Our guest this week is Dr. Irina Ghenea. Dr. Ghenea was born in Romania and immigrated to Canada with her family at a young age. She grew up in Montreal, and her experience as a competitive swimmer and working as a lifeguard in her teenage years sparked her interest in health and fitness. 

As a medical student at McGill University, and went on to do her Family Medicine residency at Memorial University in Newfoundland. She started her Family Practice in North Sydney in September, 2000. 

In 2021 Dr. Ghenea discovered the field of lifestyle medicine. She learned how to support people in becoming as healthy as they can be, by improving lifestyle habits. Dr. Ghenea became certified with the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine in December 2025. 

Dr. Ghenea was also among more than 160 healthcare professionals who signed an open letter calling for processed meats to be removed from institutional menus across Canada. They argue the move would better align hospital and school food policy with chronic disease prevention and dietary guidelines after processed meats like bacon, hot dogs, and deli meats were classified by the World Health Organization as Group 1 carcinogens.

RESOURCES 

Facebook Page 

Oceanview Family Practice and Lifestyle Medicine 

CBC Interview 

Support the show

Welcome to the Plant-Based Canada Podcast! In today’s episode, we’re joined by Dr. Michael Klaper to discuss the importance of nutrition and the future of Modern Health Care. 

Dr. Michael Klaper, MD, DipACLM, is a physician, educator, author, and internationally recognized advocate for lifestyle and nutrition-based medicine. A graduate of the University of Illinois College of Medicine, he has practiced acute care medicine for more than five decades in Hawaii, Canada, the United States, and New Zealand, with a career-long focus on preventing and reversing chronic disease through evidence-based nutrition and healthy lifestyle practices. Dr. Klaper is board-certified in Lifestyle Medicine and has served as a nutrition advisor to NASA, a clinician at leading nutrition-focused medical centers, and a sought-after speaker on plant-predominant nutrition. He is the founder and Executive Director of Moving Medicine Forward, a nonprofit initiative dedicated to advancing nutrition education in medical schools and empowering future healthcare professionals to incorporate lifestyle medicine into clinical practice. 

Dr. Klaper is also the co-author of the newly released book Moving Medicine Forward: What More Doctors Should Know About Nutrition - and How It Can Save Your Life, which calls for a greater integration of nutrition and lifestyle medicine into modern healthcare. 

Dr. Klaper's Websites:

www.DoctorKlaper.com

(Moving Medicine Forward: What More Doctors Should Know About Nutrition - and How It Can Save Your Life is available on Dr. Klaper's website.) 

www.movingmedforward.org 

Resources Discussed:

Book, ‘For Forks Sake’ by Rachel Brown: https://forforkssakebook.com/

Forks Over Knives: https://www.forksoverknives.com/the-film/ 

Plant-Based Canada’s Socials:

Instagram  (@plantbasedcanadaorg)

Facebook (Plant-Based Canada, https://m.facebook.com/plantbasedcanadaorg/)

Website  (https://www.plantbasedcanada.org/)

X / Twitter @PBC_org

Bonus Promotion

Check out University of Guelph's online Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate. Each 4-week course will guide you through essential plant-based topics including nutritional benefits, disease prevention, and environmental impacts. You can also customize your learning with unique courses such as Plant-Based Diets for Athletes and Implementing a Plant-Based Diet at Home. As the first university-level plant-based certificate in Canada, you’ll explore current research, learn from leading industry experts, and join a community of like-minded people. Use our exclusive discount code PBC2026 to save 10% on all Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate courses. uoguel.ph/pbn.

Thank you for tuning in! Make sure to subscribe to the Plant-Based Canada Podcast so you get notified when new episodes are published. 

This episode was hosted by Stephanie Nishi RD, PhD.

Support the show

Welcome to the Plant-Based Canada Podcast! In today’s episode, we’re joined by Dr. Vasanti Malik to discuss sustainable, healthy diets and environmental impacts. 

Dr. Vasanti Malik is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto and holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Nutrition and Chronic Disease Prevention. She also serves as an adjunct faculty member at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Malik earned her MSc in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Toronto and a dual doctorate in Nutrition and Epidemiology from Harvard, where she also completed postdoctoral training.

