Switch4Good

Every October, a sea of pink ribbons reminds us that breast cancer touches millions of lives. But how often do we talk about what may contribute to its development, and what we can do to help prevent it? In this powerful episode, renowned breast cancer surgeon Dr. Kristi Funk, founder of the Pink Lotus Breast Center and bestselling author of Breasts: The Owner's Manual, takes us through some surpr...

At over 400 pounds, Tim Kaufman lived on fentanyl, painkillers, vodka and fast food. His blood pressure hit 255/115. Today he has lost 200 pounds on a whole-food, plant-based diet and races half Ironman triathlons. Tim explains how a 30-day juice fast and Forks Over Knives changed his life, and how cutting dairy ended his joint pain and eczema. He shares what he eats in a day and how he lives with...

"Willpower is just a part of it. Change really happens when you change your environment." Dave Wegener is a high school visual arts teacher, husband and father. He grew up overweight, loved McDonald's and called himself a volume eater. In 2016 he hit 335 pounds and his triglycerides were at 424. His doctor wanted to put him on medication. Dave said no. He made a deal with his doctor instead. He wo...

What happens when you take one of America's most culturally diverse food cities and put plants at the center of the plate? Ellen Kanner takes us deep into the flavors, traditions, and food memories that shaped her as a fifth-generation Miamian, chef, and author, sharing how she reimagines beloved dishes without losing the flavors, textures, and cultural meaning that make them special. Along the wa...

Physiotherapist, nutritionist, and The Proof is in the Plants author Simon Hill joins Dotsie and Alexandra to trace how a single terrifying moment reshaped his entire career, and what the evidence really says about eating for a long, healthy life. When Simon was 15, he watched his father, just 41 years old with no prior health issues, suffer a heart attack right in front of him on a remote Sunday...

What drives someone to pursue not just one extraordinary path, but two? Olympic gold medalist and physician Imogen Grant has devoted herself to two radically different disciplines, medicine and rowing, and somehow managed to reach the pinnacle of both. But listening to her speak about the human body, "the perfect stroke," and what draws her so deeply into each, and the divide between them starts t...

Can the way we eat and live actually lower our risk of cancer? That question sits close to my heart, and in this episode I sit down with Dr. Shireen Kassam, consultant hematologist, lifestyle medicine physician, and founder of Plant-Based Health Professionals UK to dig into what the science really says. Dr. Kassam has spent years at the intersection of clinical oncology and nutrition, and what she...

Protein has become the buzzword of the moment, but how much of what we're hearing is grounded in science? Registered dietitian and nutrition researcher David Goldman returns to separate facts from marketing and explain what the research actually says about meeting your protein needs, building muscle, and healthy aging. And then there's this: They say you are what you eat. David's research suggests...

Young people today are inheriting a world they didn't design. They're facing a climate crisis, a food system that puts profit before health, and a constant stream of misinformation that can make meaningful change feel impossible. But a new generation of advocates is already stepping up, asking difficult questions and challenging outdated systems. In this episode, we talk with Lucy Whitney and Gian...

A move from Houston to a cattle ranch in rural Texas was never meant to alter the course of her life so completely, but that is exactly what happened for Renee King-Sonnen, founder of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary. What began as a new chapter alongside her husband became something far more complicated as her relationship with the animals deepened and she confronted realities on the ranch she could no longe...

By age 35, Javant Benton found himself at a crossroads. He was 85 pounds overweight, prediabetic, prehypertensive, and undergoing tests for cancer. Confronted with his own mortality, he knew something had to change. What began as a personal search for greater well-being became a journey of creativity, discovery, and transformation in the kitchen, where familiar comfort foods were transformed into...

For more than two decades, Indra Lahiri has dedicated her life to rescuing animals who have survived unimaginable trauma at Indraloka Animal Sanctuary in northeastern Pennsylvania. But through years of witnessing suffering day after day, Indra found herself facing something many caregivers, advocates, and helping professionals quietly struggle with: burnout, chronic stress, and secondary trauma. I...

