Switch4good

We are so fortunate to have a guest who was with us when it all started. He was our very first guest on the Switch4Good podcast, so it’s only fitting that he should join us for our very special 200th episode. You will even see him on our Switch4Good staff page, that’s how closely we work with him. We’re so thrilled and truly honored to have with us, the esteemed Doctor and vegan activist, Dr. Milton Mills! For those of you who missed our first episode, Dr. Mills earned his medical degree from Stanford University and did his Internal Medicine residency at Georgetown University Hospital. He now practices critical care medicine in the D.C. area. Dr. Mills was also the lead plaintiff in PCRM’s lawsuit asking for warning labels on milk, and he also stars in the very excellent documentaries “What the Health” and “The Invisible Vegan.”  Tune in to this very special, must-listen-to episode as Dr. Mills shares his boundless wisdom with us! “Dairy is probably one of the most unnatural products that humans consume. It h

No matter what your relationship to food is, we all live in a world manipulated by an addiction business model. We’re constantly confronted with ads for foods that have been designed to make us want more, and it began when the tobacco industry started buying up brands like Nabisco and Kraft Foods. Dr. Joan Ifland is an expert in processed food addiction, and her research is both eye-opening and appalling. This is a gripping conversation about the intersections of human behavior, evolution, and modern-day consumer habits.  "Diet-related diseases have surpassed smoking-related diseases as the leading cause for natural death, so I think of processed food like cigarettes." - Dr. Joan Ifland What we discuss in this episode: How the addiction business model applies to food How do we get addicted to food? The overlap between tobacco and food  How to tell if you are addicted to certain foods  Immersion recovery and practical tips to feel better Joan analyzes Dotsie’s relationship with food in a group setting   Res

“In fact, there was a great study that showed that, in the long term, young children and adolescents who consumed minimally processed soy products had a lower breast cancer risk later on in life than those who did not consume soy products. And I thought that was a great thing to point out because this means that it’s actually healthy throughout the lifecycle, not just when you’re in those years around menopause, but even as children and adolescents it can help set you up for a healthier lifestyle.” - Dr. Gemma Newman Today we are really thrilled to have with us a wonderful soul who truly exemplifies practicing what you preach. A staunch advocate of a plant-based diet and plant-based nutrition, Dr. Gemma Newman, aka The Plant Power Doctor, is a British medical doctor, author of the book The Plant Power Doctor, and host of The Wellness Edit podcast. She has contributed to articles for magazines including Glamour, Zest, and Healthy Magazine. And if that weren’t enough, Dr. Newman is the Senior Partner at a famil

Born and raised in East Los Angeles and forged in the fires of adversity, cookbook author Chef Babette Davis burst onto the culinary scene with her renowned vegan restaurant Stuff I Eat in Inglewood, California, where the soul food platter is one of the many, many must-try dishes. An ageless paragon of fitness and vibrant health, Chef Babette has legions of social media followers who love seeing her posts of this incredibly fit 71-year-old working out or cooking or even in a bikini. If she’s not preparing delicious dishes in the kitchen of her restaurant, teaching cooking classes, or hosting the competition cooking show Peeled, you’ll find her running stairs all around Los Angeles. Always inspiring. Always funny. Always real. Here are our favorite quotes from Chef Babette in this episode that you don’t want to miss:  “My quality of life when I’m 93 needs to be as awesome as it is today. I am on no medication. I can stand up, put my shoe and my sock on, and balance myself through the entire process, and I can

Rip Esselstyn is a world record holder, former pro triathlete, best-selling author, firefighter, and founder of Plant-Strong—an organization helping people lead healthier lives through plant-based nutrition. After a career as a pro athlete, Rip transitioned to firefighting at the Engine 2 firehouse in Austin, Texas. It was there that after a friendly competition, he realized one of his co-workers was on the brink of major health issues. As the son of the prolific Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Rip couldn’t just stand by. He set up the firefighters with plant-based food and the results were astonishingly positive. Since then, Rip created the Engine 2 Diet and the Plant-Strong program to help more people thrive. Rip is one of the most charismatic guests we’ve had on this show and we are so excited to share this episode with you. Enjoy!    What we discuss in this episode: Apps: Cruelty Cutter, HappyCow, Bunny Free, epi App The firefighter lifestyle and Rip’s experience in the firehouse The recovery benefits of a plant

Julie Piatt, a.k.a. “SriMati,” is a mystic, yogi, musician, artist, chef, author, and healer. She is also the mother of 4 children and finds the divine in all experiences in life, beautiful and challenging alike.  Julie has created over 300 plant-based recipes for a series of bestselling cookbooks and is the author of the plant-based cheese bible, “This Cheese Is Nuts!”. She also co-authored the internationally acclaimed books “The Plantpower Way” and ``The Plantpower Way; Italia” with her husband, Rich Roll.  Julie is known for her "NOT" cheese and created SriMu NOT Cheese to bring delicious plant-based flavors into our kitchens. In this episode, we get to talk to her about healthy living, spiritual development, and of course, plant-based cheese! “In my experience, life is full of challenges and initiations as we go through the human life of becoming. From my perspective, we are all from the one breath, and we came individuated into these different life forms to experience a life of all different flavors to