Her research focuses on dietary and lifestyle determinants of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases across diverse populations and life stages, with additional expertise in environmental sustainability and food systems. Using epidemiological studies, clinical trials, and evidence synthesis, she has published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers that have informed dietary guidelines and health policy internationally. Dr. Malik has contributed to expert advisory initiatives with organizations including World Health Organization and American Heart Association, and collaborates on global nutrition and chronic disease prevention research in Canada, the United States, and internationally.

Website

Dr. Vasanti Malik: https://nutrisci.med.utoronto.ca/faculty/vasanti-malik

Resources:

TOsustain: https://utsc.utoronto.ca/foodandfarm/tosustain

TMU Urban Farm: https://www.torontomu.ca/sciencerendezvous/activity-booths/urbanfarm/

Lancet Planetary Health Abstract: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38632913/ 

Diabetes & Community Gardens: https://healthypopulationsnetwork.utoronto.ca/news/catalyst-grants-fund-projects-aimed-reducing-type-2-diabetes-risk-peel-region 

Plant-Based Canada’s Socials:

Instagram  (@plantbasedcanadaorg)

Facebook (Plant-Based Canada, https://m.facebook.com/plantbasedcanadaorg/)

Website  (https://www.plantbasedcanada.org/)

X / Twitter @PBC_org

Bonus Promotion

Check out University of Guelph's online Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate. Each 4-week course will guide you through essential plant-based topics including nutritional benefits, disease prevention, and environmental impacts. You can also customize your learning with unique courses such as Plant-Based Diets for Athletes and Implementing a Plant-Based Diet at Home. As the first university-level plant-based certificate in Canada, you’ll explore current research, learn from leading industry experts, and join a community of like-minded people. Use our exclusive discount code PBC2026 to save 10% on all Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate courses. uoguel.ph/pbn.

Thank you for tuning in! Make sure to subscribe to the Plant-Based Canada Podcast so you get notified when new episodes are published. 

This episode was hosted by Stephanie Nishi RD, PhD.

Support the show

Dr. Aleksandra Pikula is quadruple board-certified in Medicine, Neurology, Vascular Neurology, and Lifestyle Medicine… with Neurology and Vascular Neurology Fellowship and postdoctoral training at Boston University, Harvard University, and the Framingham Heart Study.

Dr. Pikula holds a status of an Associate Professor of Medicine, a Clinician-Investigator, and Co-Director of the Women’s Neurology Fellowship Program at the University of Toronto.

Since 2023, she had been appointed as the Inaugural Jay & Sari Sonshine Chair in Stroke Prevention and Cerebrovascular Brain Health at the University of Toronto, University Health Network, and Krembil Brain Institute… and serves as the founding director of the Jay and Sari Sonshine Centre at UHN.

Her clinical and research focus is on stroke prevention and outcomes in younger adults, particularly emphasizing women’s brain health during midlife. Dr. Pikula advocates for a holistic approach to brain care, targeting stroke and dementia prevention through evidence-based lifestyle medicine programs.

Plant-Based Canada was also privileged to feature her as a speaker for our 2026 Conference, where she discussed plant-forward nutrition for the brain across the lifespan. That talk will be available to participants for three months.

RESOURCES 

Through HER Prism 

Facebook 

Instagram 

Linkedin 

Framingham Heart Study 

Jay and Sari Sonshine Centre 

Women’s Neurology Fellowship Program at the U of T 

Support the show

 Dr. Matthew Nagra makes his fourth appearance on the podcast. And this time he’s laser-focused on the social media-driven controversy around seed oils. 

Dr. Nagra and his team put in the hours and reviewed the science around seed oils, examining three main, viral claims we bust down in this episode, including:  

1.     “Seed oils cause inflammation”, 

2.     “The RCTs prove harm”, 

3.     And “Heating or processing creates toxic compounds”. 

Dr. Nagra is a Naturopathic Doctor devoted to bringing the most up-to-date, evidence-based nutrition information to his patients in his Vancouver-based practice, and to the public via social media, presentations, and scientific publications. He aims to correct mis- and disinformation in a way that is easily digestible, helping people make fully informed dietary choices. 

He has also contributed to multiple nutrition textbooks, including Springer Nature's Handbook of Public Health Nutrition, and is a nutrition science advisor for the highly anticipated documentary, The Game Changers 2. 

You can also catch him in Episode 84, where we look at evidence around swapping out animal and plant-based meat; Episode 47, focused on misinformation around the Food Compass System; and Episode 2, where we talk about nutrition myths and misinformation more broadly.

