Most of my work as a health coach involves helping people respond differently to stimuli.
That is, develop the ability to make different choices when confronted with tempting foods, tempting environments, tempting people, and tempting sensations, emotions, and thoughts.
Think about it – NOT having that ability basically means you’re a robot, a machine. If you can’t control your responses, you have no freedom.
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Joe Cross was, in the words of his first film, “Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead” when he embarked on a 60-day experiment to escape the pain and discomfort of a lifestyle-induced auto-immune disease.
His transformation story, chronicled in that 2010 documentary, has inspired millions of people to start juicing, and to add more plants to their diets.
In our conversation, we catch up on the decade since he became a famous wellness advocate. How has he weathered that kind of public scrutiny?
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Lauren Plunkett is a registered dietitian living with type 1 diabetes. She’s also the newest addition to the WellStart care team – and we couldn’t be more pleased or delighted!
Lauren is a dynamo of positive energy, and a shining example of the power of lifestyle to enhance quality of life.
Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 11, Lauren struggled for years to feel good and have the energy to do what she wanted to do. She went on a mission to learn everything she could about nutrition and health.
Once she discovered plant-based nutrition, she knew she had found the key to thriving with diabetes: reducing insulin resistance.
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When I asked Dr Monica Aggarwal to join me on this podcast, I figured we’d talk about her plant-based advocacy at the University of Florida, where she is an assistant professor of medicine and Director of Integrative Cardiology and Prevention.We got there, eventually, but took a fascinating detour into the gender politics of medicine, and cardiology in particular.
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Bob Cafaro is a professional cellist, author, and ass-kicker of multiple sclerosis. If you missed our first conversation, check it out here. In his latest newsletter, he revealed two MS-busting tactics that he hadn’t written about in his book, When the Music Stopped: My Battle and Victory Against MS.
Partly as an excuse to have another conversation with Bob (he’s such a kind and passionate and awesome guy!), and partly to explore these two tactics, I reached out and managed to grab 30 minutes of his time in between the five dozen other things he has going on.
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Will Bulciewicz, MD, trained to become a gastroenterologist as some of the top GI programs in the world: Georgetown, the University of North Carolina (go ‘heels!), and Northwestern. He’s board certified in both gastroenterology and internal medicine.
Why am I trotting out Will’s credentials to introduce this podcast? Because even with all that education, Will found himself unable to answer even his patients’ most basic questions about what they could do about their own GI conditions.
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Clint Paddison was pursuing a career as a stand-up comedian in Australia when he was struck with a debilitating case of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A former athlete and science all-star, Clint found himself almost unable to work, to move, to enjoy life. He discouraged his girlfriend from marrying him because he didn’t want to ruin her life.
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Cyrus Khambatta and Robby Barbaro are the co-creators of Mastering Diabetes, an online program and support network for people living with all forms of the disease: type 1, type 2, type 1.5, prediabetes, and gestational diabetes.
And both have been living with type 1 diabetes, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes, for most of their lives. Type 1 can’t be reversed or cured through diet and lifestyle, so they must take synthetic insulin in order to remain alive.
According to mainstream diabetes protocols, Cyrus and Robby should limit their carbohydrate intake significantly, and get the majority of their calories from proteins and fats. Certainly the last thing they should do is live on a high-fruit raw diet.
They not only live on such a diet; they thrive on it. And they’ve taught thousands of others with diabetes to combat the condition with a whole food, plant-based diet.
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Josh Turner is one hell of a smart, compassionate, committed human being. A type 1 diabetic who was told that his quality of life, health, and longevity would be compromised by his condition, Josh has adopted a plant-based diet and taken up running.
In the process, he’s lost almost 100 pounds, gained his life back, and become an inspiration and lighthouse for other type 1 diabetics who are struggling to escape the grip of the wrong-headed medical model of disease management through low-carb, high-protein diets.
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Dr Saray Stancic became an infectious disease specialist in response to the HIV and hepatitis C crisis of the 1980s and 90s. On October 11, 1995, the then-3rd year medical resident found a short nap window at 2am, and collapsed in fatigue in the on-call room of the hospital where she worked.
When she was awakened for her next shift, Dr Stancic couldn’t feel her legs. She was rushed to the ER, and an MRI revealed multiple sclerosis (MS) with multiple lesions in the brain and spinal cord. In addition to the neuropathy in her legs, it turned out that her kidneys were also failing.
She was admitted to the hospital, given an IV steroid drip and a bunch of other medications. And just like that, a young, energetic, ambitious doctor was converted into a frightened, confused, dispirited patient.
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