Plant-Based Canada Podcast

Bonus Episode! In this Plant-Based Canada Podcast episode we are joined by two special guests, Dr. Shireen Kassam & Dr. Zahra Kassam, two medical doctors, sisters, plant-based organisation founders, & authors of the new book Eating Plant-Based: Scientific answers to your nutrition questions!

Dr. Shireen Kassam MB BS, FRCPath, PhD, DipIBLM is a Consultant Haematologist & Honorary Senior Lecturer at King’s College Hospital, London, with a specialist interest in the management of lymphoma. She is a certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician, as well as Founder & Director of Plant-Based Health Professionals UK, a community interest company whose mission is to provide evidence-based education on healthy plant-based diets. In 2021 she co-founded Plant Based Health Online, the UK's first Care QC-regulated, lifestyle medicine healthcare service.

Dr. Zahra Kassam MB BS, FRCPC, MSc, DipABLM is a Radiation Oncologist at the Stronach Regional Cancer Centre, a certified Lifestyle Medicine physician, and an Assistant Professor in the Dept of Radiation Oncology at the University of Toronto.  In 2019, she co-founded Plant-Based Canada, a non-profit organisation with the mission to promote plant-based whole food nutrition that is healthy and sustainable & which supports the well-being of the planet & all its inhabitants. 

In this episode:

• Why did they become “Plant-Based”?
• Their medical practices 
• Their new book: Eating Plant-Based: Scientific answers to your nutrition questions
• Their foundation of Plant-Based Communities & Resources
• New Initiatives to stay tuned for
• Family Connections & Rethinking Food and Agriculture: New Ways forward?

Episode Resources:
Plant-Based Health Professionals UK
Plant Based Health Online
Plant-Based Canada
BOOKS:
Eating Plant-Based: Scientific answers to your nutrition questions Available here.
Rethinking Food and Agriculture: New Ways forward? Available here.
Plant-Based Nutrition in Clinical Practice Pre-order here.
COURSE: Plant-Based Nutrition at Winchester University

Dr Shireen Kassam:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter 

Dr. Zahra Kassam:
Website
Facebook
Instagram

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.<

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Dr. Laura Chiavaroli is a Clinical Trialist & a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto and St. Michael’s Hospital. Laura has 15 years of experience in the field of nutrition & cardiometabolic health. Alongside her MSc & PhD mentor, Dr. David Jenkins, Laura became skilled at conducting randomized controlled trials & working with dietary patterns, including the Portfolio Diet which is a cholesterol-lowering plant-based diet. Laura also has extensive experience in nutritional epidemiology, specifically in the conduct of systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMAs), from her work with Dr. John Sievenpiper. In the past few years of her postdoctoral fellowship, Laura has expanded her experience in knowledge translation strategies, including patient- & physician-facing resource development and web-based mobile app development. Laura also has a great interest in education & elucidating how important public health concerns regarding dietary patterns and cardiometabolic health interconnect with planetary health, while highlighting the importance of equity, diversity and inclusivity. 

Laura is a member of the Plant-Based Canada team, & we are all currently working on organizing the upcoming virtual conference. 

Tickets are now available for the upcoming virtual Canadian Plant Based Nutrition Conference on May 28-29, 2022. This annual conference provides evidence-based education by experts on plant-based nutrition for individual health, as well as highlighting the environmental and social concerns of our food system. 

Sign up to our newsletter on our website or stay tuned on our social media to be kept up to date on the content and ticket sales. 

In this episode Laura covers:

• What does “Plant-Based” mean?
• A sneak peek at a novel new research project 
  • A Portfolio Diet mHealth Application 
  • (Note: given the research on the mHealth Application is ongoing, details are not fully available at this time to ensure the trial is conducted without bias, but stay tuned to ClinicalTrials.gov, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, & Toronto 3D Knowledge Synthesis and Clinical Trials Unit websites for future details.)
• Dietary Patterns in Health Guidelines
• Dietary Values & Needs of University Students
• University of Guelph Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate
• Process of Designing a Virtual Course
• How to Evaluate Evidence
• Being Eco-conscience

Episode Resources
Portfolio Diet Infographic
Canadian Cardiovascular Society
Research Trial Registration Site (ClinicalTrials.gov)
Toronto 3D Knowledge Synthesis & Clinical Trials Unit
Portfolio Dietary Pattern & Cardiovascular Health
DASH Dietary Pattern & Cardiometabolic Health
Dietary Patterns & Cardiometabolic Health in Diabetes
Forward Food
University of Guelph, Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate

Plant-Based Canada’s Socials
Instagram
Facebook
Website  

This episode was hosted by Stephanie Nishi RD, PhD

Thank you for tuning in! 

