No-Bullsh!t Vegan

Bradie discusses how the foods we eat affect climate change and why being vegan fights climate change; sheds some light on animal agriculture (cattle, in particular), including some major myth-busting about grass fed free range beef; and presents advantages and disadvantages of GMO foods. He also challenges the idea that organic produce is always better for the environment than conventionally-grow...

Robby Barbaro spent 6 years building the Forks Over Knives brand, and is the cofounder of Mastering Diabetes. He discusses insulin resistance and why you should care (whether or not you're diagnosed with diabetes). How can you tell if you're insulin resistant? How can a plant-based diet manage—and even reverse—insulin resistance and diabetes? Robby takes us through why the conventional approach to...

Should fitness professionals speak about race issues? (Spoiler: YES. Health includes mental wellbeing, so fitness professionals can't help folks with their fitness while remaining silent on issues of racism.) What can fitness professionals--and others--do as allies? What should happen within the fitness industry as a whole to make it more inclusive? Let's continue having important conversations ab...

The best way to fight climate change is with your diet. We also discuss the importance of healthy soil: did you know soil sequesters more carbon than all plants on earth and our entire atmosphere combined?! Dr. Schwartz explains the concept of "concentration of calories", and why animal agriculture's water and carbon footprints are so high. Dr. Greg Schwartz is a vegan environmental science profes...

I got to interview my business role model! Jonathan Goodman of the Personal Trainer Development Center, the world's largest site for fitness professionals, is here to discuss why the concept of "hustling" is B.S. (in certain contexts), the glorification of "busy", and how to achieve success by focusing on one area of expertise, surrounding it with good-enough-to-be-dangerous skills in a few other...

Susan Levin is the director of nutrition education for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), and a registered dietitian specializing in sports dietetics. Every 5 years, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are updated. She discusses the PCRM's recommendations for these guidelines: No low-carb eating patterns, recommend water instead of milk, warn against consuming red and proce...

One of the fastest-growing vegan demographics is Black Americans. Alissa Nash and GiGi Carter discuss increasing the number of Black vegans, including quality of life benefits and cultural barriers. We also discuss the scope of expression of veganism's compassion (whether - and how - it should extend to human rights), and contributions ethnic cuisines have made to veganism. We acknowledge systemic...

State record-holding vegan powerlifter, former collegiate football player, and chemical and biomolecular engineering PhD student Bradie S. Crandall shares his story of becoming a vegan athlete, and 6 ways in which a vegan diet is beneficial for strength athletes compared to a diet that includes animal products. Bradie is the author of the upcoming book, The Living Machine: Engineering Strength wit...

I answer 21 questions on everything from post-workout protein options, to sweating, to B.S. nutritionists, to more philosophical questions about lifestyle, fitness, and veganism.  Includes: my one tip for fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle. How do I balance being understanding of other people and their obstacles to going vegan, versus sticking up for animals? Should you supplement with creatine? Wi...

PETA is the world's largest and most recognized animal rights organization. I feel they send the wrong message about animal rights, and give all of us vegans a bad name. I share 5 problems with PETA, and 5 ways it exhibits appalling prejudice toward certain groups of people. I suggest supporting local and smaller-scale organizations instead. Many of these are animal sanctuaries rather than broader...

In our last coronavirus-related episode before we get back to regularly scheduled programming, Dr. Scott Lear joins me to discuss exercising and healthy eating during lockdown: How much exercise should we be getting while self-isolating and/or physical distancing? What sorts of benefits are we likely to see from this activity? How can we continue to eat in a way that supports our health and fitnes...

Mike discusses how we can overcome some of the mindset challenges associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic, and how we can continue to work toward our health, fitness, and fat loss goals while we're staying at home. Get 4 specific mindset tips, learn how to simplify at-home fat loss, and make sure you know how to 'engineer' your home environment so it supports (rather than sabotages) your goa...

Fraser Bayley has an unusual story, having gone from being a butcher with multiple mental health challenges to a passionate vegan advocate, bodybuilder, and strength & nutrition coach. Fraser chose to walk away from the butchery industry for good, and never realized how health, fitness, and veganism would then come together to transform his life in many ways. We discuss common mindset challenges F...

Chris is a high school teacher. We discuss the plant-based nutrition classes and seminars he's facilitated, and how youth are driving change within their own families. Danielle is a family doctor. She shares how she uses a whole food, plant-based diet to prevent and reverse chronic disease for her patients, and some of the myths she encounters (e.g. "people won't be willing to change", or "this is...

Heidi Braacx, owner of Vegan Yarn, joins me to discuss the ethics and environmental impacts of wool, and why vegans don't use it. Heidi says, "Just because wool is biodegradable doesn't mean it's environmentally friendly". We discuss plant-based alternatives to wool, and their respective impacts on the environment. Also, how can we, as consumers of clothing and/or fibre products, ensure we choose...

Ren is a certified personal trainer, corrective exercise specialist, and nutrition coach. In this episode: How the fitness industry is changing, to the benefit of both clients and coaches. Busting some major B.S. in the fitness and diet industries. How Ren approaches habit change with his clients. The one concept you should delete from your vocabulary to ensure you get lasting results from your fi...

If you're starting a new fitness, nutrition, or health habit in 2020 (or if you want to make sure you keep going with your current ones), this episode is for you. I'm busting some B.S. about motivation and sticking to long-term habits. I discuss: why relying on motivation to keep up with your good habits is setting yourself up for failure, 2 things you should know when you're starting a new health...

Social scientist Dr. Bo Bennett shares his ideas on the morality of eating meat. We discuss the moral framework of sentiocentrism, and using it to determine which - and how many - animal products to consume. Also: how do we make moral evaluations to conclude if killing animals for food is moral or not? And why Dr. Bennett believes encouraging reducing meat consumption is more effective than promot...

I'm answering random questions today from awesome podcast listeners, including: how to get 100 grams of protein a day as a vegan, how the heck I fit so much batch-cooked food into my fridge (and exactly what I prep each week), the most effective strength training muscle group split, nailing the calcium RDA, getting started in the industry as a new trainer, and more.

The Plant-Based Dietitian is here to discuss "macroconfusion": why focusing on macronutrients is not the best way to optimize your diet, and what to do instead. Also in this episode: Dietary restriction without malnutrition. Focusing on very high protein intakes (e.g. for strength training) may be at odds with research that shows longevity and healthspan are associated with lower protein intakes....

I give you my own take on vegan travel, and share insight from 13 other vegans! If you're thinking about going vegan, if you're vegan already, or if you'd like to be able to help others to go vegan, this episode is jam-packed with lots of information about travelling the world on a completely plant-based diet. "Travelling is too difficult!" is one of the main reasons I hear people cite for not goi...

This documentary busts many myths about veganism, but it ain't perfect. If you're curious about athletic performance on a vegan diet, it's worth watching The Game Changers. Just keep in mind that a documentary is not a replacement for scientific research, or doing a thorough review of peer-reviewed literature. Here's my review, with bonus input from two other vegans.

We discuss the recent controversy about red meat and processed meats: a few new meta-analyses suggested we should continue to consume these meats, since they pose low health risks. Learn the full story - and why this isn't accurate. Also in this episode: why and how Dr. Williams changed his practice from 'all conventional' to combining pills with lifestyle and nutrition, and a few predictors Dr. W...

David, maker of mind-blowingly delicious vegan foods with his company, PlantBase Food, joins me to discuss vegan meats, activism around cetacean captivity bans, and being vegan for over 20 years. Also: how can we use an ethical approach to support or take action for displaced/marginalized/homeless folks, and tips for our listeners who want to make the transition to veganism.