PLANTSTRONG Podcast

Currently there are 37 million people in the United States with diabetes and another 96 million Americans who are currently pre-diabetic - and the vast majority of those people aren’t even aware of it. About 70% of those cases of pre-diabetes will turn into diabetes unless the progression of the disease has stopped. Unfortunately, the U.S. healthcare system isn’t designed to prevent and reverse un...

Darin Olien is the New York Times best-selling author of SuperLife and host with Zac Efron of the hit Netflix series “Down to Earth,” but it’s his most recent work that may leave the biggest impact. In his latest book, Fatal Conveniences, Olien explores some of the toxic products and harmful habits that are making us sick―and provides alternatives that are simple, non-toxic, and life-enhancing. He...

If you've followed the PLANTSTRONG Podcast, no doubt you're familiar with Robby Barbaro, one of the founders of Mastering Diabetes and now, an official IRONMAN triathlon finisher! If you don’t know, an IRONMAN is a one-day triathlon where you swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and then run a marathon! Crazy, right?! It's even more awesome since Robby did it as a plant-based, Type 1 diabetic. In this...

Kate Galli is an Australian-based health coach, personal trainer, podcaster, and author. Today, she shares her journey to a plant-based lifestyle and discusses her book, T he Plant Positive Journal , which focuses on self-care and creating lasting positive habit change. In her early days as a vegetarian coach and trainer in the “bro gym culture,” Kate admits that she was focused heavily on macros...

Nisha Vora was raised in a traditional vegetarian Indian household, went to undergrad at Berkeley, Harvard Law School, and then worked as a corporate lawyer for a few years in New York City. It didn’t take long for her to realize that this was NOT what she wanted to do because, even as a young girl, Nisha loved food and cooking. She was the girl who would watch cooking shows on TV and take cooking...

In 2006, young entrepreneur, Daniel Staackmann, took out a home equity line of credit and started Upton’s Naturals in his hometown of Chicago. He placed his money on seitan and in his 17 years of business, that gamble has clearly paid off. Upton’s Naturals is the #1 selling brand of seitan in the United States and their products are sold in thousands of stores throughout the United States and beyo...

Twelve years ago, on the tail of the success of his book The Engine 2 Diet , Rip visited small-town America - Mercersburg, Pennsylvania - with the good news about plants. Dr. Elizabeth George, a local doctor in Mercersburg, was also on a mission to help the residents of her small dairyland town make healthier food and lifestyle choices. She heard about Engine 2 and invited Rip to come to town and...

The news is out and the headlines are clear - drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy DO help people lose weight and they have become "the next big thing" for weight loss. But, questions remain: How do they work? What long-term impacts will these have on health? Are they really helping the underlying cause of obesity and disease? Is it enough just to lose the weight? Will these drugs actually improve our he...

Rip welcomes Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, “The Joyful Vegan,” to the PLANTSTRONG Podcast for a long overdue celebration of the massive growth and interest in all things plant-based - especially in the 15-20 years. An empath and advocate her whole life, Patrick-Goudreau, first began her life’s purpose and awakening at age 19 after reading John Robbins’ Diet for a New America and then later, Slaughterh...

In the ever-changing world of “celebrity culture," it's hard to find someone so resolute about their activism as Moby. He's had undeniable staying power on the music scene, but it’s his vegan activism that has left the most lasting impression. Moby went vegan in 1987 and remains an ardent supporter of animal rights, climate change advocacy, and humanitarian aid. He is also the author of several bo...

If you believe in a divine purpose, then get ready for an important show. The Daniel Fast is a scripture-based program that chronicles the story of Daniel from the Old Testament who “refused to eat the King’s Diet” of rich and indulgent food. Instead, in order to stay strong in body and mind, he subsisted and thrived on vegetables and water - or what we may refer to these days as a whole food, pla...

After this interview, I promise you’ll want to load up the family and head east to Providence, Rhode Island! Over eight years ago now, Kim Anderson and her family watched “Forks Over Knives” and “Cowspiracy” and felt an IMMEDIATE responsibility to educate others and inspire change. They hosted movie nights and dinners where hundreds would come to enjoy a delicious plant-based meal, but the refrain...

Rip welcomes author and health coach, Janet Verney, to the PLANTSTRONG Podcast. For 40 years, Janet suffered from an undiagnosed illness that affected her lungs and gut, leading to years of medical treatments, antibiotics, and even a cumbersome breathing machine. In 2013, she started focusing on optimizing her health through lifestyle changes and a whole foods, plant-based diet and it was only the...

