Switch4good

Our guest today, Nancy Leeds Gribble, thought she had it all. She was a successful realtor, married to the love of her life, and mother to a happy child. Then tragedy struck, changing her world forever.    Living in a haze of grief for several years, Nancy decided to take control of her life, and change her mindset, and her priorities. In 2014, she enrolled in the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, immersed herself in her love of health and fitness, and once again, found joy.   Fast forward to today, and Nancy is a Culinary Nutrition & Lifestyle Expert. She wants you to know you don’t have to be defined or restricted by your age. With an emphasis on whole foods, plant-based eating, and exercise, she helps women – especially women over 50 - achieve sustainable health, mind and body transformations to live longer, happier lives.   Join us to hear Nancy’s powerful story of resilience and hope!    “Most women my age are very calorie-focused. So it’s if you want to lose weight, energy in, energy out. How many

Our guest today is physician, author, and founder of the American Institute of MindBody Medicine, Dr. Kim D’Eramo. Dr. D’Eramo started her career in Emergency Medicine. There, she observed that many patients with chronic illness had a mental and emotional component that kept them in their disease. After being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder herself, she was forced to confront the shortcomings of the medical world that she knew so well. She embarked on a healing journey and now dedicates her career to sharing the power of mind-body medicine on her YouTube channel and in her book, The MindBody Toolkit: 10 Tools to Increase Your Energy, Enhance Productivity, and Even Reverse Disease. Dr. D’Eramo empowers us to heal and get happy by tapping into the body’s inherent wisdom.   So tune in as we discuss the principles of mind-body medicine, the power we have over our health, and so much more!   “There’s a lot of wrongness that gets put on ill health. Like, I used to do this to myself. Like, oh my God, why did I

There’s a good chance you could be breathing wrong. While it may seem simplistic—yes, everyone can breathe—how we breathe plays a vital role in our health and our happiness. Reporter James Nestor—author of the best-selling new book, Breathe—sat down to chat with us about the power of breath. You don’t have to commit to meditation or a regimented breathing practice; all it takes is consistent breath in everyday life. Listen in to learn how to breathe better and improve your health in ways you never thought possible.   What we discuss in this episode: His latest book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art How to hack into your body and calm yourself down Breathing and exercise performance  Breathing and sex The healing power of breath   Click the link below and support the ADD SOY Act! https://switch4good.org/add-soy-act/ Send us a voice message. We want to hear from you!  Switch4Good.org/podcast Dairy-Free Swaps Guide: Easy Anti-Inflammatory Meals, Recipes, and Tips https://switch4good.org/dairy-

Our guest today, Kiki Nelson (aka Plantiful Kiki), tried just about every diet on the market, without any long-term success. It wasn’t until she faced more serious health issues that she decided to take one last chance, with a high-carbohydrate, low-fat, plant-based diet. And in just over a year, Kiki lost 70 pounds, kept it off, and reversed her risk for heart disease and diabetes.    Now, through her YouTube channel, Plantiful Kiki, and in her latest book, “Plantifully Lean: 125+ Simple and Satisfying Plant-Based Recipes for Health and Weight Loss: A Cookbook,” she shares her story alongside convenient, delicious recipes that were integral to her success.   So tune in to hear about Kiki’s transformative journey, and all her wonderful insights and tips that we hope will help and inspire you on your journey!   “I didn’t feel great, and that’s on top of just feeling frustrated in general because my numbers were not improving no matter what I was doing, how much grass-fed meat or butter or pasture-raised eggs I

What if, by quitting or reducing your alcohol intake, you could see an improvement in your relationships, your health, your productivity, and even your appearance?   Our guest today is entrepreneur, journalist, and author James Swanwick.  In 2010, James had his very last drink. As a result, his life improved dramatically. Now, he helps others take control of their drinking through his 30-Day Challenge and Project 90 programs. In his podcast, Alcohol-Free Lifestyle, and his book, The 30-Day No Alcohol Challenge: Your Simple Guide To Easily Reduce Or Quit Alcohol, James teaches casual drinkers how to change their relationship with alcohol.    Join us as James shares practical tips on how to reduce your desire for alcohol, how to socialize without drinking, and the myriad benefits of being alcohol-free!   “Now, in 2022, they did a study of 35,000 middle-aged Brits, and what they found was that one seemingly innocent glass of alcohol per night – seven standard drinks a week – was enough to cause some gray and whi

