Healing Food

Getting a Second Lease on Life – and Using It in a Big Way with Paul Chatlin: PYP 199

February 27, 2017

At age 55, Paul Chatlin was a few minutes away from surgery on a 100% blockage in his right coronary artery when his cardiologist asked him out of the blue, “Would you consider a nutritional change instead of bypass surgery?”

Turns out the cardiologist’s mentor was a dude named Caldwell Esselstyn, which is the only way this story makes any sense.

Paul, tired of his severe angina, terrified of the life that followed bypass surgery that he witnessed in his father and three uncles, and in agony from the “elephant sitting on his chest,” agreed.

“I’ll do anything.”

Ed and Amanda Smith on Leadership, Community, and Health: PYP 198

February 20, 2017

Ed and Amanda Smith are the co-founders of Healthfest, a three-day annual event in a small Texas town that’s become an unlikely hub of plant-based nutrition in the United States.

Marshall, Texas, population 27,000, is smack in the middle of the “stroke belt.” Where beef is king, hunting is a rite of passage into manhood, and if it ain’t deep-fried, it ain’t food.

And there, where Ed served as mayor, is where they decided to bring plant-based knowledge and practice.

Pharmaceutical Brainwashing of America with Vanessa Sardi: PYP 196

February 7, 2017

When Vanessa Sardi was a drug rep for one of the world’s largest and most powerful pharmaceutical companies, she firmly believed that she was educating doctors to make better prescribing decisions and was helping patients live healthier, more comfortable lives.

Bob Cafaro on the Psychology of Beating an Incurable Illness

February 2, 2017

Plant Yourself Podcast guest Bob Cafaro (PYP 153) has just come out with his TEDx talk, “The Psychology of Beating an Incurable Illness.” Enjoy and be inspired:

“I’m not speeding up; they’re all slowing down” with Ellen Jaffe Jones: PYP 194

January 24, 2017

I ran into Ellen Jaffe Jones at the Raleigh NC Vegfest, where she was inspiring young and old to get off their butts and embrace a healthy, active, vegan lifestyle. We had met on Skype for a podcast interview more than three years ago, but this was the first time we had met in person.

And since I’ve become a runner, I badly wanted a copy of her new book, Vegan Fitness For Mortals. As one of the most decorated track and field athletes in the country (and getting more and more competitive as her non-plant-based rivals slow down and quit as their bodies decline), she has a lot to teach me about running well and sustainably.

Escaping the Dungeon of Obesity with Justin Lacy: PYP 193

January 17, 2017

Two years ago, Justin Lacy weighed 500 pounds, and could move about only on crutches — when he could move about at all. His tendonitis and lymphedema made standing painful and walking all but impossible. Following his mother’s stroke, the then-30-year-old Justin decided that he was going to make changes and get healthy, no matter what.

In Praise of Extremism and Collective Evolution

January 15, 2017

The longer I think about it, the more I’m convinced that health and fulfillment are found in the extremes, not in moderation.

The Old Fart Booth Effect: A Weird Mind Hack that Makes Exercise Easier

January 10, 2017

Look in the mirror. Say your name.

You’ve just activated a section of your brain devoted to YOU.

Now think of some random celebrity. Say their name.

You’ve just activated a totally different section of your brain, this one dedicated to OTHERS.

Now – and here’s where this gets freaky – think of yourself in 20 years.

Which part of your brain just got turned on? The YOU circuit, or the OTHER circuit?

If you’re like most people – pretty much everyone, in fact – you think about your future self as if she or he is a total stranger.

Stumbling Toward a Healthy and Kind Diet with Clay Garrett: PYP 190

December 27, 2016

Growing up in rural East Texas, Clay Garrett was raised to appreciate meat. His father, an agriculture instructor, literally taught an entire class on how to produce, process and cook meat. And the “meat and butter at every meal” cuisine was never linked, in anyone’s mind, to the family history of high cholesterol and cancer, let alone to the digestive issues that ruled Clay’s life.

The Simple Practices that Healed His Depression with Dave Wiskowski: PYP 189

December 20, 2016

In 1987, fresh out of college, I took a job as a teaching intern at a fancy prep school in central New Jersey. One of the students who never made it across my radar was a quiet, blonde fifth grade boy named Dave Wiskowski.

In his class photo, he’s not smiling, unlike many of his classmates. He told me that he was struggling with depression at that time, any for many years later. Like many people who find themselves overwhelmed by life and negative emotions, he became adept at self-medicating through food, alcohol, and self-pity.

Getting a Second Lease on Life – and Using It in a Big Way with Paul Chatlin: PYP 199

Ed and Amanda Smith on Leadership, Community, and Health: PYP 198

Pharmaceutical Brainwashing of America with Vanessa Sardi: PYP 196

Bob Cafaro on the Psychology of Beating an Incurable Illness

“I’m not speeding up; they’re all slowing down” with Ellen Jaffe Jones: PYP 194

Escaping the Dungeon of Obesity with Justin Lacy: PYP 193

In Praise of Extremism and Collective Evolution

The Old Fart Booth Effect: A Weird Mind Hack that Makes Exercise Easier

Stumbling Toward a Healthy and Kind Diet with Clay Garrett: PYP 190

The Simple Practices that Healed His Depression with Dave Wiskowski: PYP 189

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