Our guest today, Nidhi Gupta, was born and raised in India, but her passion for helping people took her on an expansive journey. After 16 years of rigorous medical training across two continents, she has offered her dream job in 2018 as an attending physician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in Nashville.  As a physician, she saw the severe consequences of wireless mobile devices being overused by her patients. She noticed obesity, sleep disorders, and mental health issues, and realized that she was unable to truly help them until she empowered them with knowledge about wireless mobile device overuse and strategies to mitigate the addictive habits that come along with them. Nidhi Gupta eventually bravely resigned from her dream job and launched Phreedom (Ungrip Devices. Grip Life). Over the last 2 years, the initiative has become an international educational platform touching the lives of her patients as well as various communities, schools, healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, technologists, and

We’re coming to you with a dynamic guest: Dani Taylor is a vegan figure competitor and champion. That’s right, she’s a bodybuilder built from pure plants! She’s incredibly healthy and strong now, but she grew up eating a diet that consisted primarily of processed foods and little produce. She reached 210 pounds at 16 years old, but then switched to a plant-based diet at 17 and began to lose weight and take her health into her own hands. She eventually found strength training and began to learn more about food. And she only went up from there! Flash forward to today, and she is the co-founder of VeganProteins.com and PlantBuilt.com, which is a nonprofit organization of strength-based vegan athletes who compete together to raise awareness for veganism and money for rescued animals at farm sanctuaries. Talk about combining your passions together to make positive change! Dani is a Certified Personal Trainer with the AFAA, Certified in Plant-Based Nutrition with Cornell University and the T. Colin Campbell Foundat

In today’s episode, we’re switching things up a bit and coming to you with a mother/daughter team. It’s likely that you’ve heard of the Esselstyns before, as they are powerful leaders in the plant-based movement. Ann Esselstyn is a creative and energetic advocate for a whole-foods plant-based diet and way of life. She specializes in inventing recipes that have helped countless people prevent and reverse heart diseases. She shares powerful ways to shop, cook, and get even the most spectacle eaters to dive into the plant-based world. As if that’s not enough, Ann is the author of the recipe section of Dr. Esselstyn’s bestselling book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, and co-author of The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook with her daughter, Jane Esselstyn. Jane has also worked as an educator for 20+ years. She started teaching sex ed to middle school kids and has promoted growth and learning in the fields of science, outdoors, and health education. This mom of three brings clarity and humor to conversa

Here at Switch4Good, we are all about embracing change, so for today’s episode, we are ‘switching’ things up on the podcast. Instead of having an expert on our show to inspire all of you in the audience, we’re bringing our inspirational audience onto the show. In this episode, we interview three lovely podcast listeners about their inspiring transformational journeys that they’ve all bravely undertaken. Today you’ll hear from Jess McKay, someone who has found a way to combine his love of puppets and animal rights in a positive way. You’ll also hear from Mary Cline, a woman who proves that change is possible at any stage of life. Lastly, we sit down with Jim Stark, a man who followed the Standard American diet and ended up with Standard American Health issues. We talk to him about his healing journey through plant-based foods and a willingness to change.  We know that you will walk away from today’s episode simply inspired. And a reminder that you, our audience, inspire us every single day!    What we discuss:

KRS Edstrom M.S. is a nationally syndicated author, advice columnist, lecturer, and radio host. You may have seen her in publications such as USA Today, Los Angeles Times, or even the Wall Street Journal. It’s more likely, though, that you’ve heard Dotsie mention KRS on the podcast, as KRS has worked with Dotsie on an emotional level for years now as her therapist.  KRS is a meditative guide that doesn’t work off of a pre-made template. She holds a master’s degree in Health Science and has studied academic and alternative methods of healing for over 20 years. Throughout the years she has overcome alcoholism, agoraphobia, and eating disorders. She’s highly empathetic and tunes into the emotions and feelings that her client is experiencing during their sessions to work through them and process them in a healthy way.  In this episode, KRS does a special mediation with Alexandra to release some blocked energy and guides listeners to do the same. KRS reminds us that although it can be hard to face our unwanted emo

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 enjoy eating and around their food? Absolutely. When you are in recovery

Breast surgeons often don’t rise to celebrity fame, but Dr. Kristi Funk gained celeb-worthy attention as both Angelina Jolie and Sheryl Crow’s breast cancer surgeons. Dr. Funk has infectious positive energy and over two decades of experience in this field. She’s a firm believer in taking control of your health through nutrition and lifestyle, but she’s also incredibly well-versed in the research and science behind this disease. We had her on to chat about her book, Breasts: The Owner’s Manual, confusion about soy, the benefits of a plant-based diet, hormones, and more. Check out the bullet points below to continue to connect with Dr. Funk and her life-saving work.     What we discuss in this episode:   - How she discovered that a plant-based diet could help prevent cancer   - Breast cancer by the numbers    - Deep dive into revolutionary cancer studies   - Dismantling soy and cancer myths with science   - Cancer-fighting foods   - Bioidentical hormones for menopause   - Cancer-kicking PowWow Podcast   - Dr. F

