PLANTSTRONG Podcast

Rip sits down with Dr. Elizabeth George and Chef Nick Iula, co-authors of Healthy Eating Adventure, to explore how whole food, plant-based eating can transform health and lives.
Dr. George helped launch the Healthy Eating Adventure program more than 15 years ago, helping hundreds of participants reverse chronic disease through nutrition. Chef Nick Iula joined the program after decades in professional kitchens and, after he changed his own diet, he experienced a dramatic health transformation — losing weight and eliminating multiple chronic conditions.
Together, they combine medical science and culinary expertise to show how plant-based eating can be both lifesaving and delicious.
In this episode you'll learn:
Why doctors receive little nutrition education
What chefs are taught that harms health
How whole food plant-based eating reverses disease
How taste buds adapt to real food
The science behind food as medicine
How Chef Nick lost weight and eliminated chronic illness
Practical strategies for cooking without oil, salt, and sugar
How to make plant-based food deeply satisfying

This conversation proves that real food is the most powerful tool we have to live longer and stronger.
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Learn More About our 2026 Live PLANTSTRONG Events: https://plantstrong.com/pages/events
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COMPLEMENT: Use code PLANTSTRONG for 30% off at https://lovecomplement.com/pages/plantstrong-special-offer

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For over 50 years, Dr. Michael Klaper has practiced medicine. And today, he says something that stops you in your tracks:
“I am profoundly embarrassed to be a physician in America today.”
Why?
Because most doctors are never trained in the most powerful tool available to prevent and reverse chronic disease: nutrition.
In this deeply personal and wide-ranging conversation, Rip sits down with Dr. Klaper to discuss his new book, Moving Medicine Forward: What More Doctors Should Know About Nutrition and How It Can Save Your Life.
Dr. Klaper shares:
How witnessing violence in a trauma unit led him toward a philosophy of nonviolence
The moment in the operating room that changed his understanding of heart disease forever
Why “etiology unknown” is no longer an acceptable excuse
The concept of the “Toxic Red Tide” flooding the bloodstream after animal-based meals
Why obesity is a state of chronic inflammation
How GLP-1 drugs should (and shouldn’t) be used
What a true “Disease Reversal Clinic” could look like
How doctors and patients alike can help move medicine forward

This episode is both a wake-up call and a roadmap. Because some chronic disease isn’t inevitable. And healing can occur.
Learn More About our 2026 Live PLANTSTRONG Events: https://plantstrong.com/pages/events
Apply for a Scholarship to our April 2026 Retreat in Black Mountain, NC: https://forms.gle/wt4rPyKMEDht6HKG7
Let Us Help Your PLANTSTRONG Journey
Learn More About Our Corporate Wellness Program: https://liveplantstrong.com/corporate-wellness/
COMPLEMENT: Use code PLANTSTRONG for 30% off at https://lovecomplement.com/pages/plantstrong-special-offer

Follow PLANTSTRONG and Rip Esselstyn
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https://www.instagram.com/goplantstrong/
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What does it really mean to be “forever fit”?
Rip sits down with fitness coach and author Maxime Sigouin to explore sustainable strength, whole-food plant-based nutrition, and the mindset required to stay fit for life — not just for a season. It’s all in his new book, Forever Fit.
Maxime shares his personal journey from loss and hardship to helping thousands of people transform their health through his Forever Fit framework.
They also unpack the misunderstood topic of body recomposition, protein myths, stress, self-sabotage, and why loving yourself enough to care for your body is the real foundation of lasting health.
This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in longevity, plant-based performance, and building a body that supports the life you want to live.
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Buy the Book

Rip sits down with Peggy Kraus, a clinical exercise physiologist and diabetes care specialist with over 30 years of experience in cardiac rehab.
Peggy shares how she moved beyond conventional nutrition advice to embrace a fiber-centric, whole-food, plant-based approach—helping patients reverse type 2 diabetes, lower A1C levels, lose significant weight, and reduce or eliminate medications.
They discuss why cutting carbs misses the point, how fiber stabilizes blood sugar, the role of movement after meals, and why community and accountability are essential for long-term success. This episode is packed with real stories, practical strategies, and hope for anyone navigating diabetes, heart disease, or metabolic health issues.
You'll Hear:
Why only 7% of people with type 2 diabetes are referred to education—and why that matters
How fiber helps reverse diabetes and heart disease
The truth about carbohydrates vs. “carbs”
Blood sugar, A1C, and the power of the 10-minute move
Food synergy, the microbiome, and whole-food nutrition
Community-based healing and sustainable behavior change
Breakfast timing, circadian rhythm, and metabolic health

