Follow Your Kind

Laurie Marbas, MD, MBA is a double board certified family medicine and lifestyle medicine physician, who has been utilizing food as medicine since 2012. Previously, she created a new medical model combining the power of nutrient-dense foods and intensive clinical psychological therapy to treat not only food addiction but also chronic disease. As the past Managing Editor for the Plantrician Project’s International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention, she worked closely with the journal’s Editor in Chief, Dr. Kim Williams. The journal is focused on bringing plant-based research to the forefront of modern medicine and to the general public. She is also co-founder of Healthy Human Revolution, whose mission is to provide resources that will empower individuals with the knowledge, tools, and mindset to successfully adopt and sustain a whole food, plant-based (WFPB) diet.In Colorado, when Laurie convinced a large hospital to create a lifestyle medicine program centered around a WFPB diet, the program showed resounding success. At another hospital, she conducted a one-month study of 26 employees on a WFPB diet. All employees were fed from the hospital’s kitchen, and each individual experienced improved health. She has spoken at the Golden VegFest in Colorado, the International Plant-based Nutrition Healthcare Conference, and other venues teaching about the value of the WFPB diet.Laurie received her dual degrees (MD and MBA) from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine and TTU School of Business. She was awarded the Texas Tech University School of Medicine Gold Headed Cane Award, a symbol for excellence in the art of medicine and the care of patients. She wrote seven books while in medical school, six of which were in a series called “Visual Mnemonics.” These books used cartoons to help people memorize vast amounts of information—a system that helped her personally when she was a mom attending medical school. As a United States Air Force veteran, she served in the Middle East and South America. She is also a wife, mom of three grown children, host of the Healthy Human Revolution podcast, author, speaker, and avid runner.In this conversation Dr. Marbas shares her story, how she discovered plant-based nutrition and how a patient and a divine intervention put her on this path. We talk about the lack of nutrition education in many healthcare professionals and what a patient can do to navigate the system, find a qualified specialist and advocate for themselves. Finally, we also dive in in the topic of "radical healing" - be it from an accident, a surgery or severe chronic disease - and how nutrition, rest and social connection can significantly expedite the process. Tune in to learn more! To learn more about Plant-based Telehealth please visit:https://plantbasedtelehealth.com 

Dr. Sujit Sharma is a Harvard-trained pediatric ER doctor in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the CEO at Chuice, an innovative food company, and a member of the board of directors of Georgia Organics. He is a researcher working on a manuscript about respiratory diseases. He is a father, a husband and a friend.In this conversation we talk about gut health - what it is, what can we do about it, what does the science say, what gaps still exist. Did you know we are completely outnumbered by creatures that live in and on us? At least 10 to in! Did you know that the diversity of plant in our diet is number one predictor of gut health? We also go beyond that - what are the bigger lessons we can draw? What are the principles and made our evolution possible? Things like tolerance, collaboration, diversity and inclusion have allowed us to be where we are today. It works on microbial level, as well as local, national and universal one.Tune in to learn more!https://chuice.comhttps://www.instagram.com/lovechuice/https://www.instagram.com/drsujitsharma/ 

TONI OKAMOTO is the founder of Plant-Based on a Budget, the popular website and meal plan that shows you how to save money by eating veggies. She’s also author of the Plant-Based on a Budget cookbook, The Super Easy Vegan Slow Cooker Cookbook, and the co-host of The Plant-Powered People Podcast. Okamoto’s work has been profiled by NBC News, Parade Magazine, and she’s a regular presence on local and national morning shows across the country, where she teaches viewers how to break their meat habit without breaking their budget. She was also featured in the popular documentary What the Health. When she’s not cooking up a plant-based storm, she’s spending time with her husband in Sacramento, CA.You can find Toni on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.Toni's new book - The Friendly Vegan Cookbook - is coming out next month and is ready for pre-order today! It is filled with meals that will become your new favorites and go-to staples for when you have meat-eaters to impress. Because amazing food should be shared!Learn more at:https://www.plantbasedmealplan.com/cookbookIn this conversation Toni shares her story of discovering plant based diet, becoming an activist and evolving her work into a successful business concept. Toni share her biggest tips for saving time and money on a plant-based diet.Tune in to learn more!

