Plant Yourself!

Taking a Stand for Health and Happiness

YCCOP Crib Sheet 07/22/2022

Food Rebellion 05/02/2022

pyp-438-tada-hozumi 11/17/2020

pyp-432-eric-adams 10/09/2020

We Move, Therefore We Think 10/06/2020

Democracy Means a Healthy and Safe Environment for All 09/29/2020

Democracy Means a Healthy and Safe Environment for All "If living were a thing that money could buy, You know the rich would live, and the poor would die." - All My Trials, Joan Baez Today's guest, Jovita Lee, is co-founder and vice president of Democracy Green, a North Carolina-based non-profit dedicated to environmental justice. The environmental movement has a long and shameful history of privileging certain parts of the environment over others. Specifically, it's focused on preserving spaces enjoyed by the rich, and where the rich live. The result is a nation in which environmental racism condemns poor people and people of color - regardless of income and economic status - to lives cut short by chronic conditions caused and worsened by pollutants and climate instability. How many factory farms are located near middle- and upper-class communities? How many toxic chemical plants and waste disposal facilities are sited near upscale suburbs? We are shocked when we see police officers killing Black people by depriving them of air. We should be equally outraged at the fact that most poor communities of color have life expectancies 10-15 years shorter than the American average, largely caused by the toxins in their air, water, and soil. That their cancer rates are 50% higher than average. In our conversation, we talked about the intersection of environment, democracy, and ethical consumerism. That is, if you don't want a disgusting, polluting, pig-processing plant in your neighborhood, maybe you should reconsider your consumption of pork, ham, and bacon. We spoke of the racist effects of climate change, as people of color are globally most likely to be harmed and dispossessed by rising seas and stronger storms. We talked about the war on Black bodies that has never ended; the forms of slavery that persist to this day; and the remarkably courageous and energetic work being done by activists and volunteers to bring about true democracy and justice. /episode/index/show/plantyourself/id/16206302

Outlasting Broken and Unjust Systems 09/22/2020

The Younger Skin Diet 09/15/2020

The Younger Skin Diet I think that having healthy, attractive skin is probably a lot more motivating to most people than a healthy heart, or liver, or pancreas. I mean, those organs are great and all, and important, but they're so, well, hidden. Out of sight and out of mind, at least until they malfunction. Skin, on the other hand - it's staring us in the face all day long. Hell, itÂ is our face. And when our skin feels dry and paper, or sags, or gets spots and wrinkles, we don't like that one bit. So the good news and the bad news is - our lifestyles can significantly affect the health of our skin. Diet, coping with stress, sleep quality - all these can fast forward aging, or slow it down, depending on our choices. Rajani Katta, MD, is a dermatologist and professor at the Baylor College of Medicine, and the author ofÂ Glow: The Dermatologist's Guide to a Whole Foods Younger Skin Diet. On today's podcast, we talk about the evidence connecting diet and lifestyle to radiant, healthy skin. When I was a kid, everyone knew that too much chocolate caused acne. Until science said that was a myth, so we stopped believing it. Except that I still knew that I could dial my pimples up or down, depending on how clean I ate. So it was good to discover from Dr Katta that those studies on sugar and acne were poorly done, with a small sample size, very little difference between experimental and control protocols, and short-term outcome measures. I mean, even as we were told that food didn't affect skin, we were also told all about allergic reactions of the skin to trigger foods. So which was true: link, or no link? In our conversation, I ask lots of really basic questions about the skin, starting with "What is skin?" and "What's it for?" (Basic, right?) And then we dive into the evidence for a certain dietary pattern (whole food, plant-centric, anyone?) to promote healthy skin. We explore the pathways of damage and premature aging, and discover why high blood sugar and cooked red meat are so damaging to skin. And even come across evidence that certain foods can render our skin sun-resistant, allowing us to spend more time outdoors without burning. Dr Katta shares her analysis of claims that some supplements can improve skin health, such as collagen. Spoiler alert - eat plants, avoid red meat and processed carbs, and save your money. And in perhaps her most memorable line, she reminds us that if we eat a lot of bacon, we'll probably end up looking like bacon. /episode/index/show/plantyourself/id/16018034

