In Episode #121, I sat down with Drew Harrisberg (again) to talk about my new book, The Proof is in the Plants, and why it’s important for us to consider how our lifestyle is serving us. We discussed the inspiration for writing The Proof is in the Plants, the various parts of the book, and who it’s written for. We also go into exercise versus nutrition, body weight and disease risk, using the word ‘diet’, orthorexia (an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating), pain versus pleasure as a motivato...
Mar 21, 2021•2 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 122
In Episode #120, I sat down with Dr Hannah Ritchie, geoscientist and senior researcher at Our World in Data, to dive deeper into our food system and the changes we need to make in the coming decades to meet climate goals. In our conversation, Hannah shared her journey into the world of geoscience and environmental research. She explained why it’s important to zoom out and look at data over a long period of time and why it’s important to consider agriculture when thinking about planetary health. ...
Mar 09, 2021•1 hr 47 min•Season 1Ep. 121
In Episode #119, I sat down with Dr Jonathan Foley, one of the world’s most highly regarded climate and environmental scientists. Jonathan has published over 130 peer reviewed papers in the field of sustainability in highly prestigious journals such as Science and Nature. He is also an author, a highly sought-after guest speaker, and the executive director at Project Drawdown, a not-for-profit organisation widely considered to be the world’s leading resource for information on climate solutions....
Feb 20, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 120
In Episode #118, I sat down with James Stanton-Cooke, or Jimmy Halfcut as he goes by, to talk about the current climate conversation here in Australia and what his organisation, HalfCut, are doing to help mitigate climate change and protect our future. We covered the Big Scrub rewilding project, the PSS (push-ups, sit-ups, squats) challenge, what divesting means and why it’s important, investing with companies doing good (e.g., Enova Energy and Bank of Australia), protecting the Daintree Rainfor...
Feb 15, 2021•1 hr 49 min•Season 1Ep. 119
In Episode #117, I sat down with Drs Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, leading neurologists who specialise in cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s. Recently, Dean and Ayesha performed a thorough review of the literature to find out how important omega-3s are for brain function and whether or not we should be taking them. They ended up splitting this review into two parts: one covering pregnancy, infancy, childhood, and adolescence and the other covering adulthood. In this episode, we break down their fin...
Jan 29, 2021•1 hr 32 min•Season 1Ep. 118
In Episode #116, I sat down with environmental researcher Nicholas Carter to talk more about grass-fed beef and planetary health. We started by discussing the results from a new, peer-reviewed study of White Oaks Pasture – a farm that for years has claimed their beef is carbon negative – before covering the importance of rewilding for cooling our planet. Find out how changing the foods we eat can help free up land to be rewilded and protect existing forests. We also talked about the UK’s ‘Regenu...
Jan 24, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 117
In Episode #115, I sat down again with Thomas King, the founder and CEO of Food Frontier, a not-for-profit organisation that is helping build the future of protein in Australia. We discussed the findings from a new report by Food Frontier on the healthfulness of plant-based meats, and we also talked about cellular agriculture and how it works. Listen to find out why the growth of cellular agriculture is important, what problems it solves, and how the industry has changed in the past few years. F...
Jan 12, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 116
In Episode #114, I sat down with Emily Manoogian, PhD, from the Panda Lab at Salk Institute for Biological Studies, to learn about how we can improve our health by nurturing our circadian rhythms. Emily and her team are considered world leaders in the field of science known as ‘chronobiology’, and they have published several studies (with more currently underway) investigating how the timing of our meals affects our health. As well as circadian rhythms and circadian disruption, we also discussed...
Dec 08, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 115
In Episode #113, I sat down with Dr Matthew Nagra to talk about how he uses evidence-based nutrition science to help his patients upgrade their health. If you are looking for an episode that consolidates several topics previously raised on the show, along with findings from new research, then I think you will really enjoy this episode. We talked about the latest EPIC-Oxford study on bone health, the health advantages of people who adopt plant-predominant or exclusive diets, naturopathy as a form...
Dec 01, 2020•2 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 114
In Episode #112, I sat down with Harvard-educated psychologist and bestselling author Melanie Joy to discuss how we form our beliefs about food and how people on plant-based diets can have healthier, more productive conversations with meat eaters. This is an episode that I believe will be highly enlightening regardless of which diet you follow. In this episode, Melanie shared her personal journey to studying psychology at Harvard and writing her award-winning book Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and...