Abigail Oberla, MS, APRN, FNP-C, DipACLM is a Family Nurse Practitioner and a Certified Lifestyle Medicine Healthcare provider. She works at the MinuteClinic where she regularly sees patients coming with specific and urgent concerns. Abby has found a way to weave in lifestyle medicine in very short conversations she has with patients. So we ran through a few imitations on how to make plant-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine in general applicable to most popular conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension and heart disease. Abby also talks about making plant-based transition easy - where fo you start? How do you plan for success? Tune in to learn more!Some links and helpful resources from Abby:Plantastic Columbus is the local PlantPure Pod she leads. Their personal FB page is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PlantasticColumbus. However, if you're looking to find or start your own PlantPure Pod, please visit https://plantpurecommunities.org/plantpurepods/.She volunteers with Kind Meals: https://www.facebook.com/kindmealscolumbus.Virtual cooking demos for Community Development for All People and All People's Fresh Market. These can be found on her personal FB page: https://www.facebook.com/abby.oberla/ (the videos have links to these community organizations as well).Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/o.be.well/. 

Matt Tullman is a Cofounder of Complement, Managing Partner of No Meat Athlete and the Founder of 80 / 20 Plants. A successful entrepreneur, innovator, creative thinker who is “passionately curious” as Einstein puts it, athlete, dad - Matt is focused on creating the best quality vegan nutrition supplement that he can stand behind and is comfortable feeding to his family. In this conversation Matt shares his story and how the sickness of a loved one inspired him to look deeply into what it means to live well as a human, the pillars of health and happiness, and the power of plant-based nutrition. He describes how he started the nutrition supplement company - Complement, the motivation behind it and the guiding principles for the business. Tune in to learn more! For more information please visit:Complement: https://lovecomplement.comNo Meat Athlete: https://www.nomeatathlete.com80/20 Plants: https://8020plants.com

Michael Greger, M.D. FACLM is a physician, New York Times bestselling author, and internationally recognized professional speaker on a number of important public health issues. Dr. Greger has lectured at the Conference on World Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, and the International Bird Flu Summit, among countless other symposia and institutions; testified before Congress; has appeared on shows such as The Colbert Report and The Dr. Oz Show; and was invited as an expert witness in defense of Oprah Winfrey at the infamous "meat defamation" trial. In 2017, he was honored with the ACLM Lifestyle Medicine Trailblazer Award.His new book - How to Survive a Pandemic - is a vital, timely text on the pathogens that cause pandemics and how to face them. From tuberculosis and measles to AIDS and COVID-19, these infectious diseases share a common origin story: human interaction with animals. Otherwise known as zoonotic diseases for their passage from animals to humans, these infections—both pre-existing ones and those newly identified—have sparked some of the deadliest plagues in history.How did these diseases come about? And what—if anything—can we do to stop them and their fatal march into our communities, our homes, and our bodies? In How to Survive a Pandemic: Overcoming COVID-19 and Preventing the Next Deadly Outbreak, Dr. Michael Greger, physician and an internationally-recognized expert on public health issues, cuts through the prevailing noise and nonsense and reveals not only what we can do to protect ourselves and our loved ones during a pandemic, but also digs deeper into the roots of the problem and tackles the fundamental question: How can we stop the emergence of pandemic viruses in the first place? If there is one concept Dr. Greger draws from his work on preventing and reversing chronic disease, it’s that we must—whenever possible—treat the cause.All proceeds of this book are donated to pandemic prevention charities.You can get the book on DR. Greger's website or at your favorite book seller:https://nutritionfacts.org/how-to-survive-a-pandemic/  