Is it possible to turn back the clock on our metabolism, burn fat, and increase longevity, all while being able to enjoy the food we eat? According to our guest today, it most certainly is.   Dr. William Li is an internal medicine specialist, scientist, and New York Times best-selling author.  His groundbreaking work in the field of angiogenesis – which is the process of developing new blood vessels in the body – has led to 40 new medical treatments for cancer, diabetes, and obesity, to name a few.    In his new book, Eat to Beat Your Diet: Burn Fat, Heal Your Metabolism, and Live Longer, Dr. Li shatters some of the myths we’ve been conditioned to believe about metabolism, weight loss, and the role fat plays in the human body.    In this wildly informative episode, we take a deep dive into what we should actually be eating and doing to be the healthiest, fittest version of ourselves!   “People go crazy about insulin spikes and glucose spikes. You know what? I sort of want people to kind of chill out about tha

Today’s guest is best described as a multifaceted force of nature. Hayley Marie Norman is an actor, writer, activist, and podcast host. She’s lit up the screen with Hollywood legends Will Smith, Chris Rock, and Eddie Murphy, to name a few. In her wildly entertaining podcast called Datemare with Hayley Marie Norman, she brings her effervescence and comedic prowess to discussing her dating life post-divorce with notable guests and tales that will shock and delight. And as an activist in Hollywood, Hayley uses her platform to share the vegan message and shine a light on the cruelty and environmental destruction for which animal agriculture is responsible.   So join us today as we take a deep dive into everything from activism to adventure to affairs of the heart!   “Erykah Badu has this great quote that’s something along the lines of “vegan food or plant-based eating is the original soul food,” and it’s true because it is, and when I think about veganism I think about the government, the higher forces poisoning

Our guest today, Chris MacAskill, is the exceptionally likable geophysicist and founder of the image-sharing service SmugMug AND the creator of the very popular YouTube channel Plant Chompers. At Plant Chompers, Chris offers entertaining, science-based content delivered with wit and verve on the benefits of a plant-dominant diet. He debunks popular myths while exposing marketing tactics that encourage unhealthy eating habits. The videos are terrific, uplifting, and we challenge you to watch just one!   From experiencing homelessness on the streets of Oakland as a child to graduating from Stanford to working alongside the legendary Steve Jobs, tune in to this riveting episode to find out how Chris overcame adversity and charted his path to success and what makes Plant Chompers so unique and compelling!   “You may be able to eat some kinds of fish now still and help wreck the planet while you do it. Being an earth scientist, it’s a huge worry for me. But you’re not going to be able to do it for much longer the

Today we are excited to welcome Susan Peirce Thompson, Ph.D., back to the show again. For those who need a refresher, Susan is an expert in the psychology of eating and has shared so much with us about the science behind food addiction and addiction in general. Susan is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Rochester, the President of the Institute for Sustainable Weight Loss, and the CEO of Bright Line Eating Solutions.  On top of that, Susan is a successful published author. We learned about her first book Bright Line Eating: The Science of Living Happy, Thin and Free, on episode 10, but now Susan is back at it again with her newest book, ReZoom. In this episode, we discuss different sections of her book, what it means to be addicted to food, the difference between eating disorders and food addiction, why food addiction is the hardest addiction to break, and more.   “Can a food addict healthily have joy in eating and around their food? Absolutely. When you are

Dr. Erin Tjam is a health scientist and professor, and she’s here with us today to give us some tough love about what we’ve been doing to our body’s largest organ – our skin. In her new book, Skin Sobering: 99% of Products Age and Harm Your Skin, Dr. Tjam and co-writer Dr. Ryuichi Utsugi break down why we’ve been mistreating our skin by relying on skincare products, how we’ve been deceived by the billion-dollar beauty industry, and what we can do to stop the damage we’re doing. Skin sobering is a natural and unique approach to keeping our skin at its healthiest and most vibrant.    So tune in and join us as we dig deep into a skin treatment that Dr. Tjam says is better for your health, better for your appearance, better for your wallet, and better for the environment!   “Our population right now, the biggest problem is we are so dependent on these chemical topical products called skincare products, creams, and lotions that we believe we cannot go without it. But all science point to the opposite of that we sh