Tiny Leaps Make Big Changes 09/08/2020

Creating a Platform for Black Plant-Based Health Experts 09/04/2020

Steven Hayes on PYP 425 08/31/2020

Steven Hayes on PYP 425 Steven C Hayes is the originator of ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or Acceptance and Commitment Training, take your pick), one of the most important psychological approaches of the past 100 years. Why the high praise? For several reasons: ACT is evidence-based ACT is learnable ACT is actionable ACT can be practiced and shared by pretty much any human in any role, unlike most therapies that require degrees and certifications. ACT is built from the ground up from fundamental theories of human cognition and behavior ACT seeks to create mental health, rather than simply address mental illness In our conversation, we tackled the question that has vexed so many philosophers: Why is it so damn hard to be a human? The answer, according to Hayes, lies in the very quality that has enabled us to tame fire, create civilizations, build the Internet, and invent flame throwers: our ability to create and share symbolic meaning. We've evolved a system in the brain that can evaluate, compare, and problem-solve. It's a freakishly useful tool, this brain-part, but it's also problematic. It tells us fantasies about the world and ourselves that we get duped into believing. And when these fantasies conflict with reality, we suffer. Hayes calls this part of us - and it's a part of each and every one of us, and never shuts up, and there's nothing we can do to make it stop - the Dictator. The Dictator is the voice that says things like, "You're stupid." "You'll never last on this diet." "People shouldn't be mean." "Unless you are thin, people will hate you." The first thing we can do to reclaim our power, and liberate our minds from the grip of this Dictator, is to create a separation between ourselves and the voice. ACT refers to this as defusion, as in undoing the fusion we accidentally made with the voice. The Dictator gets in our way not only when we're trying to lose weight or be more productive. It can also put deeply distressing thoughts in our heads; racist, sexist, perverted, hateful thoughts. We don't want to embrace the thoughts, but neither do we want to suppress them and have them drive our words and actions without our conscious knowledge and consent. For example, a racist thought that gets repressed might pop out in the ignorant comment, "I don't see race." The shame that would be triggered by conscious acknowledgment of internalized racism is so great, the person must repress and deny its existence. When we defuse from the Dictator and its unbidden thoughts, we can accept that those thoughts exist in our awareness, and work overtly to challenge them and keep them from defining our actions. Now about that fundamental theory of human cognition and behavior: it's called Relational Frame Theory, and it explains some of our weirdest quirks. Like, why do we sometimes binge on unhealthy food after passing a gym? Hayes blew my mind when he shared the etymology of the word "suffer." The -fer at the end is related to the word for "ferry," to carry or transport. And the "suf" prefix comes from "sub," or "under." So suffering is choosing to carry pain like a burden, to keep it with us and refuse to lay it down. ACT acknowledges that pain is an inevitable part of life. We talked about the three things that lead to pain: aversive events (experienced, witnessed, and recalled - so think about that the next time you turn on the TV news or scroll your Facebook feed), comparisons, and avoidance of unpleasant sensations and emotions. We also talked about using ACT to change our thought patterns, break our identification with unhelpful thoughts, and make plans to adopt behaviors more in keeping with our goals. We spoke about the power of values, as opposed to goals, to drive sustained behavior change. And we looked at a strange exercise - repeating a single word over and over for 30 seconds - to hack our minds to let go of dysfunctional meanings and give us the space to create new, empowering ones. In case this introduction doesn't work in convincing you that Dr Hayes is a BFD (that stands for Big Deal, of course), I've borrowed a few paragraphs from his website: Steven C. Hayes is Nevada Foundation Professor in the Behavior Analysis program at the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada. An author of 44 books and nearly 600 scientific articles, his career has focused on an analysis of the nature of human language and cognition and the application of this to the understanding and alleviation of human suffering. He is the developer of Relational Frame Theory, an account of human higher cognition, and has guided its extension to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a popular evidence-based form of psychotherapy that uses mindfulness, acceptance, and values-based methods. Dr. Hayes has been President of Division 25 of the APA, of the American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology, the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. He was the first Secretary-Treasurer of the Association for Psychological Science, which he helped form and has served a 5 year term on the National Advisory Council for Drug Abuse in the National Institutes of Health. In 1992 he was listed by the Institute for Scientific Information as the 30th “highest impact” psychologist in the world and Google Scholar data ranks him among the top ~1,500 most cited scholars in all areas of study, living and dead (http://www.webometrics.info/en/node/58). His work has been recognized by several awards including the Exemplary Contributions to Basic Behavioral Research and Its Applications from Division 25 of APA, the Impact of Science on Application award from the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy. /episode/index/show/plantyourself/id/15827774