Zach Burns is a 3rd-year DO/MPH student at Nova Southeastern University in Florida.  A plant-based nutrition advocate, he attends medical school to help improve the lives of human and non-human beings. Zach founded the local organization Plant-based Healthcare to engage classmates in clinical nutrition. His reach extends nationally through Moving Medicine Forward, a non-profit dedicated to building a generation of nutritionally literate physicians who are prepared to tackle our chronic disease burden. On the national board for Medical Students for a Sustainable Future, Zach serves as Plant-based Health Liaison to help peers connect the dots between diet and climate change.In this conversation we talk about ethical side of veganism, its application in healthcare and medicine, its relation to social justice and COVID-19. There is rap, science, heart and humor. Tune in to learn more!Dr. Michael Klaper's website and course.The Decade of Decency. A future dialogue on factory farming | by Zook | MediumThe Whole Health Cure Podcast 

Eric Leroy Adams is Brooklyn Borough President. A former policeman of 22 years, Eric fought for racial equality in addition to fighting against crime. From 2006 to 2013 he was a Democratic State Senator in the New York Senate and in November 2013, Adams was elected Brooklyn Borough President, the first African-American to hold the position. In November 2017 he was reelected.In this episode, Eric shares his remarkable story of being diagnosed with Type II diabetes after loosing sight and experiencing nerve damage, and then reversing it through plant-based nutrition despite the advice of his doctors. Eric talks about how that experience informs and motivates his work today. We discuss the current pandemic, the populations that have been effected the most, and why issues of lifestyle change, preexisting conditions and chronic disease are especially timely now.To learn more about Eric's work please visit:Main website: https://www.brooklyn-usa.org/Recent PSA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VenMeA-EJ2I&t=22sFollow Eric Adams on social media:IG: https://www.instagram.com/bpericadams/FB: https://www.facebook.com/BPEricAdams/The second half of the interview (min 35:15) is a special treat - a quick conversation with my friend and former colleague, Zach Juno. Zach has used the shelter-in-place order to reflect and "restart" his life, as he puts it. He transitioned to a mostly plant-based diet, made other lifestyle changes and has seen incredible results, that not only surprised his doctor, but allowed him to get off the blood pressure medication! Most importantly, Zach has shifted his perspective and abandoned the belief that our genes determine our health. As Dr. Greger says, genetics may load the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger. Tune in and please let me know what you think!

Dr. Sharon Bergquist is a Rollins Senior Distinguished Clinician, Master Clinician, and Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics at Emory University School of Medicine. She earned her Bachelor of Science from Yale University and medical degree from Harvard Medical School. She completed her internship and residency at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.Dr. Bergquist strongly believes in personalized and comprehensive health management and incorporates prevention and wellness strategies into her practice. Her expertise includes diabetes and heart disease prevention and management, nutrition and obesity counseling, women's health, and the management of mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.Dr. Bergquist is the Medical Director of Emory's Executive Health program and leads the research program at the Paul W. Seavey Comprehensive Internal Medicine Clinic. She also founded and directs Emory Lifestyle Medicine & Wellness. She has been on the Emory faculty since 2000 and sees patients at the Paul W. Seavey Comprehensive Internal Medicine and Emory Executive Health practices.Dr. Bergquist is also a host of The Whole Health Cure podcast.In this conversation Dr. Bergquist shares her personal story and what inspired her to use lifestyle change, including plant-based nutrition as a tool to heal her patients. We talk about the effects of stress and how to shift your perspective and use it for getting stronger. We discuss plant-based nutrition and why not all doctors recognize its potential. Finally, we discuss some of the projects that we are working on at Emory and Dr. Bergquist shares her vision for programs that she thinks could make a true impact.Tune in to learn more!Resources:The Whole Health Cure podcastEmory Lifestyle Medicine & WellnessTed Talk - How Stress Affects Your BodyWebsite

