PLANTSTRONG Podcast

Change is a Choice.

Paul de Gelder wasn't given a choice the day he was attacked by a shark as a clearance diver in Sydney Harbor.  But he did choose how he would react. Using the mantra he’d been taught in the Army to "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome,” Paul was able to fight back from life-threatening injuries and to create a life that exceeds his most wild dreams.

In this episode, Paul shares how and why he adopted a plant-based diet and what it’s meant to his health, and his efforts to save the very creatures that nearly killed him. Now a host of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, Paul is a vocal advocate for shark education and conservation.

Buckle-up for this one and prepare to be inspired by someone who will make you question every excuse you’ve ever made.

This episode is NOT sponsored by Taco Bell. 

Fast food is highly addictive and in this week's episode, we meet a man who overcame the siren song of the drive-thru and is using plants to stay the course.

At just 5 feet 6 inches tall, Chuck Carroll weighed 420 pounds before radically changing his life.  He was taking a long walk off a very short pier.

Like so many others, he tried and failed countless times to lose weight.  Any success he achieved was short-lived as the weight came pouring back on and then some.

But then he did something remarkable and turned it all around.  Rip had a chance encounter with Chuck at the Barnard Medical Center while being interviewed for "The Exam Room". Chuck's story of radical transformation is jaw-dropping and his candid conversation with Rip highlights all that is possible with plants and determination.

Intimately acquainted with the lonely and habitual trap of fast food, Chuck weighs in on Joe’s recent slip up with Burger King and cautions against further "experimentation".  

When you're going plant-strong, it seems the world is working against you.  We can't turn on the TV or drive down the street without being tempted.  We live in a cultural mindset of "everything in moderation" - giving us the green light to indulge at every turn as long as we put in extra time at the gym.  And we know marketing campaigns are scientifically designed to trigger us - making us crave sugary, salty, fat-laden, food-like substances.

For many, including Joe, the drive-thru is a powerful siren song.  

In this check-in episode, Joe gives Rip an update on how he's doing.  Hear which recipes he's made for the firehouse plus his updated biometric results.  Joe will share his progress in building stamina and strength with exercise, and a setback where he found himself ordering Burger King (after 60 days of going 100%!).  Plus, we'll meet Joe's wife, Jennifer!

When you're going plant-strong, it seems the world is working against you.  We can't turn on the TV or drive down the street without being tempted.  We live in a cultural mindset of "everything in moderation" - giving us the green light to indulge at every turn as long as we put in extra time at the gym.  And we know marketing campaigns are scientifically designed to trigger us - making us crave sugary, salty, fat-laden, food-like substances.

For many, including Joe, the drive-thru is a powerful siren song.  

In this check-in episode, Joe gives Rip an update on how he's doing.  Hear which recipes he's made for the firehouse plus his updated biometric results.  Joe will share his progress in building stamina and strength with exercise, and a setback where he found himself ordering Burger King (after 60 days of going 100%!).  Plus, we'll meet Joe's wife, Jennifer!

“If we can’t get [men] with concern over their heart or concern over cancer, we can probably get them with concern over their penis.  A plant-powered penis is the key to a plant-powered person. It is the gateway organ,” shares Dr. Aaron Spitz in this eye-opening and *ahem* uplifting conversation giving straight answers on the topic every man cares about, but is too afraid to ask.

Dr. Spitz has a clear five-step plan to improve sexual health:  Go Fork Yourself, Sexercise, Go Offline, Detox, and Snooze or Lose.  His easy-to-implement directives cover a wide range of behaviors worth examining and will dispel any concern listeners may have about forfeiting their man card in exchange for a plant-strong diet.

Achieving real change in your life starts with losing before you can win. As the creator of The Biggest Loser on NBC, J.D. Roth built an empire giving people the tools they need to shed their identity and turn on the light switch to finding their ‘beast mode’.  

Listen as Rip and J.D. talk about the mental resiliency of a true “loser” and why we all should aspire to be one. Joe’s been gaining an average of 13 pounds a year, jeopardizing his performance as a firefighter and a father.  He needs to pump the brakes and adopt a better plan - including some lofty athletic goals. J.D. is a straight shooter when it comes to busting excuses and firmly believes that anyone can do anything.

J.D.’s wife Chrissy is a plant-strong force as well and has not only converted the couple’s teen boys, but a growing number of friends and neighbors have embraced the lifestyle due to their efforts. This plant-powered couple inspires everyone around them to step over the cultural hurdles, crush the excuses and just do it. 

Getting a good night’s sleep at a fire station is like trying to do homework at a rock concert. Dream on!  For most of us, sleep can be elusive, interrupted, and hard to come by in our tech-heavy, fast-paced world.  But good sleep is crucial for brain health, allowing our main operating system to repair and reboot.

This week, Rip introduces Joe to husband-wife neurologists Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, leading physicians and researchers on brain health and the prevention of Alzheimer’s.  

“Assume you have bad genes and then live in a way that reduces your vascular risk”, says Dr. Dean Sherzai before sharing how plant-based nutrition, exercise, sleep, mental activity and stress reduction all play pivotal roles in our ability to thrive.  

Learn tips for getting a good night’s sleep even if your life circumstances are working against you. Be inspired by some positive news about Alzheimer’s and dementia - and hear simple actionable steps we can all take today to avoid this kind of demise.  

Eating plant-based, especially in a firehouse, can be challenging.  In this episode, Rip introduces Joe to his mom Ann Crile Esselstyn, and serves up a dose of her unbridled enthusiasm.

Thriving in her 80’s, Ann is a true force of nature and embodies the many benefits of plants. She’s learned many tricks-to-the-trade since starting this lifestyle in 1984 - hear how she keeps inspired, joyful, and motivated to experiment in the kitchen.

She shares five kitchen essentials everyone should have, how to set yourself up for success, tasty hacks for adding greens to your meals plus a dozen simple and delicious ideas on what to eat.  These practical heartfelt solutions will help anyone to be brave and dive into the lifestyle, fork first!

Joe’s made progress in the kitchen too and his palate is changing. He’s working hard to keep the new foods interesting, to plan ahead, and to prepare for ‘grab and go’ situations. Can you do the same in your house?

Plant-Strong’s inaugural season marshals together an all-star line-up of some of the world’s most renowned physicians and inspirational leaders to help Bronx firefighter Joe Inga change his life. An near fatal accident on the job forced Joe, a 34-year-old husband and father of two, to face his own mortality. Instead of falling back into old destructive habits, Joe decides he wants a different outcome. Join our host Rip Esselstyn, #1 New York Times best selling author and founder of Engine 2, as he coaches Joe how to rescue his health.

Meet Joe Inga, a New York City firefighter with Engine 72 in the Bronx. Joe decides to buck the firehouse culture by doing something as nutty as eating plant based! That’s right – no meat, no dairy, and nothing that came from something with a face or a mother. As you can imagine, change is hard. But Joe is on a mission and damn the torpedoes! Between being a new father, battling addiction, and recently coming face to face with his own mortality, Joe needs support. In season 1 we’ll follow Joe’s ups and downs as he moves towards becoming the plant-strong man he knows he can be!

Also meet Rip’s dad, the world renowned Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., from the Cleveland Clinic and learn how he trekked upstream against all the naysayers to discover the causation of heart disease and how our fork can be our most powerful ally in halting and even reversing the #1 killer of Americans!

Hear why you should care about nitric oxide and the four reasons it’s critical for cardiovascular health.  Discover what foods have the highest antioxidant value, plus why and how you should eat them. And most importantly, understand all the life-saving benefits to eating a plant-strong diet from the man who pioneered the research.