Unraveling the Mysteries of Behavior 08/25/2020

Unraveling the Mysteries of Behavior A key role of medical professionals whose job it is to help their patients and clients change, is to frame messages to maximize the odds of desired behaviors. Unfortunately, most medical professionals have been trained to communicate in ways that actually reduce patient self-efficacy by challenging their autonomy and undermining confidence in their competence. On today's podcast you'll discover how to talk so patients will not only listen, but adopt positive new behaviors and maintain them in the face of ongoing temptation. Mark Faries thinks a lot about why people do what they do. He began his career as an athletic and fitness trainer, and assumed that he could get his clients to do the right thing by telling them clearly and accurately what to do. And he quickly discovered that people interpret information and instructions in ways that seemed deeply confusing and often irrational. Even something as concrete as relating someone's body fat percentage to them could have vastly different effects, depending on the person. So Mark dove into the science, exploring the intersection of self-image, values, goals, motivations, and their relation to chosen behaviors. In particular, he was curious about the connection between religiosity - specifically the belief that the body is a temple and a divine gift to its inhabitant - and lifestyle decisions. In our conversation, we explored how emotions can lead to action or inaction. Mark helped me understand the functional differences between guilt and shame, and clarified some of my sloppy thinking about "positive" and "negative" emotions. We looked at self-conscious emotions, those that trigger an internal review process, and how the urge for self-esteem can function as we see our worth mirrored in the reactions of others. We also looked at the "Big 5" personality model, and how to tweak health interventions for individuals based on key traits - "precision behavior," as an analog of precision medicine. /episode/index/show/plantyourself/id/15748292

What We Know About COVID-19: The Science 08/18/2020

What We Know About COVID-19: The Science Michael Rothberg, MD, returns to Plant Yourself to share the latest actual scientific understanding of COVID-19. We spoke first in mid-March, when we didn't know much. Fast forward five months, and we now know a lot, but in the US at least, we're ignoring most of the science and suffering for it. I've been as confused as anyone else, daunted by epidemiological models I can't evaluate for accuracy, overwhelmed by social media fights about masks and free speech and hydroxychloroquine and vaccines and government overreach that have riven the plant-based community, and befuddled by competing claims of conferred immunity and how long it might last. So I got Michael on the Zoom and peppered him with my questions. Michael is the perfect person to talk about all this. First of all, he's been one of my best friends since September, 1977, when we met at South Orange Junior High and immediately started arguing with each other about anything and everything. I've never know anyone less afflicted by confirmation bias - he really just wants to know the truth, and actually delights in being shown evidence that conflicts with or even better, disproves his own hypotheses. Second, he's been studying the gap between medical evidence and medical practice for about 30 years, and has a deep understanding of the weight of evidence, and where claims of efficacy overreach. He's spent decades studying the flu, and medical responses to it, and so has a strong background in public health around viruses. He's currently Vice Chair for Research in the Medicine Institute of the Cleveland Clinic and Director of the Center for Value-Based Care Research. If you're curious about whether hydroxychloroquine works (spoiler: it doesn't), whether someone who's gotten COVID-19 can get it again (probably not for at least a few years), whether it's safe to eat in restaurants (probably not), whether masks work (they work to protect others, and it's just common decency to wear one), and whether asymptomatic people can have the virus (yup!) and spread it (double yup!!), then you just have to read this paragraph. If you want the science, the backstories, the color commentary, and a fundamental understanding of how the coronavirus wreaks havoc in the body and what the current medical standard of care is, you'll have to listen to or watch our conversation. /episode/index/show/plantyourself/id/15659825

