PLANTSTRONG Podcast

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau—the author, speaker, podcaster, and longtime advocate known as the Joyful Vegan—returns to the Plant Strong Podcast for a thoughtful conversation about compassion, sustainability, and creating change without burning out. Colleen explains why anger, remorse, isolation, and rigid thinking can make a plant-based lifestyle harder to sustain. Rather than making “being vegan” th...

In 2011, a routine physical revealed a total cholesterol of 240 and LDL of 170 for Vince Rountree. Told there wasn’t much he could do beyond medication, Vince (a chemical engineer) wasn't buying it and kept searching—and eventually found the work of Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr. So he went all-in. For six weeks, Vince ate a 100% whole-food, plant-based diet with no exceptions. When he retested, h...

Rip sits down with longtime friend, former triathlon coach and Primal Kitchen founder, Mark Sisson, for a wide-ranging conversation about biohacking, longevity, chronic cardio, walking and foot health. Rip and Mark go back more than three decades — and although their nutritional philosophies couldn't be much more different, Rip has always admired Mark's entrepreneurial spirit, curiosity and willin...

Who are you—and why do you do what you do? Most of us spend our lives answering questions about what we want to accomplish, what career we should pursue, and what steps we should take next. But Dr. Gary Sanchez believes we’re asking the right questions in the wrong order. Gary is the founder of The WHY Institute and the creator of a system designed to help people discover their WHY, their HOW, and...

New York Times bestselling author, Carleigh Bodrug, is back with PlantYou: Quickies , her third cookbook, packed with more than 140 fast, approachable plant-based recipes designed for busy, real life. The idea for Quickies came during an especially challenging season. After losing her mother, becoming pregnant, and welcoming her son Weston, Carleigh suddenly understood what it felt like to simply...

Getting older may be inevitable. Getting weak, frail, and sedentary? Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina say absolutely not. In their new book, Plant Powered Seniors , these longtime plant-based nutrition experts explore how to stay strong, healthy, and independent as we age — and they’re living proof. At 84, Vesanto still takes fitness and yoga classes regularly, while Brenda, 67, runs trails, does p...

Dr. Neal Barnard is back on the PLANTSTRONG Podcast — and this time, he and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine are taking the federal government to court . At the center of the fight? The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Neal says the government tossed aside the work of a transparent scientific advisory committee and instead moved forward with recommendations shaped by a nine-m...

Rip sits down with Certified High Performance Coach and author Lisa Wargofchik to talk about her book, Remarkable Routines: How Daily Habits Shape a Life of Intention and Fulfillment , and why those small, seemingly ordinary choices can add up to something pretty extraordinary. Lisa spent nearly 40 years in the employee benefits and wellness world, including leadership roles at Fortune 100 compani...

Originally recorded for Complement 's Plantapalooza in 2024, this timeless conversation with CEO, Matt Tullman, explores how sport, community, fun, and whole plant foods can support lifelong fitness. Rip shares his journey from elite swimming and triathlon to pickleball, mountain biking, family adventures, and master’s swimming. He also explains how accountability partners, simple routines, and th...

Rip sits down with OB-GYN, women’s health expert, and author of Generation M , Dr. Jessica Shepherd, for a candid, empowering conversation about perimenopause, menopause, hormones, nutrition, sex, sleep, strength, and what it really means to thrive in midlife and beyond. For too long, menopause has been framed as a decline — something to dread, hide, or simply suffer through. Dr. Shepherd is here...

Dr. Daniel Chong has spent years helping patients understand their true cardiovascular risk and take meaningful action to prevent heart attacks and strokes. In this episode, Rip and Dr. Chong dig into the confusing, often polarizing world of cholesterol and heart disease. Is LDL cholesterol really important? How low should it go? Is ApoB a better marker? What about calcium scores, lipoprotein(a),...

Dr. Kendale Ritchey is a podiatrist in Knoxville, Tennessee, a former University of Tennessee swimmer, and a self-described “recovered barbecue-aholic.” For nearly three decades, Kendale lived with recurring episodes of intense abdominal, chest, and joint pain, along with fevers and debilitating inflammation. Then, after watching Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead and Forks Over Knives with his wife Conn...

At 17, after adopting a high-protein diet filled with meat, milk, protein powder, and processed meats, Dr. Yu experienced his first gout attack. The pain was so intense that he still remembers waking up at 4:00 a.m. feeling as if someone had slammed a wooden board into his toe. But gout was only the beginning. Over the years, Dr. Yu developed recurring, mysterious inflammation throughout his body...

