The Habit Healers

To work with Dr. Laurie Marbas, visit: https://www.drmarbas.com/

Bruce L. Moon, Ph.D., ATR-BC, HLM is Professor Emeritus of art therapy at Mount Mary University. Now retired, Dr. Moon is the past chair of the department and director of the graduate art therapy program, and co-founder of the doctor of art therapy program. He is the author of Existential Art Therapy: The Canvas Mirror; Essentials of Art Therapy Education and Practice; Art and Soul: Reflections on an Artistic Psychology; Introduction to Art Therapy: Faith in the Product; The Dynamics of Art as Therapy with Adolescents, Working with Images: The Art of Art Therapists; Word Pictures: The Poetry and Art of Art Therapy; Ethical Issues in Art Therapy; The Role of Metaphor in Art Therapy; Art-Based Group Therapy: Theory and Practice; and with Dr. Chris Belkofer, Artist, Therapist and Teacher: Selected Papers was published last spring. He has presented papers, workshops, and performance art events throughout the United States, Canada, and Asia.

Dr. Moon is an active painter, singer-songwriter, film maker and performance artist. He has recorded a number of music CDs and performs regularly at small concert venues.

Dr. Moon was the 2007 recipient of the Honorary Life Member Award (HLM) of the American Art Therapy Association and the 2009 recipient of the Buckeye Art Therapy Association HLM. These are the highest honors granted by the AATA and BATA, and the only awards that are voted on by the entire professional memberships.

To connect with Dr. Moon:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/bclunar123

To work with Dr. Laurie Marbas, visit: https://www.drmarbas.com/

In today's interview, I'm honored to interview Brittany Jaroudi.

Growing up, Brittany was always fearful that her parents would die. She had to witness her mother go through cancer three different times, and her father had a massive heart attack that led to triple bypass surgery and, eventually, stents and a defibrillator. Her dad now has diabetes and congestive heart failure.

Brittany followed the same lifestyle as her parents through her childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, eating a standard American diet. They ate take-out and lots of meat, dairy, and oil.

Her struggles with weight began when she was only 8 years old, and by the time she was in her mid-20s, her eating habits had really caught up with her. She was 185 pounds!

Her doctor diagnosed her with high blood pressure (150/90) and put her on two different blood pressure medications. Brittany had high cholesterol (total cholesterol: 242). Her anxiety was through the roof, with a resting heart rate in the 90s. Brittany's hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk) was extremely high, and she had chest pains. She thought, “This can’t be my life at 25 years old.”

Brittany began researching ways to get herself out of the health crisis. She found the Forks Over Knives documentary, and it all clicked. She saw what the future would be if she stayed on her current path: heart disease, autoimmune disease, diabetes, and maybe even cancer. After watching the documentary, Brittany immediately went plant-based. She got rid of all the dairy, meat, and processed foods she had in her house.

Since that day three years ago, she has lost 60 pounds; she no longer has high cholesterol (150 total); Brittany has high blood pressure (110/70); her resting heart rate is 60, and her hs-CRP is in the normal range!

To connect with Brittany:

Website: www.thejaroudifamily.com

Youtube: www.youtube.com/thejaroudifamily

To work with Dr. Laurie Marbas, visit: https://www.drmarbas.com/

In today's episode, I'm honored to interview Jayson Stirrup, the director of Casa Hogar, which is a children's home in Mexico. They were the inspiration for the movie Blue Miracle.

We discuss Casa Hogar's mission, how it was founded, and much more during the interview!

To help support Casa Hogar, visit: https://www.casahogarcabo.com/

To work with Dr. Laurie Marbas, visit: https://www.drmarbas.com/

In this episode, I'm honored to interview Dr. Apple Bodemer, who is a plant-based Dermatologist.

During the interview, we discuss her journey to a plant-based diet, how to improve your skin's health, and much more!

Dr. Bodemer has always been fascinated by how different health systems and cultures deal with health and illness. As a dermatology resident, she traveled to India, Nepal, and China to learn more about health care in these regions. In each country, Dr. Bodemer had opportunities to visit traditional hospitals and pharmacies and westernized facilities. The ways traditional and modern approaches to health were combined in these countries fascinated her, and she became more curious about other ways of healing.

After Dr. Bodemer finished her Dermatology residency at the University of Wisconsin, she completed a fellowship in Integrative Medicine through the University of Arizona. Since then, her clinical practice has focused on combining general dermatology care with the philosophies and tools of integrative medicine. In 2015, when the American Board of Integrative Medicine (ABOIM) was approved, Dr. Bodemer took the certifying exam and now serves as a member of the ABOIM. She currently sees patients in an academic setting and can work with dermatology residents and integrative medicine fellows.

To Connect with Dr. Bodemer:

Website:https://www.appleskinhealth.com/

Instagram:@appleskinhealth1

To work with Dr. Laurie Marbas, visit: https://www.drmarbas.com/

Shaleen Shah is a serial entrepreneur, technologist, philanthropist, and co-founder of Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary.

He is currently the CTO of Ajeva and is a Strategic Advisor to the fast-growing startup Paralect.