The Stunning New Science of Breathing 08/11/2020

The Stunning New Science of Breathing Ryan Robinson, DDS, is a unicorn in the medical world: a dentist who helps people open up their airways and learn how to breathe properly. Breathe properly? What are you talking about?, I hear you say. If I'm alive, then I must be breathing properly, right? Not exactly. It turns out that one of the casualties of modern life is the shape of our skull and the corresponding size of our airways. For the past 300 years, since the advent of the industrial revolution, we've been eating softer food, robbing our tongues, jaws, and lips of sufficient exercise. And those deficiencies have, in turn, affected the growth and structure of our upper and lower jaws. Basically, our jaws are smaller, and our mouths are smaller, and our nasal airways are pinched. How might you know you have a breathing problem? If you snore when you sleep, check. If you clench or grind your teeth during sleep, check. If you breathe through your mouth, check. And breathing affects how well we digest our food. It affects how well we sleep. It affects our body's perceived and actual levels of stress. It can give us clear or infected sinuses. Poor breathing can actually cause depression and anxiety that we'll never fix by therapizing since the conditions are rooting in physiology rather than psychology. Ryan Robinson was an "ordinary" dentist, or "tooth mechanic" as he put it, until he discovered the field of airway health and completely changed his practice to focus on healthy airways. In our conversation, we talk about the reasons for our modern breathing problems, the wide variety of health costs, and several approaches to treatment. Bad breathing is an epidemic in the modern world, one that is profound in its harms and almost completely unrecognized by the medical profession. As a big fan of lifestyle medicine, I hope my platform can get the attention of some of the bigwigs at the American College of Lifestyle Medicine to make Breathing the 6th lifestyle pillar, after Nutrition, Exercise, Sleep, Stress management, and Social support. I hope you'll help in this mission, so that we can all begin to breathe just a little bit easier. /episode/index/show/plantyourself/id/15573137

Are Mutual Funds Destroying the World? 08/07/2020

Are Mutual Funds Destroying the World? If you're fortunate enough to have savings, you've probably thought about how to invest them responsibly. The standard answer is to stick your money into no-load mutual funds that track the market and leave it there for as long as possible. Low risk because of the diversification. Low fee because there's no genius managing your money, just an algorithm. And high return because over the long term, it's almost impossible to beat the market. What could possibly be wrong with that? Today's guest, Marco Vangelisti of Essential Knowledge for Transition, points out that all the bad things that are happening on the planet right now - habitat destruction, pollution, climate instability, oceanic dead zones, massive poverty and income inequality, social and political unrest, rising fascism - all funded in part or wholly by those very mutual funds. If you're an ethical vegan, you might think that a portfolio that excludes Perdue, Dannon, and Tyson Farms would be in concert with your values. But if you're invested in mutual funds, with hundreds or thousands of companies' equities represented, you're what Vangelisti calls an "unaware and extractive" investor. Your capital returns are essentially theft, either from the earth's natural resources that have been commandeered by a private institution at the expense of the commons, or from exploited people (whether laborers or inhabitants of areas that are being exploited). In our conversation, Marco shares the problems with mainstream investing, and offers several tiers of investment approaches that range from "aware" to "no harm" to "positive impact" to "regenerative." He also offers his perspective on risk, given the stock market's current untethering from reality and the historical crashes that have followed periods like the one we're living through now. As in, perhaps a strategy that maintains capital is actually less risky than all those mutual funds if the market is likely to crash within the next ten years. And he gives specific suggestions for places to invest to reverse climate change, empower Black and minority entrepreneurs, and defund the war industry. I'm signed up for Marco's course on Aware and No-Harm Investing, and he's offered a 20% discount to Plant Yourself listeners. Go to EK4T.com/register and choose the TANHI course option, and enter the discount code PLANT in the bottom field. /episode/index/show/plantyourself/id/15522377

Preparing for a Healthy Pregnancy with Jeanne Schumacher and Debra Shapiro, MD 08/04/2020