Nov 19, 2020•1 hr 32 min•Season 1Ep. 113
In Episode #111, I sat down with environmental researcher Nicholas Carter to discuss the claims made in the Kiss the Ground documentary that was released on Netflix a few weeks ago. Together we talked about the solutions put forward by the documentary and what a shift to holistic grazing would mean for diets globally. We also discussed the evidence-based way for individuals to lower their food-based environmental footprint. For more insights and reflections, visit The Proof website for the full ...
Sep 30, 2020•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 112
In Episode #110, I sat down with Drew Harrisberg to talk about my book The Proof is in the Plants and how we should be using science to make public health recommendations. We also answered a bunch of questions sent in from the community. Listen to hear about the evidence hierarchy in nutrition science and why fibre recommendations may in fact be lower than optimal. We also discussed the carnivore diet and secondary bile salts, omega-3s and the evidence surrounding protection against heart diseas...
Sep 19, 2020•2 hr 33 min•Season 1Ep. 111
In Episode #109, I sat down with Bruce Friedrich, lawyer and co-founder of the Good Food Institute, to talk about two solutions to current problems with our food system: plant-based meat and cultivated or ‘cell-based’ meat. Bruce and I discussed what exactly is wrong with the current food system and how it affects human health, planetary health, and animal welfare (including specifics on climate change, COVID-19, antibiotic resistance, production inefficiencies, and food security). We then talke...
Jul 30, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 110
In Episode #108, I sat down with Dr David Katz, MD, who in my opinion is one of the clearest voices in an area of science littered with confusion, hidden agendas, and biases. This is a great episode that reinforces many of the key principles that I have been sharing with you via social media and on this show for the past two years. It also emphasises the three pillars that I base my personal food decisions on: human health, planetary health, and animal welfare. In this episode, we talked about w...
Jul 15, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 109
In Episode #107, I sat down with Doug Evans, author of The Sprout Book, to talk about the magical process of sprouting seeds and why we should all strive to include sprouts in our diet. Doug shares why he changed his own personal diet some twenty years ago and what the nutritional benefits of sprouts are. Listen to find out what sprouting is and how to do it, including the costs involved, the equipment needed, the right seeds to use, and more. For more insights and reflections, visit The Proof w...
Jun 30, 2020•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 108
In Episode #106, I sat down with Dr Valter Longo, PhD, to talk about eating to beat disease, manage your body weight, and live a long, healthy life. Specifically, we covered Roy Walford’s ‘Biosphere 2’ research; calorie restriction versus fasting; fasting and biomarkers of cancer, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease; findings from clinical trials on the ‘fasting-mimicking’ diet; and eating for longevity. We also discussed what we can learn from centenarians and how animal protein comp...
Jun 19, 2020•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 107
In Episode #105, I sat down with Ryland Engelhart and Finian Makepeace from Kiss the Ground to continue the theme of how our food system and food choices are affecting the health of our planet. In this episode, we covered regenerative agriculture and how it differs from sustainable, organic, and biodynamic farming practices, as well as the problem with industrial agriculture. We also discussed tilling, cover crops, carbon sequestration, and holistic grazing, including White Oak Pastures (for a m...
Jun 17, 2020•1 hr 50 min•Season 1Ep. 106
In Episode #104, I sat down with environmental researcher Nicholas Carter to chat about how our current food system is affecting the environment. We discussed the changes needed to meet climate goals and create a system that results in better food security, less water pollution, less land use, less freshwater use, and greater production efficiency. We covered some big questions in this episode, including what climate change is, what the implications of a warming planet are, and whether climate c...
Jun 06, 2020•1 hr 39 min•Season 1Ep. 105
In Episode #103, I sat down with Dr Shivam Joshi to explore nephrology: the fascinating area of medicine dedicated to kidney health. Whether you have kidney disease, know someone with kidney disease, or simply want to learn about protein consumption and kidney health, I believe you will find this episode particularly informative. In this episode, we covered the role of our kidneys, and what chronic kidney disease (CKD) is. Dr Joshi shared the risk factors and stages of CKD, how to manage or reve...
May 20, 2020•1 hr 42 min•Season 1Ep. 104
In Episode #102, Dr Will Bulsiewicz joined me for the fifth time to talk about his new book, Fiber Fueled, and to tackle a few areas of gut health that we haven’t yet explored on this show. If you are looking for more evidence-based knowledge bombs about gut health, then this is an episode you will want to digest. In this episode, Dr B and I discussed whether it makes sense to ‘eat like our ancestors’. We also covered dysbiosis (when the bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract become unbalanced)...