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Dr. Ian Gillespie is a consultant psychiatrist, with a practice in his hometown of Victoria since completing specialty training at UBC and Mayo Clinic.

His role at Aroga Lifestyle Medicine is to provide consultation services to the team and assessments focusing on the role of how Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), ADHD, and PTSD may contribute to the chronic illnesses people may have experienced. He also provides compassionate Motivational Interviewing concepts, CHIP training principles, and current information about the evolving field of Lifestyle Psychiatry treatment.

He’s also passionate about the role diet plays in mental health and mood, and is a proponent of a whole foods plant-based eating pattern. With continuing education in Lifestyle Medicine since 2013, he was among the first 7 physicians in Canada to earn the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine diplomate certification in the 2017 inaugural examination. Dr. Gillespie is also a founding member and current Secretary of the Canadian Lifestyle Medicine Advocacy Group.

In this episode we discuss:

Dr. Gillespie's path to psychiatry and role at Aroga Lifestyle Medicine 

His experience in Lifestyle Psychiatry

How he incorporates Lifestyle Medicine and Plant-based eating into his practice

What kind of evidence we have when it comes to dietary patterns and depression

How certain foods can impact mood

The six pillars of lifestyle medicine

Food insecurity and other socio-economic obstacles to eating better

Studies/Articles/Books:
Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease

Lifestyle Medicine: Tools for Promoting Healthy Change (Harvard Program)

Lifestyle Psychiatry (Noordsy, 2019)

The Six Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine

A meta-review of "lifestyle psychiatry"

Diet and depression: exploring the biological mechanisms of action 

Dr. Michael Greger's Daily Dozen Challenge
 
Fiber Fueled: The Plant-Based Gut Health Program for Losing Weight, Restoring Your Health, and Optimizing Your Microbiome (Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, 2020)

Prevent And Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure (Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, 2008)
 
The role of inflammation and the gut microbiome in depression and anxiety

The Gut Microbiome and Mental Health: Implications for Anxiety- and Trauma-Related Disorders comment

This Podcast was hosted and edited by Clinton Stamatovich

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In this episode of the Plant-Based Canada Podcast we  chat with Dr. Jules Cormier. Dr. Cormier is based out of Dieppe, New Brunswick where he practices Family Medicine. He completed his premed training in Moncton, New Brunswick, and then went on to earn his Ph.D in medicine at the Universite de Sherbrooke medical school.

In 2007, he was offered a spot at Dieppe's Unite de Medecine Familiale -- a group and teaching practice where interns and medical students do their training.  He also teaches part-time at his local medical school, where he’s taught everything from endocrinology, lifestyle medicine, and medical interviewing skills to skin surgery techniques.

Dr. Cormier chose family medicine as his specialty because it gives him the opportunity to form lifelong relationships with his patients, as well as the time and resources to discuss plant-based diets and lifestyle medicine.

Dr. Cormier has an active online presence, where he writes blog posts about the benefits of plant-based eating, weight loss, plant-based diets for athletes, and even his own passion for fitness by documenting his workouts on Instagram and YouTube.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why Dr. Cormier chose family medicine as his specialty
• Why he chooses to identify as vegan 
• How he approaches the topic of plant-based eating with patients
• How documenting his fitness journey helps him engage with patients online
• Plant-based diets and kids
• Eating for different types of training: endurance vs. body building
• Dr. Cormier's path to qualifying for the World Ninja Championships
• Protein quality and plant vs. animal protein

Socials/Links:

Website 

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Studies/Articles:

THE PROTEIN PANIC

PROTEIN- THE BASICS

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR PROTEIN?