Christopher "Soul" Eubanks  is a prolific and talented animal rights activist local to Atlanta, GA. Film-maker, music creator, photographer and organizer - Soul uses his talents to raise awareness about the the issues he cares about, especially animal advocacy. He is a co-lead for Atlanta Anonymous for the Voiceless chapter and Atlanta Animal Save Movement chapter. Soul was also a key organizer for the inaguaral Atlanta Animal Rights March of 2019 that will forever remain in history, and will hopefully mark the pivoting point of true change towards a kinder world.In this conversation Soul talks about his personal journey - from hip-hop, to banking, to quitting everything and going back to school to focus on creative skills and then putting those talents to speak up for what he believes in - animal rights. We discuss different aspects of veganism, talk about various types of activism and how to sustain the "fire", and mention the beautiful shifts and recent events that give us hope for the future. Tune in to learn more!Follow Soul Eubanks on social media:i: @Soul_Eubankst: @Soul_Eubanksf: /SoulEubanksYou can support Soul's activism via one time donations or monthlywww.souleubanks.com/supportabillionveg.com

Vince Rountree is passionate about helping people with diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol to reduce their dependency on medication or get them off meds completely. How can he do that? The latest scientific evidence strongly supports that the Standard American Diet is the cause of several chronic diseases including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. Moreover those condition respond extremely well to plant-based nutrition Vince runs a business called Eat Plants and Thrive, which creates and markets programs that help people treat diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol with plant-based nutrition. He is an Emory University trained Integrative Health Coach and works with clients’ one-on-one in groups and he works with corporations to improve the health of employees. Integrative Health Coaching empowers clients to make lasting behavior changes that are the foundation for a lifetime of health and well-being. In this conversation Vince shares his personal journey that turned him on to plant-based diet. Vince talks about his work with his new group challenge - Lower Your Blood Pressure In 10 Days With Food, and the success stories he has seen in participants from something as simple, yet profound, as shifting your diet to one fueled by plants. Vince closes with 3 simple tips on how to get started. Tune in to learn more! Vince's free Facebook Group "Food Is The Cause": https://www.facebook.com/groups/FoodIsTheCause/ Vince's free book, "Lower Your Blood Pressure with Food": https://lowerbpnow.com/ Lower Your Blood Pressure in 10-Days Challenge: https://www.bp-challenge.com/

Ryan Bulzan is the Regional Field Organizer for The Humane League - the non-profit organization that exist to end the abuse of animals raised for food. Ryan works with individuals and groups across multiple states in the Southeast US, and inspires volunteers to take on leadership roles for THL’s campaign initiatives. Ryan motivates others, fosters long-term relationships, and trains activists in effective grassroots animal advocacy and corporate campaigning. He resides in Decatur, GA. This one is specially dear to my heart. Ryan was the first guests ever on my podcast. Ryan has also been a long-time partner in crime for the Team Humane yearly campaigns that I partake in. Team humane is an athletic devision of The Humane League with amateur and professional athletes setting personal challenges and working to accomplish those while doing so on a vegan diet and fundraising for Humane League. This is how I ran my first half marathon 2 years ago, and a full marathon a year ago. We get into more details on how it works and our personal experience, but what you need to know is that the Team Humane 2019 season is now open, and if you want to support, participate or set your goals and join in the campaign - we need your help. Let Ryan or me know! For my challenge this year I am taking fighting for the animals quite literary. So I joined the kick-boxing gym. My goal is to hit 31 classes before end of year. If I can get 31 people to make contributions to my campaign I pledge to the ice-bucket challenge :). 100% of money raised goes towards efforts to end animal abuse. Ryan has also joined the kick-boxing gym. I think you should hit him up and see how he is doing.:) We are planning bunch of events in the community - we will have sunrise hikes followed by vegan brunches, WERQ fundraiser, bake sales, etc. Hope to see you there! For more information, please visit: To volunteer: https://thehumaneleague.org/take-action Sign up for Impact Squad: https://thehumaneleague.org/fundraise Atlanta Impact Squad FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/629223770510472/

