In Episode #181, I sat down with physician and lipid specialist Dr Spencer Nadolsky to talk about cholesterol, ketogenic diets, and cardiovascular disease. We discussed what lipids and lipoproteins are, what causes atherosclerosis (a condition involving the build-up of plaque within the arteries), the difference between apolipoprotein B and low-density lipoprotein, and how these proteins relate to atherosclerosis. You’ll also hear about Dr Nadolsky’s pilot study of diet-induced hypercholesterole...
Dec 13, 2021•1 hr 54 min•Season 1Ep. 182
In Episode #180, a condensed throwback to Episode #32, we hear from chef Gaz Oakley on why he changed his diet and his approach to cooking. In our conversation, Gaz shared how he found his passion for cooking and how cooking traditional food has helped him to create vegan recipes. You’ll also hear about how he was able to quit his full-time job to work on the Avant Garde Vegan Instagram and YouTube, his philosophy when it comes to social media, his recipe creation process, and his goals for the ...
Dec 07, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 181
In Episode #179, I sat down with Doug Evans, serial entrepreneur and author of The Sprout Book, to chat about his journey in business – specifically his time building Organic Avenue and the rise and fall of the highly publicised Silicon Valley start-up Juicero. We also discussed how Doug discovered a passion for sprouts and cold-pressed juices, his family health issues and his diet prior to switching to a plant-based lifestyle, and what led him to a raw plant-based diet. Doug is a close friend w...
Dec 02, 2021•2 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 180
In Episode #178, a condensed throwback to Episode #112, we hear from Harvard-trained psychologist Dr Melanie Joy about food ideology and speciesism. This episode focuses on effectively communicating the message of following a plant-based lifestyle from a psychological perspective. Melanie shared her insights into cognitive dissonance, why people may react negatively to the plant-based message, and why the common arguments and approaches can push people in the opposite direction. If you want to k...
Nov 29, 2021•51 min•Season 1Ep. 179
In Episode #177, I sat down with filmmaker Sanjay Rawal to talk about his film Gather, which documents the growing movement among Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political, and cultural identities through food sovereignty. In our conversation, we covered the story behind Gather, the evolution of the food system and how it has affected indigenous communities, the exploitation of the natural environment in the United States by European settlers in the 1850s, regenerative agriculture, ...
Nov 21, 2021•1 hr 33 min•Season 1Ep. 178
In Episode #176, I sat down with world-renowned chef, agent of change, and entrepreneur Matthew Kenney to talk about his journey and how chefs are in a prime position to help the world make better food choices. I hope you enjoy the episode. For more insights and reflections, visit The Proof website for the full show notes. 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 check them out, and enjoy grea...
Nov 14, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 177
In Episode #175, environmental scientist Nicholas Carter returns to give us an update on the health of our planet, explain what COP26 is, and suggest what we may actually need to consider if we are going to create a brighter future for humanity. He poses the question, what if tackling the world’s biggest problem – climate change – is not actually the world’s biggest problem? What if solving happiness is? And what if we could create a healthier planet by restoring happiness? For more from Nichola...
Nov 10, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 176
In Episode #174, a condensed throwback to Episode #119, we hear from climate scientist Dr Jonathan Foley on the current state of climate change and what we can do to help the planet heal. We discussed where we are headed if we don’t address climate change, what we can actually do about it, and the biggest areas of focus for immediate change. The episode also covers topics such as how climate change science is becoming accepted by the majority of society, climate change solutions affecting people...
Nov 06, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 175
In Episode #173, I sat down with Danny Lennon to discuss the effects of coffee on our health. If you’re curious about the relationship between coffee and blood lipids, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases, anxiety, depression, IBS, and the microbiome, listen to this episode. We discussed what coffee actually is, what its interesting components are, how it affects our metabolism, and how decaffeinated coffee compares to caffeinated coffee. And of course, Danny shared his recommendat...
Nov 02, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 174
In Episode #172, a condensed throwback to Episode #95, we hear from Whitney English on navigating nutrition during pregnancy and infancy. Whitney is a registered dietitian, the co-founder of Plant-Based Juniors, and co-author of The Plant-Based Baby & Toddler. For more insights and reflections, visit The Proof website for the full show notes. 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 check ...
