In 2006, young entrepreneur, Daniel Staackmann, took out a home equity line of credit and started Upton’s Naturals in his hometown of Chicago. He placed his money on seitan and in his 17 years of business, that gamble has clearly paid off. Upton’s Naturals is the #1 selling brand of seitan in the United States and their products are sold in thousands of stores throughout the United States and beyond. Dan, a 30-year ethical vegan, prides himself on being the sole proprietor of his company and his...
Oct 05, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 4Ep. 217
Twelve years ago, on the tail of the success of his book The Engine 2 Diet , Rip visited small-town America - Mercersburg, Pennsylvania - with the good news about plants. Dr. Elizabeth George, a local doctor in Mercersburg, was also on a mission to help the residents of her small dairyland town make healthier food and lifestyle choices. She heard about Engine 2 and invited Rip to come to town and speak at restaurants, churches, and even the local high school - challenging them to the Engine 2 28...
Sep 27, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 4Ep. 216
The news is out and the headlines are clear - drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy DO help people lose weight and they have become "the next big thing" for weight loss. But, questions remain: How do they work? What long-term impacts will these have on health? Are they really helping the underlying cause of obesity and disease? Is it enough just to lose the weight? Will these drugs actually improve our health in the same way that a whole food plant-based diet can? Rip welcomes evolutionary psychologist,...
Sep 21, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 4Ep. 215
Rip welcomes Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, “The Joyful Vegan,” to the PLANTSTRONG Podcast for a long overdue celebration of the massive growth and interest in all things plant-based - especially in the 15-20 years. An empath and advocate her whole life, Patrick-Goudreau, first began her life’s purpose and awakening at age 19 after reading John Robbins’ Diet for a New America and then later, Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry by ...
Sep 14, 2023•1 hr 36 min•Season 4Ep. 214
In the ever-changing world of “celebrity culture," it's hard to find someone so resolute about their activism as Moby. He's had undeniable staying power on the music scene, but it’s his vegan activism that has left the most lasting impression. Moby went vegan in 1987 and remains an ardent supporter of animal rights, climate change advocacy, and humanitarian aid. He is also the author of several books, including memoirs and vegan cookbooks. Moby, without question, is one of the most prolific and ...
Sep 07, 2023•1 hr 34 min•Season 4Ep. 213
If you believe in a divine purpose, then get ready for an important show. The Daniel Fast is a scripture-based program that chronicles the story of Daniel from the Old Testament who “refused to eat the King’s Diet” of rich and indulgent food. Instead, in order to stay strong in body and mind, he subsisted and thrived on vegetables and water - or what we may refer to these days as a whole food, plant-based diet. Today, modern-day Daniel Fasts are conducted all over the world and that’s what broug...
Aug 31, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 4Ep. 212
After this interview, I promise you’ll want to load up the family and head east to Providence, Rhode Island! Over eight years ago now, Kim Anderson and her family watched “Forks Over Knives” and “Cowspiracy” and felt an IMMEDIATE responsibility to educate others and inspire change. They hosted movie nights and dinners where hundreds would come to enjoy a delicious plant-based meal, but the refrain they kept hearing was, “It’s a shame I can’t eat my values and my health when I go out to eat.” The...
Aug 17, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Season 4Ep. 210
Rip welcomes author and health coach, Janet Verney, to the PLANTSTRONG Podcast. For 40 years, Janet suffered from an undiagnosed illness that affected her lungs and gut, leading to years of medical treatments, antibiotics, and even a cumbersome breathing machine. In 2013, she started focusing on optimizing her health through lifestyle changes and a whole foods, plant-based diet and it was only then that her real healing began. As she says in the episode, she now has control over her illness. It ...
Aug 10, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 4Ep. 209
Not long ago, we received an email that stopped us in our tracks. It was a letter of thanks written to Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., but the email also told a harrowing surgery story that was so compelling, we just had to share it with you. And, it’s actually the first time Rip and his Father have interviewed a patient together on the PLANTSTRONG Podcast. Rip's guest, Mike Melloh, was seemingly doing everything right. He exercised regularly, ate a “healthy” diet, and even booked appointments f...
Aug 03, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Season 4Ep. 208
Rip welcomes Anthony Masiello, co-founder and CEO of Love Life Telehealth , who shares his personal transformation and innovative approach to healthcare access to whole food plant-based physicians. Anthony recalls his own struggle with weight issues from a young age, trying various methods to lose weight. Despite his active lifestyle, his weight continued to fluctuate, leading him to question how weight gain occurs and the role of genetics and environment in this process. After sharing his own p...