During the interview, we discuss his journey to becoming vegan, the future of food, how he built an animal sanctuary, and much more.

To connect with Shaleen:

Website: https://luvinarms.org/

To work with Dr. Laurie Marbas, visit: https://www.drmarbas.com/

Niki Davis, MD is a “rocket scientist” turned physician. She is board certified in both family medicine and lifestyle medicine. At age 13, she started removing animal products from her diet because she didn’t feel it was healthy. Once in college, she obtained bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering and worked on the space shuttle program for several years. However, instead of rockets on her mind, she was constantly thinking about health and nutrition - helping her own family members improve their health and their lives by switching to a plant-based lifestyle.

She eventually found her way back to her passion after leaving her engineering career to apply for medical school. She graduated from the University of Utah School of Medicine in 2017 and completed a Family Medicine residency program in 2020. While in residency, in addition to serving as Wellness Chief, she helped form Plant-Based Montana, an advocacy group with the mission to educate healthcare providers and the general public about the benefits of a plant-based diet.

She has had the pleasure of speaking at plant-based events around the country and has been lucky enough to train with phenomenal mentors such as Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Michael Klaper, Dr. Anthony Lim, and Dr. Alan Goldhamer, among others. She is a regular guest on Chef AJ’s YouTube channel show and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) Podcast. She has a certificate in plant-based nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies through eCornell and is certified in The Starch Solution.

She feels extremely grateful to be doing what she loves every day - helping people live their best lives. In addition to being available for TeleHealth appointments, Dr. Davis will also be running plant-based wellness retreats in locations around the world, once safe to do so.

To connect with Dr. Davis:

Website: https://www.drnikidavis.com/

Instagram: @nikidavismd

To work with Dr. Laurie Marbas, visit: https://www.drmarbas.com/

Dr. Colin Zhu, aka TheChefDoc, specializes in culinary medicine, lifestyle medicine, and thrive medicine.

Dr. Colin Zhu is a primary care physician who is Board-Certified in family practice and lifestyle medicine. Passionate about the intersection of medicine, food, and nutrition, Dr. Zhu trained as a chef and a health coach at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health & Culinary Arts and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition following completion of his medical degree. To share his unique blend of medical knowledge with a wider audience, Dr. Zhu launched TheChefDoc website, an online wellness and lifestyle education platform which has been featured in several publications. Colin is also the author of "Thrive Medicine: How To Cultivate Your Desires and Elevate Your Life.“ Also is the current podcast host of Thrive Bites.

To connect with Dr. Zhu:

Website: https://www.chefdoczhu.com/

Instagram:@thechefdoc

To work with Dr. Laurie Marbas, visit: https://www.drmarbas.com/

Simon Hill is a Physiotherapist and Nutritionist who is passionate about making nutritional information simple and accessible to make informed decisions about the food they feed themselves and their families.

In 2008, Simon completed a Bachelor of Physiotherapy and immediately began working as a Sports Physiotherapist in Melbourne both at a leading private practice and with professional AFL & VFL footballers.

Over the years, however, Simon became increasingly curious about the role nutrition played in nourishing the body and preventing disease. Using his research skills developed during his honors degree, Simon dove deep into the available literature on nutrition & disease. He soon became fascinated by the vast evidence out there that proved that simple lifestyle changes could help people prevent and sometimes even reverse many of the leading chronic diseases that plague the western world today.

Concerned with the fact that this information was not reaching people but was instead getting lost amidst the myriad of marketing ploys pushed by industries who were more interested in profits than the health and general well-being of the public, Simon shifted gears in his career undertaking a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate and a post-graduate degree in Nutrition.

During this time, he set up plantproof.com. He began hosting world-renowned doctors and public figures, such as Neurologist's Dean & Ayesha Sherzai, MD, Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, MD, Dr. David Katz, MD, Environmental Researcher Nicholas Carter, Climate Scientist Dr. Jonathon Foley, and Ultra-Athlete Rich Roll on the Plant Proof podcast.

To connect with Simon:

Website: https://plantproof.com/blogs

Instagram: @plant_proof

To work with Dr. Laurie Marbas, visit: https://www.drmarbas.com/

I am honored to interview Dominick Thompson, a social entrepreneur, vegan athlete, and vegan activist, in today’s episode.

During the interview, we go into his story of becoming vegan from his jail cell and his journey to influence countless people to become plant-based themselves.

In addition, we also go into ways for you to change bad habits, his story of building his different businesses, and much more.

To connect with Dominick:

Instagram: @domzthompson

Website:https://kitchen.eatwhatelephantseat.com/

To work with Dr. Laurie Marbas, visit: https://www.drmarbas.com/

Danielle Dinkelman is a mother of four, author, plant-based nutrition educator, and a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach.

Danielle is passionate about helping women turn their health around so they can fully show up for themselves, their families, and their communities.

During the interview, we discuss transitioning a family to a plant-based diet, how to improve your self-talk, and much more!

To connect with Danielle:

Website: https://danielledinkelman.com/