NEW: Plant Yourself merch designed by my daughter, Yael Zivan.

Women’s Health

Live Fierce, Stay Bold, Eat Delicious: Ann and Jane Esselstyn on PYP 533

The fiercest, boldest, and most hilarious mother-daughter team in the plant-based world educate and entertain as they talk about their latest cookbook.

Read More

What are You Really Hungry For?: Tara Kemp on PYP 468

What’s the root cause of eating disorders? What’s behind our current obesity crisis? Are we hungry for food? For nutrients? Or for joy and connection?

Read More

Preparing for a Healthy Pregnancy: Jeanne Schumacher and Debra Shapiro, MD on PYP 420

The COVID-19 pandemic is not a great time to be pregnant, according to my guests, Jeanne Schumacher and Debra Shapiro of The Pregnancy Advantage. It is, on the other hand, a terrific time to prepare to get pregnant.

How does a woman do that, other than paint the nursery, give up booze, and buy a copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting?

By getting healthier, detoxifying her body and environment, and taking other personal actions that contribute to a healthier world for the next generation.

Read More

Finding Balance and Reimagining Cardiology with Monica Aggarwal, MD: PYP 314

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. 

Read More

Healthy Plant-Based Pregnancy with Micaela Karlsen: PYP 308

When I polled my listeners about topics or guests they’d like to hear on upcoming episodes of Plant Yourself, I got a lot of requests for a show about plant-based pregnancy.

I thought this might be a little too niche, until I reminded myself that every one of us is the result of a pregnancy, and that for the foreseeable future, all our descendants will continue to be born in this fashion. So no problem there…

When I asked my Facebook Hive Mind who would be a great guest for this topic, Micaela Karlsen’s name came up again and again.

So here we are today 🙂

Read More

Saying Goodbye to Lupus and Other Autoimmune Diseases with Brooke Goldner, MD: PYP 227

When Brooke Goldner, MD, was 16 years old, she was told by her doctors that she probably had about six months to live. Her lupus, a chronic autoimmune condition that commonly attacks joints and skin, had gone after her kidneys, and it didn’t look like they (and she) could be saved.

Thankfully, the weekly chemotherapy worked well enough to stomp on her immune system, and it gave her kidneys and the rest of her a break and allowed her to grow up and have a fairly normal life.

Read More

Educating a Generation of Healthy, Savvy Moms and Girlfriends with Lana Kontos: PYP 207

Lana Kontos is a naturopath and women’s health advocate who somehow managed to transcend her training and embrace the true sources of health. While still in high school, she was told by her guidance counselor that she should become an MD.

But the contradiction in her education – like the brilliant, morbidly obese dean of her state university with a PhD in nutrition who was always in pain, and whose dietary preferences consisted largely of steak and eggs – sent her into the business world.

Read More