Our podcast guest today is a speaker, life coach, vegan, published author, personal trainer, body-builder, and peaceful change-maker. Monk Coleman joins us today to share some of the love-based wisdom he’s learned through a transformative healing journey.  Monk grew up with a single parent and little resources, and he coped with life’s challenges and the painful emotions that come from them by relying on alcohol and drugs. After struggling for years, Joe chose a path of meditation and empathy, and we know that you will learn a lot from his inspiring story. Join us in today’s episode to learn how humans are “programmed” starting at birth, why generational trauma is real and powerful, and how being present through meditation can change your life! “The more I healed, the more compassion I started to develop within myself. And the love that I always wanted from outside sources, I was starting to get from myself. Nothing outside of me could give me what I was searching for.” - Monk Coleman   What we discussed: Ho

Our guest today is a successful businesswoman, a strategic consultant in the plant-based business arena, and a keen investor. Elysabeth Alfano began her career working with Fortune 500 before running her own international business. Armed with knowledge from Northwestern University and the Thunderbird School of Global Management, Elysabeth made a name for herself by working with big brands such as IBM-Europe and The Kellogg Company in Brand Management.  Over the years her path has turned its course in a plant-based direction, and today she is the founder of Plant-Powered Consulting and co-founder of VegTech. Join us as we speak to her about how she recently made history through a first-of-its-kind plant-based ETF, what investing in a plant-based future means for the stock market, and impact investing.  “Our current [food] system is inefficient. If we used our resources better, we could address the problem at hand. And that problem is that we are tasked with making more food that is more nutritious, in a shorte

In today’s episode, we get to spend time with Wayne Pacelle, one of the leading contemporary animal rights advocates in the world. He is a graduate of Yale University, founder of Animal Wellness Action, and has led efforts to pass 1,500 state laws for animals, more than 100 federal laws and amendments, 30 ballot initiatives, and 500 corporate agreements.  If that’s not impressive enough, in his free time he wrote two books, both New York Times best-sellers, titled The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them and The Humane Economy: How Innovators and Enlightened Consumers Are Transforming the Lives of Animals. Both Alexandra and Dotsie have worked with Wayne on a variety of animal issues, from the Kangaroos are Not Shoes global campaign to the current work Switch4Good and Wayne’s organization, Animal Wellness Action, are partnering on to bring soy milk into U.S. public schools.  In today’s episode with Wayne, we discuss exactly how and why Wayne started taking action to protect animals at a you

Our guest today, Ocean Robbins, has been a change-maker from a young age and shares his story with us on this episode. His journey began when he was born in a 1-room log cabin, miles away from other people in the middle of the forest in British Columbia, Canada. He watched his family grow most of the food they consumed and lived on less than $500 a year. He eventually moved to California where he was schooled at home and started his first business called “Ocean’s Bakery” at just 11 years old. His creativity didn’t stop there when, at just 16 years old, he founded Youth for Environmental Sanity, known by its acronym YES!.  Fast forward to today and Ocean is co-founder & CEO of the 750,000-member Food Revolution Network. He is also the author of the bestselling book 31-Day Food Revolution: Heal Your Body, Feel Great, and Transform Your World.  He is the executive producer of the documentary The Need To Grow.  On today’s show Ocean talks to us about what it is like raising autistic kids, the science behind t

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 learning more about how to have a 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 w

We are so excited to have cardiologist, Dr. Columbus Batiste, on the show to have a well-rounded and deep discussion on healthy living. Years ago he embarked on a crusade to educate and empower his patients to take control of their lives, and his passion and knowledge have expanded throughout communities all over the country. After watching his father suffer from diabetes, Dr. Batiste went plant-based and launched the Integrative Cardiovascular Disease Program in California. Now that’s what we call “taking action!” His sole goal is to educate so that “each one can teach one” about the power of healthy plant-based foods.  This soon-to-be author, activist, cardiologist, and nonprofit cofounder invites us all to become a part of the Healthy Heart Nation and talks to us about the best diet for a healthy heart, silent heart attacks, and the Slave Food Project, and more.    “You don’t have to wait for perfection. You don’t have wait to have all of the knowledge available to you. You don’t have to wait to have every

Our podcast guest today has taken her love of healthy food, and her expertise in acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and combined them to help people navigate their sexual health. Christine DeLozier is an acupuncturist and herbalist with her own private practice helping males, females, and of all orientations and identities have better sex!  She started off treating her acupuncture patients for back pain, neck pain, and headaches. But when someone asked her if she could help with stronger erections, she rose to the challenge and has never looked back.   In today’s show, we discuss what “great sex” really is, how our diet affects our sexual health, and why being kind lovers is so important in today’s world. Christine also shares some juicy tips with us on how to give great oral sex without getting fatigued, explains how exercise affects our sex lives, and answers all of Dotsie and Alexandra’s pressing sex questions.  Come along with us and our guest, the author of Diet for Great Sex, for this fun and enlightenin