Jul 27, 2023•1 hr 39 min•Season 4Ep. 207
In April 2023, we first aired this special Facebook Live Friday episode with Trucker Steve . Steve lives on the road as a semi-truck driver. As you can imagine, this is NOT an easy life, especially when you’re trying to keep yourself healthy. Long days in the truck, gas stations, truck stop food, lonely stretches for days on end…you get the point. Well, after hitting over 500 pounds, Steve committed to a whole food, plant-based diet and, at the time of this recording, had lost almost 200 lbs! Ho...
Jul 20, 2023•57 min•Season 4Ep. 206
Chef Vegan Vicki is a proud Cleveland native who, in 2008, was diagnosed with non-smoking lung cancer. After surgery, she started researching ways to get healthy and avoid a recurrence of this or any form of cancer. No surprise, her homework led her to a whole foods, plant-based diet and she ended up losing almost 100 lbs! This transformation changed everything in her life and she went from working in the insurance industry to becoming an iconic chef. In this inspiring conversation, she shared h...
Jul 13, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 4Ep. 205
Today, we dive deep into the world of fast food ingredients and their impact on health. Our guest for today is Mel Weinstein, a former food chemist who has spent decades studying industrial foods and additives. Mel and Rip discuss a variety of eye-opening topics related to fast food ingredients, how they end up in our food system, and the impacts they have on our health. You'll learn about: Mel’s personal journey to food chemistry, vegetarianism, and eventually veganism All cornfields are not th...
Jul 06, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 4Ep. 204
Jackie Akerberg is the creator of Jackfruitful Kitchen , a popular food blog devoted to simple, healthy, and delicious plant-based meals using minimally processed ingredients. She's also the author of, The Clean Vegan Cookbook , which features over 60 whole-food, plant-based recipes that will satisfy every craving. (And when you see the gigantic burger on the cover of her book, you’ll see what we mean.) Jackie grew up in a healthy household and learned to appreciate fresh food and cooking at a y...
Jun 29, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 4Ep. 203
This week, we're busting down the barriers to habit change, especially your food and lifestyle habits. Cyd Notter has been a vegetarian since 1991, but it wasn’t until 1999 when she turned fully to a whole food, plant-based diet, that her life and career took off. She's been skyrocketing on plants ever since. Today, she’s 67 years old and thriving as a busy health and nutrition coach, writer, and speaker. She holds just about every plant-based certification on the planet and works each day to ed...
Jun 22, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 4Ep. 202
Drs. Matthew Lederman and Alona Pulde pioneered the medical program that was used in the film, Forks Over Knives , and after the popularity of that groundbreaking film, they went on to co-author multiple books including The Forks Over Knives Plan , The Forks Over Knives Cookbook, Forks Over Knives Family and the Whole Foods Diet with former Whole Foods CEO, John Mackey. Today, we discuss their latest book Wellness to Wonderful: 9 PILLARS FOR LIVING HEALTHIER, LONGER, AND WITH GREATER JOY . Throu...
Jun 15, 2023•58 min•Season 4Ep. 201
My guest today is Kiki Nelson, but you may know her best as Plantiful Kiki . Her book, Plantifully Lean is turning heads, but what turned my attention to Kiki was her transparent health and weight loss journey. As a young adult, Kiki struggled with her weight and suffered all of the ill consequences as a result - high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, hormonal imbalances, lack of energy - and none of this was optimal for a young Mom of two active children. Two things really moved the needle for Kiki...
Jun 08, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Season 4Ep. 200
We joke today that there are three things that plant-based eaters must face – death, taxes, and the dreaded question, “Where Do You Get Your Protein?!” Well, today, we tackle the ever-popular topic of protein with two of the authors of a recent book, Plant Powered Protein . Vesanto Melina and Cory Davis dispel the myths and misconceptions about plant-based protein - and - (and this is the part we love) make the science understandable and digestible. Let’s put to rest that you can’t get enough pr...
Jun 01, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Season 4Ep. 199
Sgt. Vegan, Bill Muir, has always had a “think outside the box” attitude – from being a straight-edge punk rocker to going vegan in 1992, and then joining the military just after 9/11 where he served as a US Army Paratrooper. And all of this - YES - as a hardcore vegan. Needless to say, it wasn’t easy, but he was (and is) so convicted and grounded in his values that he made it work. Today, Sgt. Vegan chats with Rip about: How he became a hardcore straight-edge vegan Why he joined the military to...
May 25, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 4Ep. 198
In a world that is littered with false information and blatant lies, especially when it comes to health and nutrition, it is so important to seek the truth. Matthew Rees is a treasure trove of facts and commentary about food and health at his website, foodandhealthfacts.com. As a longtime journalist, speechwriter, and author, Rees has written for such esteemed publications as The Economist, The New Republic, and The Wall Street Journal . His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The W...