Not long ago, we received an email that stopped us in our tracks. It was a letter of thanks written to Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., but the email also told a harrowing surgery story that was so compelling, we just had to share it with you. And, it’s actually the first time Rip and his Father have interviewed a patient together on the PLANTSTRONG Podcast. Rip's guest, Mike Melloh, was seemingly...

Rip welcomes Anthony Masiello, co-founder and CEO of Love Life Telehealth , who shares his personal transformation and innovative approach to healthcare access to whole food plant-based physicians. Anthony recalls his own struggle with weight issues from a young age, trying various methods to lose weight. Despite his active lifestyle, his weight continued to fluctuate, leading him to question how...

In April 2023, we first aired this special Facebook Live Friday episode with Trucker Steve .   Steve lives on the road as a semi-truck driver. As you can imagine, this is NOT an easy life, especially when you’re trying to keep yourself healthy. Long days in the truck, gas stations, truck stop food, lonely stretches for days on end…you get the point. Well, after hitting over 500 pounds, Steve commi...

Chef Vegan Vicki is a proud Cleveland native who, in 2008, was diagnosed with non-smoking lung cancer.

 After surgery, she started researching ways to get healthy and avoid a recurrence of this or any form of cancer. No surprise, her homework led her to a whole foods, plant-based diet and she ended up losing almost 100 lbs! This transformation changed everything in her life and she went from work...

Today, we dive deep into the world of fast food ingredients and their impact on health. Our guest for today is Mel Weinstein, a former food chemist who has spent decades studying industrial foods and additives. Mel and Rip discuss a variety of eye-opening topics related to fast food ingredients, how they end up in our food system, and the impacts they have on our health.  You'll learn about: Mel’s...

Jackie Akerberg is the creator of Jackfruitful Kitchen , a popular food blog devoted to simple, healthy, and delicious plant-based meals using minimally processed ingredients. She's also the author of, The Clean Vegan Cookbook , which features over 60 whole-food, plant-based recipes that will satisfy every craving. (And when you see the gigantic burger on the cover of her book, you’ll see what we...

This week, we're busting down the barriers to habit change, especially your food and lifestyle habits.  Cyd Notter has been a vegetarian since 1991, but it wasn’t until 1999 when she turned fully to a whole food, plant-based diet, that her life and career took off. She's been skyrocketing on plants ever since.  Today, she’s 67 years old and thriving as a busy health and nutrition coach, writer, an...

Drs. Matthew Lederman and Alona Pulde pioneered the medical program that was used in the film, Forks Over Knives , and after the popularity of that groundbreaking film, they went on to co-author multiple books including The Forks Over Knives Plan , The Forks Over Knives Cookbook, Forks Over Knives Family and the Whole Foods Diet with former Whole Foods CEO, John Mackey.  Today, we discuss their la...

My guest today is Kiki Nelson, but you may know her best as Plantiful Kiki . Her book, Plantifully Lean is turning heads, but what turned my attention to Kiki was her transparent health and weight loss journey. As a young adult, Kiki struggled with her weight and suffered all of the ill consequences as a result - high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, hormonal imbalances, lack of energy - and none of...

We joke today that there are three things that plant-based eaters must face – death, taxes, and the dreaded question, “Where Do You Get Your Protein?!” Well, today, we tackle the ever-popular topic of protein with two of the authors of a recent book, Plant Powered Protein . Vesanto Melina and Cory Davis dispel the myths and misconceptions about plant-based protein - and - (and this is the part we...

Sgt. Vegan, Bill Muir, has always had a “think outside the box” attitude – from being a straight-edge punk rocker to going vegan in 1992, and then joining the military just after 9/11 where he served as a US Army Paratrooper. And all of this - YES - as a hardcore vegan. Needless to say, it wasn’t easy, but he was (and is) so convicted and grounded in his values that he made it work. Today, Sgt. Ve...

In a world that is littered with false information and blatant lies, especially when it comes to health and nutrition, it is so important to seek the truth.  Matthew Rees is a treasure trove of facts and commentary about food and health at his website, foodandhealthfacts.com. As a longtime journalist, speechwriter, and author, Rees has written for such esteemed publications as The Economist, The N...