RESOURCES 

Concerns about the health effects of industrially produced seed oils are without scientific foundation: a scoping narrative review of the clinical and observational evidence 

Dr. Nagra’s Website 

Instagram 

Facebook 

X 

Support the show

Welcome to the Plant-Based Canada Podcast! In today’s episode, we’re joined by Raymond Cruzzola to discuss ‘I’m Trying’ a film that documents Regan Russell - an animal rights activist killed in 2020 during a peaceful protest outside a slaughterhouse - and the ongoing fight for justice that she inspired.

Ray is a Toronto-based documentary filmmaker and video producer with over a decade of experience creating socially driven visual content. A graduate of Humber College’s Film and Television Production program, he has produced a range of short videos for nonprofit and grassroots campaigns focused on activism, justice, and environmental sustainability.

Ray’s work is grounded in the belief that if we have the power to reduce suffering, we have a moral responsibility to act, even when it’s uncomfortable. His films reflect a deep commitment to both humans and animal rights as well as environmental justice.

With a background in both digital strategy and grassroots storytelling, Ray brings a thoughtful, visually grounded approach to nonfiction filmmaking - one that centers the voices and movements most often overlooked, and that invites audiences to not just bear witness, but to respond.

I’m Trying: Instagram, Facebook

Raymond Cruzzola: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn

World Change Media: Website, Instagram, Facebook

Anita Krajnc: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn

Plant Based Treaty: Website, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn

Animal Save Movement: Website, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn

Toronto Pig Save: Website, Instagram, Facebook

PBC Conference - Get Tickets Here

Plant-Based Canada’s Socials: Instagram, Facebook, Website, X @PBC_org

Bonus Promotion:  Explore the University of Guelph’s online Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate. Each 4-week course covers key topics like health benefits, disease prevention, and environmental impact. It features expert-led, research-based learning and a supportive community. Use code PBC2026 to save 10% at uoguel.ph/pbn. 

Thank you for tuning in! Make sure to subscribe to the Plant-Based Canada Podcast so you get notified when new episodes are published. 

Support the show

In the latest episode of the Plant-Based Podcast, we breakdown some of the confusion generated by the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans with Dr. Kevin Klatt. Dr. Klatt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

He received his PhD in Molecular Nutrition from Cornell University and completed his clinical dietetic (RD) training at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. His research focuses on using both preclinical models as well as human intervention studies to better understand nutrient metabolism, signaling and requirements.

In addition to research, Dr. Klatt is a current Associate Editor at the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and a Section Editor of the graduate-level nutrition textbook, Biochemical Physiological and Molecular Aspects of Human Nutrition (fifth edition).

Dr. Klatt dissects some of the big ticket changes to the DGAs, including the recommendation to increase protein and saturated fat intake, confusion around processed foods, and inconsistencies between the revamped pyramid model and the actual recommendations.

Resources

Kevin’s Substack on the DGAs: The Influencer's DGAs & The Rancher's Pyramid 

Twitter 

BlueSky 

Instagram 

Bonus Promotion

Check out University of Guelph's online Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate. Each 4-week course will guide you through essential plant-based topics including nutritional benefits, disease prevention, and environmental impacts. You can also customize your learning with unique courses such as Plant-Based Diets for Athletes and Implementing a Plant-Based Diet at Home. As the first university-level plant-based certificate in Canada, you’ll explore current research, learn from leading industry experts, and join a community of like-minded people. Use our exclusive discount code PBC2026 to save 10% on all Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate courses. uoguel.ph/pbn.

Support the show

Welcome to the Plant-Based Canada Podcast! In today’s episode, we’re joined by Amy Ford to discuss sustainable food systems and planetary health in our hospitals and healthcare settings.

Amy Ford is the Director of Planetary Health at Nourish Leadership. She is a self-proclaimed intentional synergy seeker, with a career focused in sustainable in-patient food services. She is energized by bringing mission-aligned groups together to spark change and remove roadblocks, in service of improved planetary health. With a decade of health care food leadership, she is intimately aware of the enabling factors for teams to achieve improved procurement values, community collaboration, waste reduction, and menus that are culturally mindful and low-carbon. Amy lives on land that has long existed in reciprocity with the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee and Lūnaapéewak people. She is always ready to create in the kitchen, and believes that good food will usher in wonderful, radical changes to our world.