Healing from Racism with Bianca and Michael Alexander 07/28/2020

Healing from Racism with Bianca and Michael Alexander I reached out to Bianca and Michael because I was turning into an asshole. Specifically, I was full of rage and outrage and judgment at all the racists out there. And the fact that I was right, and on the side of right, and standing shoulder to shoulder with people of color, and fighting against systemic oppression that has been going on far too long - just made me more of an asshole, to be honest. There were two costs to my assholery that I became concerned about. First, the cost to my own mental and physical health. I was angry, and reactive, and negative - all of which can trigger a cascade of unfun chemicals that wreak havoc on the immune system, digestion, nervous system, you name it. But that would have been OK if the societal upside were positive. You know, if my righteous anger were productive, effective, leading to meaningful change. Which brings me to the second cost: while I was preening my virtue on social media, getting kudos from the choir, I was completely alienating everyone who didn't agree with every single word I said. Rather than bringing people together in understanding, I was actually contributing to the divisions and fears and traumas that are at the heart of our society's great suffering. And I know - know in a fully-intellectual and semi-experiential way - that judgment of others is essentially me projecting my shit out onto the world. The spiritual traditions that have nourished me over the years are quite clear that me feeling better than others is me in the full grip of illusion. So I "should" be full of love and compassion for all the racists, for all the deniers, for all the intellectualizers, who are failing to rise to the moment. Who are fighting tooth and nail for their right to oppress, to harm, to degrade, to objectify, to exploit. But... but... but... That's when I reached out to Bianca and Michael. They've been on the show before, talking about conscious living. About love and transcendence and meditation and universal consciousness and all that stuff that I was tossing overboard in my crusade to help Black people. And they had just sent out an email broadcast from Conscious Living TV, written by Bianca, titled, "The First Time I was Called a 'N*gger.'" And just before the cute-as-a-button photo of 3-year-old Bianca, before the article itself, about her not being invited to her friend's birthday party because her daddy didn't want a person of her color in his swimming pool, there was that wonderful Rumi quote: “Out beyond ideas of rightdoing and wrongdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." - Rumi And I thought, "Huh!" If Bianca can hold that Rumi quote, about there being a transcendent perspective that doesn't include right and wrong, in her heart as she tells the story of painful hurt and discrimination, maybe she can help guide me to a more constructive relationship with race, politics, and allyship. Bianca is Black. Her husband and business partner at Conscious Living TV, Michael, is white. And together they are my (and perhaps your) guides to love, healing, humility, liberation, power, and karma. We talk about all the negative things: guilt, shame, fear, anger, hatred, senseless pride. And explored the path forward. A path that can hold both righteous anger and love. A path of worldly action and spiritual contemplation. A path in which reparations - repair - is contextualized as karma rather than political or economic calculation. A path in which we may acknowledge, remain curious about, and bravely face our own pain-bodies: individual, ancestral, and cultural. Guided by Rumi, St. Francis, and these two beautiful souls, I hope we can all find racial healing in this conversation. Enjoy, add your voice to the conversation via the comment box below, and please share - that's how we spread our message and spread our roots. /episode/index/show/plantyourself/id/15384161

Broccoli alone won't get you to 100 with Marta Zaraska: 07/21/2020

Broccoli alone won't get you to 100 with Marta Zaraska: For the last 7 years, I've worked to improve human health and wellbeing by focusing on better nutrition, vigorous physical activity, sleep hygiene, and stress management. Turns out I may have been missing the most important determinants of health - the social ones. Marta Zaraska has written a book that is fun, fascinating, scientifically sound, and socially revolutionary. InÂ Growing Young, she argues that eating well and exercising are all well and good, but spending time with friends, cultivating a positive attitude, and helping others are far more powerful (and enjoyable!) determinants of health. And, as an added benefit, living an engaged, happy, and meaningful life can certainly cut down on cravings and binges and other self-destructive behaviors. The research that Zaraska shares on loneliness as a health threat is stunning. And given the current pandemic anxiety and social distancing and lockdowns, I suspect that the long-term health effects of all this isolation may prove as devastating as the immediate physiological harms wrought by the virus. My biggest takeaway from Growing Young is a reminder that health is not found in individuals, but in collectives. As a health professional, I'm usually working with one client at a time, and getting paid by that person. So it's easy for me to focus all my attention on their individual behaviors: what they're eating, how much they're moving, whether they're meditating or getting sufficient sleep, and all that. This individualistic approach isn't based on science, but on an invisible paradigm of the hero pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. Yes, it's great for individuals to improve their diets and lifestyles. AND - the big gains in human (and planetary) wellbeing come from the connections and relationships among us. And that's really good news, actually. For at least two reasons that I can think of. First, as Zaraska points out, positive social interactions are highly contagious, in a way that eating broccoli is not. Do a random act of kindness, and others are more likely to do one themselves. (Wait until you hear about the Tim Horton drive-thru line.) Second, being socially engaged and positive and altruistic feels really good right away. In the moment. You get those squirts of dopamine, oxytocin, and vasopressin instantaneously, as evolution's incentive to pass on your genes by mating, rearing young, and forging strong social bonds. Contrast that with eating well or exercising, which (at first at least) typically suck in the moment, and give you positive results way down the road. Also, Zaraska is optimistic that the pandemic, for all its challenges and hardships, may serve the purpose of reminding us of the life-giving and health-affirming value of community. Like Joni Mitchell sings, "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." Now that we've been deprived of much of our social life, may we understand its value, and as we move forward, may we prioritize WE over ME. After all, if it's a long, happy, healthy life you're after, taking care of others is the most selfish thing you can do. /episode/index/show/plantyourself/id/15299000