Our guest today, Austin Meyer, is a documentarian, journalist, podcaster, and animal rights activist, giving a voice to those whose stories might not otherwise be heard. He’s worked for HBO, The New York Times, and National Geographic, to name a few outlets, and his filmmaking has taken him to faraway places like India, Nepal, and Zambia, where Austin chose to adopt a plant-based diet.    Austin is also a passionate ultrarunner. And on April 15th of this year, with a time of ten hours and seven minutes, Austin showed the world what a vegan athlete can accomplish by winning the Zion 100K Trail Race.    This is a must-listen episode for anyone trying to achieve the improbable and for any naysayers claiming it can’t be done on a plant-based diet!   “I will say one of the interesting elements is that most of the ultra-athletes who I see when it comes to their nutrition game around race day will actually move towards my end of the spectrum when it comes to race day. Like most people aren’t eating dairy, they’re no

You’d be hard-pressed to find a fitness coach with a greater understanding of how to reshape the human body than today’s guest – Maxime Sigouin, the founder of Fit Vegan Coaching. Maxime has been a bodybuilder, triathlete, and he has walked runways all over Europe as a model. And to excel in those, you need 3 very different body types! So Maxime has learned precisely what it takes to transform physiques, and he dedicates his life to helping his clients change their mindset and achieve remarkable body transformations themselves, all while enjoying a whole food plant-based diet.    Tune in to hear Maxime’s fitness and health philosophy and maybe experience a transformation yourself!   “And as we got into my show, we got very strict on the calories, and I’m 6 foot 4, and I was, I think I was eating 1,500 calories, 1,600 calories at the end of the prep. And I was down to like about 4% body fat. You could see all the veins in my stomach, and I just, you could see everything. I was an anatomy chart ultimately. But

From writing speeches for sitting Senators and Presidential candidates to acting as Vice President of Channel One News to writing the teleplay that earned Kyra Sedgwick her first Emmy nomination, today’s guest, writer, and activist Roger Wolfson, has been in the room where it happens, achieving remarkable success in the fields of news, politics, and entertainment. Roger was also Commissioner of Animal Services for the city of Los Angeles, where he fought to establish and maintain Los Angeles as a no-kill city and implement a plant-based diet for all shelter dogs.   Tune in to this must-listen episode, where we discuss everything from the inner workings of Washington, to the challenges of writing in Hollywood, to how we can really make a difference as activists!    “You know, over the years, I’ve become a more spiritual person. I’ve done a lot more reflection. I’ve tried to grow as a human being. I’ve failed at times, and I’ve succeeded in others. But I do believe that when you eat meat when you participate in

Our guest today, Desiree Nielsen, is a registered plant-based dietitian and national bestselling author. Her practice focus is chronic digestive and inflammatory diseases, and she helps her clients heal with plant-based approaches that lead to optimal health.  You may have already heard of Desiree through The Allsorts Podcast, one of her books, or one of her articles in USA Today or Mind Body Great. She now has her third book out, Good for Your Gut, which we get to discuss in this episode. It is both a cookbook and a great guide to learn more about how to have healthy digestive system. Her practical, light-hearted approach to her work draws in listeners, readers, and clients from all over the world. Join us today to experience that first-hand!    “How we feed our gut microbiome determines what kind of a microbiome we have. And that determines the type of communication happening in our immune system. Our gut microbiome can actually help promote appropriate inflammatory responses.” – Desiree Nielsen   What we d

In April of 2023, today’s guest, Marielle Williamson, planned to hold an event for fellow students at Eagle Rock High School to promote the benefits of plant milks and highlight the consequences of dairy milk consumption and production. However, the school’s administration informed her she could only promote the benefits of plant milks if she did so for dairy milk, too, citing a federal law stating any information that could directly or indirectly restrict the sale or marketing of cow’s milk on school campuses is prohibited. So, on May 2nd of this year, a lawsuit was filed against her school district and the USDA on Marielle’s behalf for violating her First Amendment rights.   Tune in to this very special episode to hear the remarkable story of an exceptionally courageous student who’s taking a stand against government corruption and corporate greed! “And then, the plant-based milk, which I’m lucky that my school offers plant-based milk, but there’s only like two or three of them. They run out like that. An