Nourish Leadership’s Socials:

Website: www.nourishleadership.ca

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nourishleadership/

Instagram: @nourishlead

Bluesky: @nourishlead.bsky.social‬ 

Amy Ford’s Socials:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyjoyford/  ‪

Plant-Based Canada’s Socials:

Instagram: @plantbasedcanadaorg

Facebook: Plant-Based Canada, https://m.facebook.com/plantbasedcanadaorg/

Website: https://www.plantbasedcanada.org/

X: @PBC_org

Bonus Promotion

Check out University of Guelph's online Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate. Each 4-week course will guide you through essential plant-based topics including nutritional benefits, disease prevention, and environmental impacts. You can also customize your learning with unique courses such as Plant-Based Diets for Athletes and Implementing a Plant-Based Diet at Home. As the first university-level plant-based certificate in Canada, you’ll explore current research, learn from leading industry experts, and join a community of like-minded people. Use our exclusive discount code PBC2026 to save 10% on all Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate courses. uoguel.ph/pbn.

Thank you for tuning in! Make sure to subscribe to the Plant-Based Canada Podcast so you get notified when new episodes are published. 

This episode was hosted by Stephanie Nishi RD, PhD.

Support the show

In this episode of the Plant-Based Canada podcast, we talk to an amazing duo who are putting their athletic endurance to the test for a first of its kind project they call Wings of Survival. A 30,000 km, 9-month cycling and packrafting traverse of the Pacific Americas Flyway, emulating the extraordinary journeys of migratory birds, from the remote reaches of Alaska’s High Arctic to the extreme lands of Patagonia.

Timm Döbert has a PhD in Global Change Ecology from University of Western Australia. He’s a lecturer at the University of Alberta. A Royal Canadian Geographical Society fellow. A Scientific Exploration Society fellow. A Global Sustainable Sport ambassador. And an Ironman athlete.

Leanna Carriere is Canada’s first female decathlete. She’s a former international track & field athlete. An Ironman athlete. A personal trainer. A Seven Summits Snacks co-founder. An EcoAthlete champion. A Global Sustainable Sport ambassador. And a mom.

Together, they’re embarking on a project called Wings of Survival in June of 2026.

Resources

On Wings of Survival  

Canada30x30

“Energy balance in cyclists on plant-based diets during a 30-day, 4300-km ride across Canada: Two case studies”

Instagram

GoFundMe

U of A Folio

UNCN

Bonus Promotion

Check out University of Guelph's online Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate. Each 4-week course will guide you through essential plant-based topics including nutritional benefits, disease prevention, and environmental impacts. You can also customize your learning with unique courses such as Plant-Based Diets for Athletes and Implementing a Plant-Based Diet at Home. As the first university-level plant-based certificate in Canada, you’ll explore current research, learn from leading industry experts, and join a community of like-minded people. Use our exclusive discount code PBC2026 to save 10% on all Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate courses. uoguel.ph/pbn.

Support the show

Dr. Samantha Green is currently a family physician at the St. Michael’s Hospital Sumac Creek Health Centre in Regent Park and an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto's Temerty Faculty of Medicine under the Department of Family and Community Medicine. She is also Board Member at the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Dr. Green completed medical school at the University of Ottawa in 2011 and residency in Family Medicine residency at McMaster University in 2013.

We discuss her day-to-day with patients, her work with Canadian Family Physician on prioritizing sustainable primary care, the impact of hospital and food systems on the environment, and her advocacy work around climate and planetary health with the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.

Resources

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment

 Dr. Green’s work with Canadian Family Physician:

“Sustainable Primary Care Toolkit”

“Planetary health lens for primary care”

“Reducing the environmental burden of unnecessary investigations”

“Climate-conscious inhaler prescribing for family physicians”

Bonus Promotion

Check out University of Guelph's online Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate. Each 4-week course will guide you through essential plant-based topics including nutritional benefits, disease prevention, and environmental impacts. You can also customize your learning with unique courses such as Plant-Based Diets for Athletes and Implementing a Plant-Based Diet at Home. As the first university-level plant-based certificate in Canada, you’ll explore current research, learn from leading industry experts, and join a community of like-minded people. Use our exclusive discount code PBC2026 to save 10% on all Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate courses. uoguel.ph/pbn.

Support the show