pyp-411-bojana-jankovic-edited 07/21/2020

Empowering Black Health with Lisa A Smith 07/14/2020

Empowering Black Health with Lisa A Smith Lisa A Smith is a serial entrepreneur who's made it her life's work to empower the Black community with information, skills, and philosophies that support health, peace of mind, and mutual support. Ms Smith is the founder of the Black Health Academy, creator of the Pharm to Table course, and executive director of the 7000+ member Plant Based Nutrition Support Group operating in Detroit. The mission of the Black Health Academy is to "eradicate the most common and preventable lifestyle diseases which disproportionately impact the black community." Ms Smith began her career as a social worker in the foster care system, and discovered the dysfunctions of her diet when she lived abroad, in Italy and China, and saw that other cultures used food in completely different - and far more empowering and healthy - ways. Upon her return to the States, Ms Smith became a certified personal trainer, a certified plant-based nutrition counselor, and an advocate for plant-based health in the Black community. We talked about the need for Black representation in the plant-based and vegan movements, the problem of people of color not seeing anyone who looks like them at plant-based conferences and Vegfests (specifically the paucity of Black women presenters), and ways in which the cuisine and recipes of the mainstream don't satisfy the taste buds of communities of color. We also spoke about why the Black community is receptive to "alternative" approaches to health, based on a long history of being lied to and exploited by the medical establishment. We spoke about Dr Sebi, the Honduran healer who is universally known and revered in the Black community, and almost unknown - and typically reviled as a quack - by whites. We also explored the obstacles to change, including addictions to salt, oil, and sugar, and how to address the unmet needs underlying those addictions with clarity and presence and compassion. /episode/index/show/plantyourself/id/15207707