Oct 28, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 173
In Episode #171, I sat down with Aviva Romm, MD, to chat about her new book, Hormone Intelligence, and an evidence-based diet for optimising fertility. Listen to find out what infertility, sub-fertility, and sterility are and whether infertility rates are rising. Aviva also shares her insights into animal-based foods and fertility (dairy, organ meats, bone broth, fish, eggs, etc.), plant-based diets and fertility, important nutrients, and prenatal supplements. For more insights and reflections, ...
Oct 24, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Season 1Ep. 172
In Episode #170, a throwback to Episode #77, we hear from Rip Esselstyn, author of The Engine 2 Diet and founder of PLANTSTRONG, about his work empowering firefighters to take control of their health. 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 check them out, and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends. You can also show your support by leaving a review on the Apple Podcast app and/or sh...
Oct 20, 2021•17 min•Season 1Ep. 171
In Episode #169, I sat down with Paul Shapiro, author of Clean Meat and the CEO and co-founder of The Better Meat Co., to chat about the future of food. We discussed the problems with our existing food system that need addressing, what clean meat is, the various names used to describe clean meat, and the current status of the industry. And if you’re curious about precision fermentation and mycoprotein, you’ll also find out all about them in this episode. I hope you enjoy this conversation as muc...
Oct 19, 2021•2 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 170
In Episode #168, a condensed throwback to Episode #94, we hear from Robby Barbaro and Cyrus Khambatta – New York Times bestselling authors of Mastering Diabetes. What are the underlying mechanisms that cause insulin resistance? Are fruit and fructose bad? How should we eat to improve blood sugar control? Listen to find out. 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 check them out, and enjoy gre...
Oct 13, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 169
In Episode #167, I sat down with Stanford Professor Christopher Gardner to chat about his recent SWAP-MEAT trial that compared plant-based meat to animal-based meat. If you’re wondering how healthy plant-based burgers and sausages are relative to their organic animal-based counterparts (yes, he compared against organic animal products), then I am sure you will find this episode interesting and thought-provoking. We also touched on another recent study that compared the nutrient makeup of plant-b...
Oct 09, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 168
In Episode #166, a Wednesday Wisdoms throwback to Episode # 92 , we hear from crowd favourite James Stanton Cooke, or ‘Jimmy Halfcut’, on regeneration and saving the remaining parts of the Daintree Rainforest. For more insights and reflections, visit The Proof website for the full show notes. 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 check them out, and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/f...
Oct 07, 2021•17 min•Season 1Ep. 167
In Episode #165, I sat down with Ocean Robbins, co-founder of the Food Revolution Network. Ocean is the son of John Robbins, who authored Diet for a New America, and the grandson of Irv Robbins, who co-founded Baskin Robbins in 1945 with Burt Baskin. This is a great conversation about our health, the food system, taking action to live better for longer, and looking after the environment. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Enjoy, friends. Simon Want to support the show? The best way to support...
Oct 02, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 166
In Episode #164, a throwback to Episode #88, we hear Seb Alex’s thoughts on the ethics of eating animal-based foods. As you know, I usually like to keep the topics of nutrition and ethics separate, but at the same time I think it’s important for us to be aware of the impact our food choices have on the world around us, including the non-human animals we share the planet with. I hope you enjoy the episode. Be sure to keep an eye out for Seb’s new podcast launching soon. For more insights and refl...
Oct 01, 2021•18 min•Season 1Ep. 165
In Episode #163, I sat down with Light Watkins to talk about his new book Knowing Where to Look, living with ‘less’, meditation, the still small voice, and much more. My hope is that Light provides you with inspiration to find the time to do exactly that – to quieten the mind so you can learn more about who you are and what you want to do with your life. I’ve been doing this imperfectly for a long time now and it’s been enormously beneficial. For more insights and reflections, visit The Proof we...
Sep 25, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 164
In Episode #162, a condensed throwback to Episode #114, we hear from Emily Manoogian, PhD, on working with our circadian rhythms rather than against them. 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 check them out, and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends. You can also show your support by leaving a review on the Apple Podcast app and/or sharing your favourite episodes with your friend...