Does your doctor live by example? Our guest today is a doctor who certainly walks her talk and then some. Dr. Harriet Davis is an expert on what it takes to change the human body’s composition. Not only is she a Board-Certified family medicine and sports medicine physician, but at the age of 40, she applied her fitness and plant-based nutrition mastery and launched another career competing as a professional bikini athlete. She earned her International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation pro card in 2014 and graced stages throughout the United States, thus showing the world, and her patients, what’s possible as a 100% vegan athlete. Tune in to hear Dr. Davis share her inspiring story and wealth of knowledge regarding all things plant-based fitness!   “When you can eat 2,200, 2,500 calories a day and not do a lot of cardio, you feel great. You sleep well. You’re less irritable. Your hormones are more balanced. You know, mentally, you’re clear, and your workouts feel amazing, and a lot of times, your weight goes

If you are vegan or vegetarian, at some point, someone, somewhere, has probably asked you how you get enough protein. It’s a common misconception that a plant-based diet is deficient in protein. However, in their new book, Plant-Powered Protein: Nutrition Essentials and Dietary Guidelines for All Ages, our guests today, dietitians Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina, debunk the myth that you can’t get quality protein without eating animals. The book provides an abundance of evidence for why plant protein is, in fact, the superior choice. This is their 7th book together and their 20th in total, many of them bestsellers.     Brenda Davis is widely regarded as the Godmother of Vegan Dietitians. You might also remember Brenda from her amazing appearance on episode #92 of the Switch4Good podcast.  Vesanto Melina is a consultant for the government of British Columbia and recipient of the prestigious Clintec Award for leadership in dietetics.  Tune in to hear these plant-based pioneers set the record straight about the

While vegan activists have been struggling to find the most effective way to get people to stop eating animals, today’s guest employs a unique approach to tackle this dire problem. In an effort to empower reluctant people to change their dietary patterns, Brian Kateman coined the term “Reducetarian”—which means a person who is deliberately reducing his or her consumption of meat—and he co-founded the Reducetarian Foundation, a non-profit spreading this message. Brian is also the author of Meat Me Halfway, which attempts to create common ground at the dinner table, and he is also the co-director and producer of the documentary of the same name.  Tune in to hear about how Brian is addressing the ethical and environmental problems of animal consumption and production and the practical steps we can take to do something about it right now!   “At the end of the day, I want to reduce societal consumption of animal products to the greatest extent possible, and I want to use the most effective tools to make them happe

For years, Kelley Gilberry ate the standard American diet and had the weight gain and clogged arteries to show for it.  But a devastating personal loss and a pivotal doctor’s visit changed his life forever. Seeking answers on how to get his health back, Kelley was so inspired by what he learned that he decided to kick his old habits to the curb and commit 100% to a whole food, plant-based lifestyle. A former instructor at the prestigious Naval Academy in Annapolis, Kelley is now a Certified Holistic Nutritionist and Health Coach.  He is also an author.   His first book, Plants Saved My Life: How Going Vegan Transformed My Health, provides insights into how we can transform our bodies, and it shares a powerful message of hope for all of you wanting to make a positive change to your health and your lives. “So when you go to the grocery store, it’s like, hey, where are the plants? Instead of ‘Where’s the beef,’ you want to say, ‘Where are the plants?’ So you say, ‘Where are the plants,’ and I want you to get th

Our guest today, Will Bulsiewicz, also known as Dr. B, is a gastroenterologist who is also the author of the books Fiber Fueled and The Fiber Fueled Cookbook. He lost more than 45 pounds when he switched to a plant-based diet and now has his own patients take control of their health and reverse their own digestive problems by following his fiber-fueled prescriptions. We first talked to Dr. B in 2020 when he was about to release his first book Fiber Fueled: The Plant-Based Gut Health Program for Losing Weight, Restoring Your Health, and Optimizing Your Microbiome. During our first episode together, he was nervous about how well it would do in a pandemic. Not to our surprise, it very quickly became a New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller. Today we talked to Dr. B about The Exam Room podcast, how to poop properly, and what to expect from the Fiber Fueled Cookbook that is soon to be released. He also answers important health, gut, and fiber questions taken from our Switch4Good Podcast Facebo