Empathy is Stronger than Fear with Glenn Murphy 07/07/2020

Going from Racist to Anti-racist with Dustin and Josh LaJaunie 06/30/2020

Going from Racist to Anti-racist with Dustin and Josh LaJaunie Dustin and Josh LaJaunie have amazing transformation stories. They went from obese to fit. From junk food addicts to plant-based eaters. From hunters to vegans. From sedentary to active. And everyone in the plant-based and vegan communities celebrates them for these achievements. But what's most inspiring and exciting to me about their new identities has nothing to do with food or health. Instead, it's about how going plant-based started a domino-chain of changes that opened them up to full-on compassion. First, for themselves. Next, for animals. And then, for all life on the planet. From homophobic to celebrating Pride withÂ rainbow posts. From reactionary to progressive. From racist to antiracist. I've gotten some flak for publishing this conversation. I fully expect my Patreon funding to decrease. And my risk is nothing compared to Dustin and Josh, who live not only in the plant-based world, but also in the small bayou town in Southeast Louisiana where they were born. A community that is struggling to rise to the challenge of the present moment, where so many white Americans have begun to say, "This stops now." You can click through the video below to see some of the antagonistic YouTube comments. The main gist is, why can't plant-based people just stick to that topic, without going all goey about social justice and turning people off. You be the judge - does the LaJaunie brothers' transformation turn people off to the possible sequelae of going plant-based, or is it perhaps the most eloquent and beautiful argument in support of eating with compassion? I want to say one other thing to my white audience. I'm a little uncomfortable sharing this conversation at this moment, precisely because so many white liberals and progressives can look at the old, racist LaJaunies and say to themselves, "Well, that was terrible, and good for them for changing, but I've never been a racist." If that's your reaction (and I certainly share it, because it makes me feel good about myself), then I invite you to listen to this conversation through a different lens. I want you to ask yourself: Where do I need to start showing the courage that Dustin and Josh demonstrate right now? Where are my core beliefs unsupported by my actions on a daily basis? Where are my current blind spots about how I'm contributing, without intention or consciousness, to the perpetuation of racist outcomes in my society? We're not having this conversation to be congratulated. Instead, we're having it to model discomfort. The same discomfort we feel when we stand up for our way of eating in the face of peer pressure and even ridicule. The same discomfort we experience when we exercise to the point of exhaustion. Being healthy in this society; being plant-based; being vegan: these are all gyms where we've honed our discomfort muscles. Now it's time to get out of the gym, and start lifting weights to make this planet great - for everyone. /episode/index/show/plantyourself/id/15024968

The Role of Science in Public Discourse and Racial Justice: Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, MDs 06/23/2020

The Role of Science in Public Discourse and Racial Justice: Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, MDs Team Sherzai, aka Dean and Ayesha, join me on the podcast to talk about the role of science and scientists in dealing with all the false statements propagated on social media (as well as, occasionally, traditional media). What the Sherzais value highly about science is the holy grail of falsifiability; the challenge that every theory and finding implicitly makes to other scientists: prove me wrong! They also appreciate the inherent humility that is baked into true science, as well as the imperfect nature of knowledge at any given time. And how that humility is sacrificed when scientists annoint themselves past protectors, rather than claiming their rightful mantle as future seekers. It's a fine line to walk - we discussed the Covid deniers arguing that the whole thing is a conspiracy to make us compliant victims of the pharmaceutical industry, in light of what we know about widespread corruption and greed in that very industry. While the political discourse around the coronavirus is mostly binary, they stressed the importance of nuance, complexity, and humility in ascertaining the truth of this disease and how to deal with it. We also talk about racism, and where it comes from in the brain, and what we can and should do about it. As medical researchers and clinicians, the Sherzais have not been shy about advocating for racial justice in the aftermath of the uprisings over George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmed Arbery, and now Rayshard Brooks. We talk about their backgrounds, the racial profiling they have (and haven't) been subjected to, and Amy Cuddy's concept of "the range of allowable behaviors" that defines how Dean, a darker-skinned man with a non-Western last name, may comport himself in public - restrictions that light-skinned Ayesha is not bound by, despite her equally "foreign-sounding" name. In case you're not familiar with the Sherzais, here's a bit of their bio, shamelessly copied from their website: A unique husband and wife team on the cutting edge of brain science, Dr. Dean and Dr. Ayesha Sherzai are dedicated to educating people on the simple steps to long-term health and wellness through their work as Directors of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University Medical Center, with patients, as well as through online writing, videos, and books. As Co-Directors of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University Medical Center, the Sherzais, through research and their extensive collective medical backgrounds, work to demystify the steps to achieving long-term brain health and the prevention of devastating diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia. Dean Sherzai, MD, PhD, is co-director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University. Dean trained in Neurology at Georgetown University School of Medicine, and completed fellowships in neurodegenerative diseases and dementia at the National Institutes of Health and UC San Diego. He also holds a PhD in Healthcare Leadership with a focus on community health from Andrews University. Ayesha Sherzai, MD is a neurologist and co-director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University, where she leads the Lifestyle Program for the Prevention of Neurological Diseases. She completed a dual training in Preventative Medicine and Neurology at Loma Linda University, and a fellowship in Vascular Neurology and Epidemiology at Columbia University. She is also a trained plant-based culinary artist. If you haven't read their book, The Alzheimer's Solution, I highly recommend it for anyone with a brain, or who knows anyone with a brain. /episode/index/show/plantyourself/id/14939147