May 18, 2023•1 hr 37 min•Season 4Ep. 197
In honor of Mother's Day weekend, we're thrilled to feature everyone’s favorite PLANTSTRONG Woman Warrior - Ann Crile Esselstyn. In late Spring, Rip and Ann did a Facebook live where she took questions from the audience and that's what we share today. They run the gamut of subjects today including: The foods and ingredients that are exciting her most these days Her current favorite meals Advice for those at the beginning of their plantstrong journey How to navigate unsupportive loved ones Exerci...
May 11, 2023•54 min•Season 4Ep. 196
Kathy Stevens founded the Catskill Animal Sanctuary in 2001 with 80 acres of land that she turned from a virtual trash heap into an idyllic sanctuary where rescued, abused, and forgotten animals can live their final years filled with the love, care, and respect they so richly deserve. In her work and in her exquisitely written books, Kathy describes the essence and personalities of these animals – and today, she shares some of the most poignant stories from those souls she has had the privilege ...
May 04, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Season 4Ep. 195
Kim Campbell is the Director of Culinary Education and Development at PlantPure and the daughter-in-law of T. Colin Campbell known, of course, for authoring The China Study and his work in Forks Over Knives. Together, Kim and her husband Nelson Campbell run PlantPure Nation , where they provide support and resources to help people experience the benefits of a whole food, plant-based lifestyle. In December 2022, Kim released her latest cookbook, PlantPure Comfort Food , which features over 100 pl...
Apr 27, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 194
When Ann Crile Esselstyn, tells you to do something, you do it! So, when she told me I had to interview today’s guest, I didn’t hesitate. Ruth Morley is an adventurer. She’s rarely at home in Cincinnati because she’s usually found on a hiking trail. I’m talking about the Appalachian Trail, the Florida Trail, the Buckeye Trail, and Kilimanjaro…just to name just a few. She’s even ridden her bike 3,000 miles across the country and competed in dozens of marathons and triathlons. Oh, and did I mentio...
Apr 20, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 4Ep. 193
Every so often, a new brocstar bursts onto the scene and just blows our PLANTSTRONG socks off with their passion, personality, and unique approach to plant-based eating. Today’s guest, Max LaManna, is one of those people. He has over a million followers on social media and, for one year, Max asked his audience which foods they threw away the most. Using the tens of thousands of responses, he narrowed down a list of thirty of the most commonly wasted ingredients and those were the inspiration for...
Apr 13, 2023•1 hr 38 min•Season 4Ep. 192
You know those times when you see someone and you just think, "WOW, You look incredible! What are you doing?!" That happened with today's guest, grammy award winner, and multiplatinum recording artist, Richard Marx. We at PLANTSTRONG saw recent photos and videos of Richard lighting up the stage in Australia and just had to know the secret to his vitality and energy. Well, wouldn't ya know, Richard Marx is PLANTSTRONG, baby, and, together with his wife Daisy Fuentes, they share a passion and advo...
Apr 06, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Season 4Ep. 191
Imagine someone telling you that they would only give your diet a "B-" when you've been eating whole foods, plant-based for over 35 years?! Well, that was the average grade Rip Esselstyn's diet received from today's guest, Dr. Doug Graham. Doug is most known for developing and authoring the 80-10-10 Diet Book ; which is when 80% of your calories come from carbohydrates in the form of raw fruits and vegetables, 10% comes from plant protein, and the last 10% comes from fat. Not only does he live t...
Mar 30, 2023•1 hr 34 min•Season 4Ep. 190
Rachael Brown's book, For Fork's Sake, takes readers on a 10-day journey from the SAD diet to the HAPPY Diet – that is, “Healthy and Plant-Powered, YAY!!” Rachel discusses her family’s journey and all of her trusted tips for making this transition, including: What does this way of eating even entail? How do you bring your family along, especially if they’re reluctant? How do you handle naysayers and questioners? What are some of the common misconceptions and pitfalls you will encounter? And, oh ...
Mar 23, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 4Ep. 189
New York Times bestselling author and PLANTSTRONG founder, Rip Esselstyn, is joined by a very special guest, his father, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr. , discussing the nine ways he has documented reversal of cardiovascular disease over the last 40 years. When Dr. Esselstyn started his work at the Cleveland Clinic in the early 80s, he was the chairman of the breast cancer task force. In his work, he encountered multiple cultures where breast cancer was virtually non-existent and the same was tru...
Mar 16, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 4Ep. 188
What do cruciferous vegetables, tomatoes, soy, and green tea all have in common? According to hundreds of scientific studies, they all can drastically reduce the risk of prostate cancer in men. Here are a few facts: Prostate cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer in men One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their life Sadly, one in 40 will succumb to this disease However, much like heart disease and many other lifestyle diseases, this cancer can mostly be pr...
Mar 09, 2023•58 min•Season 4Ep. 187