May 13, 2020•1 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 103
In Episode #101, I was fortunate enough to sit down with well-known National Geographic writer and author David Quammen to talk about zoonotic diseases and mitigating the risk of future pandemics. This is a fascinating area of science that gives yet another reason to be mindful of our lifestyles. Given that predictions suggest there are over 1.5 million animal viruses yet to be discovered, understanding what increases the likelihood of one of those viruses passing from an animal to a human is in...
May 03, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 102
In Episode #100, I sat down with Drew Harrisberg to talk about the first 100 episodes of this show and some of the most important takeaways for me so far, particularly in regard to human and planetary health. We also delve into the current circumstances that we all find ourselves in and reflect on our personal experiences and learnings thus far. While this free-flowing chat between two mates is exactly as I imagined and the perfect summary for the first 100 episodes, the unplanned nature of it d...
Apr 26, 2020•1 hr 49 min•Season 1Ep. 101
In Episode 99 I sit down for a second time with ultra athlete Rich Roll to talk about the humble beginnings of his show, which is now one of the world's leading podcasts in the education and wellness space, and what it feels like to have now released over 500 episodes into the wild. We cover a bunch of other topics too, including overcoming adversity and seeking out new challenges, that I think you will also find interesting. Of course anyone who know's Rich will be familiar with how beautifully...
Apr 18, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 100
In Episode #98, I sat down with Harvard professor Dr David Sinclair, PhD, to discuss the information theory of ageing, and in particular how we can slow down and perhaps even reverse the ageing process. In this conversation, we discussed chronological versus biological age, the role of genetics versus epigenetics in the ageing process, how long he thinks we may be able to live for, how our nutrition and other lifestyle factors affect the ageing process, and more. This is a deep dive into the und...
Apr 11, 2020•1 hr 51 min•Season 1Ep. 99
In Episode #97, I sat back down with Drs Dean and Ayesha Sherzai to talk about strokes – we discussed the different types of strokes (ischemic and haemorrhagic), the prevalence of strokes, risk factors for strokes, eating to lower your stroke risk, and much more. I love these guys; they are absolutely brilliant, and I am sure you will think so too. Enjoy, friends. Simon Want to support the show? The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To chec...
Mar 18, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 98
In Episode #96, I sat down for a catch up with plant-based pro bodybuilder Nimai Delgado. Having recently been in Los Angeles for almost 3 weeks, it was great to catch up with Nimai and hear how things have been with him since our previous episodes. This one’s quite a casual conversation with no real direction, as I already covered his story back in Episode #3. But if you know of Nimai, you’ll be well aware of what a breath of fresh air his humble and gracious personality is. I certainly love ca...
Mar 08, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 97
In Episode #95, I sat down with Whitney English, registered dietician, to talk about plant-based nutrition during pregnancy, infancy, and breastfeeding (lactation). Whitney, along with her partner Alex (also a registered dietician), are the founders of Plant-Based Juniors – an online resource that brings evidence-based nutrition information specific to these stages of life to the public. In this episode, we covered the benefits of a plant-based diet during pregnancy and infancy; specific nutrien...
Feb 29, 2020•2 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 98
In Episode #94, I sat down with Cyrus Khambatta, PhD, and Robby Barbaro, MPH, for a second episode – this time for a deep dive into the plant-based ketogenic diet and whether or not it’s a good option for people with insulin resistance and diabetes. We talked about why a low-carb diet is popular for diabetics and frequently recommended by doctors, and Cyrus and Robby shared the philosophy of the high-carb Mastering Diabetes program. We also discussed a new 2019 study looking at a traditional ket...
Feb 23, 2020•1 hr 59 min•Season 1Ep. 95
In Episode #93, I sat down again with Sean Ryan to check in and see how he’s doing with his transition to a plant-based lifestyle. We picked up from where we left things in Episode #89 and reviewed his pretransition baseline blood work, and then spent the majority of the episode talking through cholesterol and how we can use diet to affect our cholesterol levels. At the end, we also touched on meal prep, handling social conversations, and a few other questions that Sean had since our last episod...
Feb 16, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 94
In Episode #92, I sat down with Australian environmentalist James Stanton Cooke, or ‘Jimmy Halfcut’, to talk about the role that our rainforests play in keeping our climate cool. I met James a few months ago at a charity night in Bondi, and with the fires currently burning across Australia, I couldn’t help but think this was the perfect time to sit down and talk about mother nature. Listen to hear Jimmy and I discuss the importance of rainforest preservation, as well as Australian wildfires, con...
Feb 08, 2020•1 hr 46 min•Season 1Ep. 93