ARE PLANT-BASED MEATS HEALTHIER THAN REAL MEAT?

PERFORMANCE ENHANCING FOODS

FOODS THAT ACCELERATE RECOVERY

BUILDING MUSCLE

This Podcast was hosted and edited by Clinton Stamatovich

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In this episode of the Plant-Based Canada Podcast we interview Marianne Trevorrow. Marianne is a naturopathic doctor registered with College of Naturopaths of Ontario who has been in practice since 2006. She focuses on the care of identified women with chronic complex pain and reproductive issues, including patients with endometriosis, PCOS, infertility, and problems associated with menopause, as well as pelvic pain pre and post-menopause.

She supports and practices plant based eating as a foundation to good health, as well as being more sustainable for our planet. 

Since 2018, Marianne has also taken on a new role as Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors Journal (CANDJ) -- the professional journal of the Canadian ND Association. She has published in her areas of clinical expertise in several peer-reviewed Integrative Medical journals, and maintains an active social media presence and blog.

In this episode we discuss:

• Dr. Trevorrow’s path to naturopathic medicine.
• How she incorporates evidence-based medicine into her practice.
• Her work with the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors Journal.
• CANDJ’s mission to promote conversations around plant-based eating.
• How diet can impact menopause, PCOS, fertility, and pregnancy.
• Advice for identified women interesting in adopting a plant-based diet. 
• Misinformation in the health and wellness space.

Socials/Links:

Website

CANDJ

Instagram

Twitter 

Studies/Articles:

Eat Lancet Report

Seventh Day Adventist Health Study

Harvard Fertility Study

The Crossroads of the Planetary Health Paradigm: An Indigenous Perspective


This Podcast was hosted and edited by Clinton Stamatovich.

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Meet “Dr. Plant-Based”! Our latest Plant Based Canada Podcast episode is with Muzammil Ahmad, a fourth year medical student with a masters in psychology, certification in nutrition and a bachelor’s in business. He believes more times than not, we should be prescribing our patients with a healthy lifestyle over prescribed medications. And he believes a healthy lifestyle starts with a healthy diet rich in whole plant-foods. On his Instagram (@dr.plantbased) and on his website (www.drplantbased.ca), he shares evidence-based nutrition and showcases what a healthy diet looks like, how to incorporate a healthy diet in one's lifestyle and the role of diet in prevention, treatment and in certain cases reversal of chronic lifestyle diseases. He is also passionate about living a sustainable and conscious life that reduces our carbon footprint on the planet and living with compassion and kindness.

We also have an exciting update to share, Muzammil will be speaking at our upcoming virtual Canadian Plant Based Nutrition Conference on May 28th and 29th 2022 where he will be sharing more about a #plant-based #lifestyle in relation to #athletics.

Our annual conference provides #evidence-based education by Canadian experts on plant-based nutrition for individual health, as well as highlighting the environmental and social concerns of our food system. 

Sign up to our newsletter on our website or stay tuned on our social media to be kept up to date on the content and ticket sales. 

In this episode Muzammil covers:

• His plant-based experience and lifestyle as a medical student
• How “Dr. Plant-Based” began
• Blue Zones
• Transforming a reactionary approach to medicine
• Current and surprising plant-based evidence
• Social Media Use as a Platform
• Content development
• Future plans

Episode Resources (Articles):

Blue Zones: Lessons From the World’s Longest Lived 

Dietary Patterns and Longevity: Expanding the Blue Zones

Ten Years of Life: A Matter of Choice? 

Vegetarian Dietary Patterns and Mortality in Adventist Health Study 2

Vegetarian, vegan diets and multiple health outcomes: A systematic review with meta-analysis of observational studies

Vegetarian diets, circulating miRNA expression and health span in subjects living in the Blue Zone

Determinants of All-Cause Mortality and Incidence of Cardiovascular Disease (2009 to 2013) in Older Adults: The Ikaria Study of the Blue Zones

Muzammil Ahmad’s Socials:

IG handle: @dr.plantbased

TikTok: @muzammil_med

Website: www.drplantbased.ca 

Plant-Based Canada’s Socials:

Instagram

Facebook

Website  

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 & Cassandra Carey, MSc, and edited by Clint Stamatovich. 