In this very special episode, Alexandra Paul returns to the podcast for a powerful, and at times difficult, conversation. For those of you new here, you may know her from Baywatch or some of the iconic films she's appeared in. Longtime listeners already know her for her decades of activism, often stepping into spaces most people would never consider. Recently, she made headlines after being arrest...

"The rates of fractures are highest in the high milk drinking countries, basically North America, Scandinavia, Denmark, and they're lowest in countries that actually don't consume milk at all." Today, we're joined by one of the most influential and widely cited figures in nutrition science. Dr. Walter Willett, Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health...

Dr. Michael Klaper returns to the Switch4Good podcast for a conversation that redefines what medicine can achieve when food is placed at the center of care. A physician, educator, and longtime leader in nutrition science, Dr. Klaper has advised NASA on dietary planning for space missions, appeared in documentaries including Cowspiracy, The End of Meat, and What the Health, and authored several fou...

"After struggling with health issues for decades and years of doctors and misdiagnoses, I was finally diagnosed with progressive MS and lupus and the only thing that had happened to me was removing dairy. We started working with plant-based doctors, lifestyle medicine doctors, and working with plant-based and vegan chefs. We created a menu of healthy kid friendly meals. Once you know better, you c...

"Fiber is the new protein. Don't count your protein grams - count your fiber grams. And if you do that, and you're getting adequate calories, you're going to be fine." What if aging didn't have to mean slowing down, losing strength, or watching your best years slip into the past? What if the mind and body were capable of far more resilience and longevity than we've been led to believe? In this epi...

"People have such a negative connotation around cardio. At the end of the day, you can have the flattest stomach, the nicest glutes, and the best biceps in the world but if your heart gives out, you still die. You can have a great body and still die. You need a strong heart to actually enjoy a high quality of life." If you've ever started a fitness plan with motivation, only to burn out, fall off,...

"You're bombarded with all these messages. Try to think of the one that means the most to you. Is it your kid's health? Is it your health? Is it the environment? Is it nutrition? What resonates with you, and helps you make a shift you feel good about?" The Dietary Guidelines for Americans shape how a nation eats, but the science, politics, and industry forces behind them are rarely discussed. In t...

Microplastics are everywhere. They're in our oceans, our soil, and even inside the human body. For years, the narrative has been bleak. This is unavoidable. But what if that isn't the whole story? In this episode, we sit down with Max Pennington, a chemical engineer, entrepreneur, and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree who decided to take on one of the most overlooked sources of microplastic pollution: ou...

" The sun is not our enemy. It never has been. Most popular sunscreens, they will compromise your skin and actually lead to skin cancer. If we're lathering on or ingesting toxic chemicals, we're going to be compromised." Today, we're joined by Cheryl Mothes, a Certified Holistic Nutritionist with nearly 30 years dedicated to studying healing with whole foods, helping people of all ages improve wel...

 "I would rather have a shorter life with cigarettes than a longer life without.  Well, that's addictive thinking. You see the dominance of the addictive brain cells in that line of reasoning. That's not frontal lobe dominance. That's the addicted brain cells. And that's why addictions are lethal." No matter what your relationship to food is, we all live in a world manipulated by an addiction busi...

Our guest today is living proof that anyone can change their life. Alishea Basson was a mom of four and creeping into dangerous territory in regards to her health by the time she was 30 years old. Severely overweight and plagued with seizures and high blood pressure, Alishea decided she couldn't live with her emotional eating self any longer. She educated herself on how to eat healthfully and exer...

"When I was doing keto, a salad would spike my blood glucose. And this is because of the fat. There was so much saturated fat that my glucose tolerance was diminished. I went from keto to the opposite, the most opposite diet you could ever have: a plant-based diet. My insulin requirements started to come down very fast. I got down to an all-time low." Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death...

When the loudest voices in health are selling confusion, fear, and the next quick fix, it's hard to know what — or who — to trust. That's exactly why conversations like this one matter. Dr. David Katz has spent decades cutting through the chaos with uncommon clarity. A renowned physician, bestselling author, and one of the most influential thinkers in nutrition and preventive medicine, his work ha...