Have you wondered about the people behind Atlanta Veg Fest?? (Which, by the way, is coming up on SATURDAY NOVEMBER 9th!!! - http://atlantavegfest.com ) Meet Leigh Saluzzi!!! Leigh Saluzzi is an Executive Director & Director of Vendor Relations at Atlanta Veg Fest - Atlanta Veg Fest is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to support community and promote the benefits of a vegan and plant-based lifestyle founded in compassion for animals, people and the environment. Leigh has been vegan since 2001, and loves to show people how easy veganism can be. After operating a vegan business with her husband and exhibiting at festivals and conferences across the country, she decided to start Atlanta Veg Fest in 2012. Leigh also serves on the Board of Directors for the Atlanta-based non-profit Tommy’s Holiday Fund, and is in the beginning stages of launching a new endeavor called Normalize Vegan, which seeks to encourage the general public to consider veganism a viable lifestyle option. In this conversation Leigh shares her vegan journey, her creative social entrepreneurship endeavors along the way, and the founding and growing of Atlanta Veg Fest! Tune in to learn more! Links: http://atlantavegfest.com http://www.tommysholidayfund.org

Bobby Sud is a Film Director, Producer and Cinematographer. He is an Organizer and Board Member of LA Animal Save, LA Fur Save, and LA Health Save and Vigil Photographer. You may remember our previous conversation from episode 34, where Bobby shared his personal journey towards health that started in 2015, when he weighed almost 300 lbs and suffered from Type2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and everything else that comes with it. After transitioning to a whole food plant based vegan diet, Bobby was able to reverse and cure his diabetes in 6 weeks and have lost close to 100lbs. However, it wasn’t until he went to the first LA Animal Save pig vigil and met Shaun Monson (director of “Earthlings”) and Amy Jean Davis (founder of LAAS) that he truly understood what it meant to be a vegan. Today, Bobby is deeply involved in the movement. Bobby has worked with Shaun Monson as his cinematographer and producing partner, he has been an organizer for the LA Save Movement and official Vigil Photographer. Bobby also produced and directed a vegan travel show called “The Road Less Eaten” with episodes in Israel, Ireland, and London. Bobby's current project and focus is being the director and cinematographer of the Million Dollar Vegan campaign, which we get into during our conversation. Million Dollar Vegan Campaign is a campaign seeking to raise awareness of some of the world’s most pressing issues, and to tackle them by engaging with world leaders, institutions and individuals, and inspiring positive dietary change. This year they are asking a politician (guess who!?) to go vegan for the month of January! In exchange, Million Dollar Campaign will donate a million dollars toward the charity of his choice. Intrigued? Tune in to learn more! And check out their website! There are tons of resources - suggestions for movies, books, videos of speeches, ways to get active locally, politically and globally, and suggested way to contribute your time and / or money. Links: https://www.milliondollarvegan.com Million Dollar Campaign IG: https://www.instagram.com/milliondollarvegan/ Bobby Sud IG: https://www.instagram.com/bobbysud/ Genesis Butler - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4ptaIDAIlY

Leah Garcés is a founder of Compassion in World Farming USA and, as of October 1, the first female President of Mercy for Animals (MFA) - an international nonprofit animal protection organization founded in 1999 by Milo Runkle. Mercy For Animals is dedicated to preventing cruelty to farmed animals and promoting compassionate food choices and policies. You may remember our last conversation with Leah from Episode 24, where we talked about her journey right after she joined MFA. This conversation is about her new book - GRILLED: Turning Adversaries into Allies to Change the Chicken Industry. GRILLED details Leah’s experiences working alongside farmers and food industry leaders—encouraging change through dialogue and discussion—to reduce animal suffering and shine a spotlight on the rapidly growing plant-based food sector. In this conversation we talked about what moved Leah to write the book, why she decided to focus on chicken and what she learned along the way. Tune in to learn more! For more information, please visit: https://mercyforanimals.org/grilled https://www.mercyforanimals.org Purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Grilled-Turning-Adversaries-Chicken-Industry/dp/1472962583/ Follow Leah on IG: https://www.instagram.com/leahgarces