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Diabetes. Blindness. A Terminal Disease… Our guest on this episode of the Plant-Based Canada podcast is Kate McGoey-Smith. Faced with a very rare, no cause-no cure terminal diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, described as high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries of the lungs) along with type 2 Diabetes, Kate McGoey-Smith became legally blind and on continuous oxygen within months. Dizzy and fainting spells left this mother of three school aged children out of work, immobilized and recording good-bye stories to her kids, who were unknowingly destined to live without her within 2-5 years. 

Find out how Kate, a former registered nurse and a clinically trained social work therapist became more psychologically flexible to turn this imposed tragedy into triumph - re-gaining her sight, reducing her blood sugar to no longer having diabetes, and even reversing her fatal disease from level 3 to level 1! Most importantly, giving her now adult children the legacy of better health!

In this episode Kate covers:

• Her life-changing story of overcoming a very rare, no cure terminal diagnosis.
• Her  insights related to  behavioural change around plant-based eating.
• Psychological flexibility and how it can be incorporated into everyday thinking.

Episode Resources:

If you would like to hear more from Kate, you can find her talk from the 2021 Plant-Based Canada Conference on the Plant-Based Canada YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/VpKtMHATwVk

McGoey-Smith et al., 2019 article in International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention titled, “Reversal of Pulmonary Hypertension, Diabetes, and Retinopathy after Adoption of a Whole Food Plant-Based Diet”: https://doi.org/10.22230/ijdrp.2019v1n2a41

To read about how psychological flexibility is defined and measured: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33550157/

To learn more about the impact of psychological flexibility on psychological well-being in adults with obesity: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33828505/

The ACT model of health and treatment processes that is a way of thinking about and engendering psychological flexibility. 

Kate McGoey-Smith is also a Food for Life Instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Plant-Based Canada’s Socials:
Instagram
Facebook
Website  

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.

*Please appreciate that the views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. PBC is not responsible for any errors, omissions or opinions related to the content stated by the guests interviewed. The podcast should not be considered professional advice. Listeners should seek their own individual healthcare advice as needed.

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In this episode of the Plant-Based Canada podcast we interview ecologist and co-founder of PlantBasedData.org, Nicholas Carter. He is the Communications Lead for a Canadian Centre for Climate Services data hub & serves as an advisory board member to several food- and environment-focused organizations. 

He's also a science writer on the interconnections between agriculture and planetary health. He completed a Master's degree in Environmental Practice from Royal Roads University, where his research focused on the global greenhouse gas emissions that are attributed to animal agriculture.

Nicolas will be speaking at our upcoming virtual Canadian plant based nutrition conference on may 28th and 29th.

 In this episode we discuss:

• How our food systems contribute to carbon and methane emissions
• Water and land use required for animal agriculture
• Environmental runoffs and dead zones
• Calories in versus calories out: why animal agriculture is not an efficient system
• Big meat disinformation campaigns
• The outcome of the COP26 Climate Conference
• The lack of evidence behind the holistic grazing movement
• Alternative farming practices versus traditional 
• The impact of industrial fishing on the oceans and sea life 
• How a shift to plant-based diets can help ameliorate many environmental issues we face today

Socials/Links:

PlantBasedData.org
Twitter
Instagram
LinkTree

Studies/Articles:

• Food is responsible for 25-42% of all global emissions 
• Animal Agriculture's contributions could be as high as 37% 
• Animal agriculture & methane 
• The key to reducing biodiversity loss
• Today, only 4% of mammals are wild animals, 34% are humans, & 62% are livestock
• Food systems have caused: 70% of biodiversity loss on land, 50% biodiversity loss in water, & 80% global deforestation
• Human impact on oceans
• Tyson has spent double what Exxon has on political campaigns
• Chicken: calories in, calories out
• Livestock exclusion increased abundance and diversity of animals
• A critical review of Allan Savory's grazing method 
• Beef cattle use ~60% of the world’s agricultural land but account for less than 2% of global calories & 5% of global protein consumed
• Oxford University: Grazed & Confused
• Beyond Burger water, land, energy usage

This Podcast was hosted and edited by Clinton Stamatovich 

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What is holistic empathy? Do you know how the arts can bring awareness to social justice issues? Hear from Zehra Abbas in the latest Plant-Based Canada Podcast episode to find out and more!

