarest step of all. Zen Basil independently tests every lot after harvest for more than 425 pesticides and commissions a separate glyphosate analysis available on zenbasil.com

Her forthcoming book, Undiminished, explores the five pillars that carried her from displacement to flourishing: faith, family, food intelligence, fitness, and freedom.

At 55, Shakira challenges the myths of anti-aging, particularly those used to diminish women. Her message is clear: longevity is not a product, a number, or a destination. It is the lifelong practice of bringing body, mind, and spirit into alignment and becoming more powerful with time.