Dr. Melissa Mondala joins Rip to talk about women’s health, autoimmune disease, anxiety, perimenopause, metabolic health, hormones, and the power of whole food, plant-based lifestyle medicine. A family medicine and lifestyle medicine physician, Dr. Melissa shares her personal journey from struggling with GERD, IBS, fatigue, and serious health challenges to discovering the transformative power of p...

Ever eat when you weren’t really hungry and wonder why willpower wasn’t enough to stop you? This week, Rip talks with Dr. Jud Brewer - neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and author of The Hunger Habit - about cravings, emotional eating, and the science behind food habits. Rip and Brewer explore the difference between true physical hunger and what researchers call “hedonic hunger” — eating driven by emo...

Nelson Campbell joins Rip Esselstyn for a deeply personal and powerful conversation about his new book with Dr. T. Colin Campbell, The Whole Truth: The Hidden Agendas Behind Decades of Health Misinformation—and What to Do About It . Nelson reflects on growing up as the son of one of the most influential nutrition scientists of our time and watching his father’s groundbreaking discoveries meet resi...

Barbara Court is almost 75 years old, full of humor, full of heart, and living proof that it is never too late to get Plant Strong. After joining PlantStrong’s free Real30 Challenge, Barbara committed to eating 30 different whole plant-based foods each week and moving her body for 30 minutes a day. In just a few months, she lost nearly 15 pounds, brought her A1C out of the pre-diabetic range, incr...

The newest AHA and ACC guidelines for treating dyslipidemia are here — and according to Dr. Kim Williams, they mark a powerful shift toward prevention, earlier testing, and whole-food, plant-based nutrition as the foundation of cardiovascular care. Rip welcomes back Dr. Kim Williams, past president of the American College of Cardiology, for a practical and deeply encouraging breakdown of what thes...

Rip sits down with Terri Edwards — founder of EatPlant-Based.com — to talk about the recipes, habits, and simple food swaps that helped her completely transform her health. After years of struggling with joint pain, high cholesterol, insomnia, adult acne, and weight gain, Terri discovered the power of whole-food, plant-based nutrition after watching Forks Over Knives in 2013. Within weeks, she not...

In this special episode, Rip shares a preview of Vital Signs: Real Food. Real Medicine. Real Change. , Plant Strong’s upcoming CME-focused conference for healthcare providers who want to bring the power of whole-food, plant-based nutrition into real-world clinical care. This is not just another conference. Vital Signs is about helping doctors, nurses, dietitians, health coaches, and medical profes...

Rip welcomes back Dr. Alan Desmond, consultant gastroenterologist, lifestyle medicine advocate, and author of the new book, What Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You About Food . Dr. Desmond explains why food is one of the most important — and most neglected — conversations in modern medicine. It’s not that doctors don’t care. As Alan shares, many doctors simply receive very little practical nutrition tr...

What if the real goal isn’t simply living longer… but staying healthy, capable, sharp, and independent for as long as possible? In this fascinating conversation, Rip sits down with researcher, educator, and author Scott Fulton to explore the rapidly growing world of healthspan and longevity. Scott is the author of Whealthspan and his newest book, Function: Turn Your Blind Spots Into Strengths , wh...

Rip visits with Bruce Friedrich, founder of the Good Food Institute and author of Meat , to explore the future of protein—and why alternative meat could reshape our global food system. Bruce breaks down the science and differences behind plant-based, cultivated, and fermented meat—and explains why innovation, not restriction, may be the key to meaningful change. From global hunger and climate impa...

What happens when almost 500 firefighters get a full health screening—and many discover hidden risks they never saw coming? Rip sits down with Deputy Chief Jayme McConnellogue and Lieutenant Ian Elliott of the Colorado Springs Fire Department to explore a groundbreaking department-wide health initiative—and the life-changing results. From undiagnosed cancers to widespread cardiovascular risk, the...

Rip sits down with lifestyle medicine physician Dr. Chris Miller to explore why some people struggle when transitioning to a high-fiber, plant-based diet—and how to fix it. While fiber is one of the most powerful tools for preventing and reversing chronic disease, not everyone experiences immediate benefits. In fact, some people initially feel worse. Dr. Miller breaks down the science behind this...