Zehra has had a keen interest in exploring how to make the world a kinder place ever since her time volunteering for organizations like War Against Rape and The Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture in her youth. Zehra is the Executive Director of Umano.org, a US-based organization supporting initiatives worldwide that foster holistic empathy for humans, animals, and the environment.

Zehra is also the founder and volunteer President of Youth Troopers for Global Awareness and its social enterprise, Studio.89, a non-profit community hub and fair trade vegan cafe providing a free space for events, workshops, and resources with a specific focus on social justice activism and youth leadership development. Studio.89 also aims to benefit humans, animals, and the environment. 

Zehra has extensive experience in operating and developing non-profit initiatives, building organizational capacity, and establishing social enterprises.

While travelling, Zehra enjoys narrow cobblestone streets, ancient architecture, cuddling street animals, and volunteering with various charity organizations to advance her knowledge about community care from a holistic lens.

In this episode we discuss:   
*Social Justice
*Holistic Empathy
*Storytelling to Spread a Message
*Umano International Short Film Festival
*Starting a Business & Outreach / Building Organizational Capacity
*Take Home Message 

#plantbased #health  #socialjustice  #socialjusticeactivism
#holisticempathy #storytelling #storytellingtospreadamessage
#Umano #UmanoInternationalShortFilmFestival 
#Startup #CommunityCare
#StartingaBusiness #Outreach #NonProfit #youthleadership
#Studio89 #YouthTroopersforGlobalAwareness
#evidencedbasedplantbased #evidencebasedhealth  
#vegan #vegetarian #plantbasedlifestyle 
#podcast

Zehra Abbas´ Socials
Instagram: @zee.hra
Studio.89
Umano
Umano International Short Film Festival

Plant-Based Canada´s Socials
Instagram : @plantbasedcanadaorg
Facebook
Website 
Podcast Episodes

This Podcast was edited by Clinton Stamatovich 

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In this episode of the Plant-Based Canada podcast we interview Canadian photojournalist, animal rights activist, and author Jo-Anne McArthur.

She is known for the We Animals project, a photography project documenting human relationships with animals. Through the We Animals Archive, she provides photographs and other media for those working to help animals.

Her first book, We Animals, was published in 2013; her second, Captive, was published in 2017; and a third, Hidden, which featured a foreword by Joaquin Phoenix, was published in 2020. 

McArthur has won several awards for her work, including the 2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice award for a photo of a lowland gorilla rescued from poachers… And more recently 3 of her photos made the top 10 in the Earth Project’s COP26 photography competition. 

She has been working as a photojournalist for decades… and sometimes navigates extremely dangerous environments – from bushfires in Australia to factory farm operations in Turkey and Italy – to help shine a light on the plight of a wide-range of animals, as well as the downstream effects our treatment of animals has on out environment.


 In this episode we discuss:

• Jo-Anne’s interest in photojournalism and her path to animal rights activism. 
• Her work documenting our relationship with animals and how we exploit them.
• Her photography awards, including her winning images in the Earth Project’s COP26 photography competition.
• Her work as the founder of the “Unbound Project” and her photography project We Animals.
• The oftentimes dangerous situations she finds herself in her line of work.
• Her focus on protecting mental health and staying hopeful while documenting difficult subjects.
• How to get involved in animal rights advocacy work.

Studies/Articles:

tEP COP26 Competition Update
COP26 Earth Project photography competition
Nature under threat: a Cop26 photographic competition – in pictures
Canadian photojournalist wins COP26 photography competition

 Socials/Links:

Jo-Anne’s Website
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
We Animals Media
Unbound Project

This Podcast was hosted and edited by Clinton Stamatovich 

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