The Key to Human Resilience with Scott Carney 06/16/2020

The Key to Human Resilience with Scott Carney 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. Psychologists and coaches typically work on the cognitive level; the realm of thoughts. Motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy - these are based on the idea that if people fixed their dysfunctional thinking, their behaviors would change to be in line with their goals, instead of sabotaging them. And it's true that sustained changes in thinking can and do shift behavior. The problem is, our thoughts are often not the root cause of the dysfunctional behavior, but are themselves symptoms of something deeper. The question is, what is the root cause? Not just of dysfunction, but the source of all our interpretations of reality, and our responses to those interpretations? Today's guest, Scott Carney, spent the past three years exploring that question. His exploration took the form of a question, based initially on his experience with the work of Wim Hof, the Dutch "Iceman" who trained himself to perform physiologically "impossible" things, like control his core temperature and immune system. Scott wondered, what other "unconscious" biological functions can we gain control over? And what does this say about our potential as human beings? In other words, can we extend the freedom to choose our responses to stimuli to the automatic processes of our bodies? Scott's quest took him to flotation tanks that have been used therapeutically to treat PTSD. To a Latvian sauna to receive a redline treatment that appears to help significantly with depression. To an MDMA-informed couples therapy session with his wife. To a class in juggling kettlebells to explore the concept of flow. To a Peruvian ayahuasca ceremony. And - fans of Andrew "Spudfit" Taylor will love this - to eating nothing but potatoes for five days. Just as my clients seek freedom from their conditioned responses, Scott explored the world of people seeking the freedom to reset their nervous systems, immune systems, endocrine systems, and muscular systems. For better physical and mental health. For greater control over themselves. And to discover the edges of what it means to be a self-determined human being. Scott calls this ability The Wedge. In our conversation, we explore the science of neural symbols, discuss how to decouple sensation from emotion (hugely important for people trying to change how they eat and exercise), and explore the physical analogs of depression and anxiety, and how careful introduction of environmental stressors can make us happier and healthier. /episode/index/show/plantyourself/id/14843723

How Pollution Affects Chronic Disease with Richard Kwok 06/09/2020

The Practice of Compassionate Self-Care During Times of Crisis with Bojana Jankovic Weatherly, MD 06/03/2020

The Practice of Compassionate Self-Care During Times of Crisis with Bojana Jankovic Weatherly, MD Dr Bojana Jankovic Weatherly is one of my favorite physicians, double board certified in internal and integrative medicine. She has also trained in functional medicine, nutrition and mindfulness. Dr Jankovic Weatherly is a real stickler for evidence of efficacy, whatever modality she's exploring or recommending. Which makes her a very reliable podcast guest, especially when talking about topics not fully embraced by mainstream medical practice. And, she's a mom struggling to homeschool two children in a New York apartment while working full time from home. We talked about the stresses that most people are dealing with around the pandemic: fear, uncertainty, economic hardship, lack of social support, disease, fatigue. And how a mindful, gentle, kind approach can take some of the pressure off, and allow us to seek our best health without a constant voice of doubt or recrimination or "should should should." We also explored Dr Jankovic Weatherly's decision to stay home and serve her patients through telemedicine, and the conflict she felt (feels) over not participating in the "front lines" of New York hospitals. And clarified options for Covid-19 testing, based on the latest clinical evidence. One note: this episode was recorded before the murder of Lloyd George and subsequent protests, so if our conversation sounds painfully aware, to some extent I can blame it on timing. And to some extent, the issues raised by his murder, and those of Ahmaud Arbery and Breanna Norton and hundreds of other Black people killed by a White Supremacist culture of impunity, were on full display for a long time prior to our recording. And while this podcast is mostly about health and plant-based living, I recognize that I can do much more to support my Black sisters and brothers leading the movement for racial justice. And that I pledge to do going forward. /episode/index/show/plantyourself/id/14686136

How to Run an Effective Group Coaching Practice with Susan Epstein 05/27/2020

Mindfulness as the Ultimate Leverage in Habit Change 05/27/2020

Staying off the Trauma Train with Shay Seaborne 05/26/2020

How to Succeed at (Small, Heart-Centered) Business with Mark Silver 05/19/2020

Plant Yourself!

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