Sep 22, 2021•22 min•Season 1Ep. 163
In Episode #161, I sat down with Frank Lipman, MD, to talk about why we should take sleep more seriously and how to improve it. We discussed what sleep is, the different phases of sleep, different reasons for sleep abnormalities, and sleep quantity (hours slept) versus sleep quality. We also covered various sleep-related topics including wearables, the microbiome, light exposure, meal timing, supplements, and alcohol. Enjoy, friends. Simon Want to support the show? The best way to support the sh...
Sep 19, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 162
In Episode #160, a throwback to Episode #120, we hear from Hannah Ritchie, PhD. Hannah is a wonderfully well-researched geoscientist who works with Our World in Data to bring complex environmental science to mainstream audiences. How do our food choices affect the world around us? Is palm oil sustainable? Can cows help solve climate change? What’s more important – what we eat or where our food comes from? Find out by listening to this 24-minute, information-packed distillation of our earlier epi...
Sep 16, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 161
In Episode #159, I sat down with nutrition scientist Alan Flanagan to take a deep dive into the history of the diet-heart hypothesis, with emphasis on the work of Ancel Keys. We discussed the context for researching heart disease after World War II and the motivation for Ancel Keys’s 1958 Seven Countries Study – the world’s first multi-country nutritional epidemiological study. We also covered the North Karelia Project (a Finland-based, long-term project that aimed to reduce cardiovascular risk ...
Sep 12, 2021•2 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 160
In Episode #158, a Wednesday Wisdoms episode, we hear from my good friend Drew Harrisberg on why being diagnosed with chronic disease in his early 20s turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Drew is authentic, uplifting, and super inspiring – I hope you enjoy the episode. This is a condensed audio clip taken from Episode #62. 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 check them out, and enjoy ...
Sep 07, 2021•20 min•Season 1Ep. 159
In Episode #157, I sat down with Canadian professional footballer John Rush to chat about his career and dietary lifestyle. In this episode, we covered John’s path to becoming a professional footballer; when and why he decided to change his approach to nutrition; how his dietary changes affected his performance; how his dietary changes were received by his coach, teammates, and family members; the typical foods he eats in a day; and much more. Enjoy, friends. Simon Want to support the show? The ...
Sep 04, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 158
In Episode #156, a Wednesday Wisdoms throwback to Episode #20, Australian TV icon Osher Günsberg opens up about his struggles with psychosis, anxiety, addiction, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. For more insights and reflections, visit The Proof website for the full show notes. 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 check them out, and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends. You c...
Sep 01, 2021•25 min•Season 1Ep. 157
In Episode #155, I sat down with gynaecologist and obstetrician Nitu Bajekal to talk about endometriosis and the female reproductive system. In this episode, we covered what endometriosis is, how prevalent it is, whether it’s affected by diet and soy, and its implications for fertility and general lifestyle. We also discussed the oral contraceptive pill and whether the benefits outweigh the risks. For more insights and reflections, visit The Proof website for the full show notes. Enjoy, friends....
Aug 29, 2021•2 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 156
In Episode #154, a condensed version of Episode #61, we hear from Clint Paddison about his personal journey with rheumatoid arthritis and how he has changed his lifestyle to reduce inflammation, become less reliant on drugs, and ultimately enjoy a high quality of life. This episode is primarily focused on Clint’s personal experiences. His programme and the reviews below go through the science looking at what (and how) dietary changes affect rheumatoid arthritis. For more insights and reflections...
Aug 26, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 155
In Episode #153, I sat down with registered dietitian Brenda Davis for a conversation I have wanted to have for some time now. Brenda is one of the most revered experts across the globe when it comes to plant-based nutrition – she has over three decades of experience communicating nutrition science without hype to help people optimise their diet. With the release of her twelfth book Nourish, which she co-wrote with paediatrician Dr Reshma Shah, I thought it would be a great opportunity to have h...
Aug 22, 2021•1 hr 39 min•Season 1Ep. 154
In Episode #152, a throwback to Episode #90, we hear from Dr Kim Williams, an American cardiologist and former president of the American College of Cardiology from 2015 to 2016, about eradicating heart disease through our diets. May you find it equal parts informative and instructive. To hear more from Dr Kim Williams, listen to Episode #90. 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 check them ...
Aug 19, 2021•18 min•Season 1Ep. 153