Exclusively for our Plant Strong Podcast audience - Join Peggy’s Thrive program for just $147 for six months, or a full year for $297. And, if you’re interested in “Peggy in my Pocket,” it’s $10 for the first month, just to try it out. And then it'll renew at $17. Or, you can try a whole six months for just $57. https://peggykraus.com/
Episode Webpage
Watch the Episode on YouTube
Learn More About our 2026 Live PLANTSTRONG Events: https://plantstrong.com/pages/events
Apply for a Scholarship to our April 2026 Retreat in Black Mountain, NC: https://forms.gle/wt4rPyKMEDht6HKG7
Let Us Help Your PLANTSTRONG Journey
Learn More About Our Corporate Wellness Program: https://liveplantstrong.com/corporate-wellness/
COMPLEMENT: Use code PLANTSTRONG for 30% off at https://lovecomplement.com/pages/plantstrong-special-offer

Follow PLANTSTRONG and Rip Esselstyn
https://plantstrong.com/
https://www.facebook.com/GoPlantstrong
https://www.instagram.com/goplantstrong/
https://www.instagram.com/ripesselstyn/

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What if the foods you love most—the ones tied to family, culture, and comfort—could also help you heal?
In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, Rip sits down with Javant Benton, creator of Healthy Vegan Eating and author of Make Your Own, to talk about food, family legacy, self-love, and breaking generational cycles of disease.
Javant shares how a frightening health wake-up—pre-diabetes, pre-hypertension, and a suspected lymphoma diagnosis—forced him to confront the way he was eating and living. What followed was a slow, intentional journey through paleo, pescatarian, and ultimately whole-food, plant-based nutrition—guided by research, lived experience, and mentors like Joel Fuhrman, who wrote the foreword to Javant’s book.
Together, Rip and Javant explore how empowerment—not deprivation—is the key to lasting change. From oil-free Southern classics to protein-rich plant meals, Javant proves you don’t have to give up the foods you love—you just have to make your own.
This episode is equal parts inspiration, practical nutrition, and permission to value your health—even when it means going against the grain.
Key Takeaways
Health often changes after a crisis—but it doesn’t have to. Javant’s story shows how fear can be a catalyst, but education and self-worth sustain long-term change.
You don’t need perfection—just progress. Javant’s journey unfolded over years, not weeks, proving that incremental change is both realistic and powerful.
“Make Your Own” is about autonomy and empowerment. By recreating familiar foods with whole, plant-based ingredients, people can heal without feeling deprived.
Self-love is a nutritional strategy. Choosing differently—especially in social settings—requires confidence, boundaries, and valuing long-term health over short-term approval.
Flavor is the gateway drug to better eating. Sauces, spices, textures, and presentation matter—and they make plant-based living sustainable.

Episode Webpage
Watch the Episode on YouTube
Learn More About our 2026 Live PLANTSTRONG Events: https://plantstrong.com/pages/events
Apply for a Scholarship to our April 2026 Retreat in Black Mountain, NC: https://forms.gle/wt4rPyKMEDht6HKG7
Let Us Help Your PLANTSTRONG Journey
Learn More About Our Corporate Wellness Program: https://liveplantstrong.com/corporate-wellness/
COMPLEMENT: Use code PLANTSTRONG for 30% off at https://lovecomplement.com/pages/plantstrong-special-offer

Follow PLANTSTRONG and Rip Esselstyn
https://plantstrong.com/
https://www.facebook.com/GoPlantstrong
https://www.instagram.com/goplantstrong/
https://www.instagram.com/ripesselstyn/

Follow the PLANTSTRONG Podcast and Give the Show a 5-star Rating
Apple Podcasts
Spotify