PlantPod

Cramping, water retention, mood swings and intense cravings for everything chocolate. If you’re one of the millions of human beings who get their periods each month, some of these side effects might be all too familiar to you.

BUT why do our periods come with this long list of undesirable symptoms? Why for some and not others? And what’s actually happening to your body during your menstrual cycle and throughout the month?

Today we’re talking EVERYTHING periods. I’ve had mine for well over a decade, and before this podcast, am a little embarrassed to admit I really had such a surface level understanding of what’s happening in my body every month and I’m so glad we’re talking about it. Nothing’s off the table. 

I’m so excited to welcome Nicole Jardim to the podcast today, who is a Certified Women's Health Coach, writer, speaker, mentor and the creator and author of Fix Your Period. 

Have you ever wondered what it's like being a food blogger, content creator of influencer? In this episode of the PlantPod, I have on my blogging bestie Danielle of @HealthyGirlKitchen to spill all the tea about what it's really like to grow a platform. At the time of taping this, Danielle had 400,000 followers on TikTok, and just a few months later has an engaged community of 1.1 Million fans - so listen closely to her practical tips and tricks!

Some of the topics covered:

- How to grow a social media platform
- How to monetize your social media
- Some lesser known tips for getting blog readers
- Danielle's vegan journey and how she went from health coach to full time food blogger

Find Danielle on Instagram, TikTok and on her website:

Spiritual Medium Carly Pearce joins the PlantPod to discuss all things mediumship, intuition and living in alignment with your true self.

We dive into how she got into mediumship, what she actually “sees” when she channels the spirit world and how you too can tap into your intuitive abilities as well.

We ask questions including:

- What exactly is mediumship? How does this relate to psychic, astrology and tarot readings?
- Does everyone have psychic abilities?
- How can someone tap into their intuition?
- How do you deal with non-believers?
- What do you see when you are channeling a spirit?

Let’s sit down with one of the globe’s leading pollination and bee experts to explore the fascinating world of honey bees.

In this episode, we delve into the incredibly massive impact bees have on our food system and communities, lessons we as humans can take away from bee colonies, why bee populations are declining, and whether or not honey should be considered vegan.

Mark L. Winston is a Canadian Biologist and Scientist, and one of the world’s leading experts on bees and pollination. He is the recipient of the 2015 Governor General’s Literary Award for Nonfiction for his book Bee Time: Lessons From the Hive, and an Independent Publishers 2019 Gold Medal “IPPY” Award for his book Listening to the Bees.

As a consultant and thought leader, Dr. Winston partners with universities, corporations, NGOs, governments and communities to advance communication skills, engage public audiences with controversial issues through dialogue, and implement experiential learning and community engagement in educational institutions. As an award-winning writer and editor, he works with students, scientists, other professionals and writers to develop compelling non-fiction, from proposals and newspaper opinion pieces to manuscripts and books.

He currently is a Professor and Senior Fellow in Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue, a Professor of Biological Sciences, and the SFU Library’s inaugural Nonfiction Writer in Residence (2020-2021).

Is a plant-based or vegan diet safe for pregnancy, babies and children?

This week I had the pleasure of sitting down with Alex and Whitney, dietitians, authors and the creators of Plant-Based Juniors to answer all of your burning questions about plant-based eating and the impacts a vegan lifestyle can have on early life.

Some of the questions answered:

Is a vegan baby at risk for nutrient deficiency?

What supplements should we be making sure our kids are getting?

Why do so many people crave red meat when they're pregnant?

What should I do when my healthcare provider believes a plant-based diet is harmful to me or my kids?

Plant-Based Juniors (PBJs), is a community for parents and educators interested in properly implementing plant-based diets for children. Created by Alexandra Caspero MA, RDN and Whitney English MS, RDN - both moms and registered dietitian nutritionists – PBJs is dedicated to filling the gap in credible pediatric nutrition information for plant-based infants and children. 

PBJs promotes an all-inclusive “predominantly plant-based” approach, supporting all families from vegan to vegetarian to flexitarian. Basically, if parents want to get more plants on the plate, PBJs wants to help! PBJs has multiple resources available to support the feeding journey including their new book, The Plant-Based Baby and Toddler (Avery, May 2021), The Predominantly Plant-Based Pregnancy Guide, First Bites: The Definitive Guide to Baby-Led Weaning For Plant-Based Babies, and PBJ’s Batch Cook Ebook

Right now, more than 70 billion animals are farmed for food each year – two-thirds in conditions that mean they can’t move freely or live naturally.

Unfortunately, this includes animals like chickens, pigs and cows that are commonly farmed in both Canada and the United States.

It’s an unfortunate reality that the world isn’t going to stop eating animal products overnight. With that in mind, in this week’s PlantPod episode, we delve into how we can lobby the government and industry to improve the lives of farm animals at every stage from farming to transportation to slaughter.

For this episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lynn Kavanagh who is the Farming Campaign Manager for World Animal Protection Canada.

Here are some of the questions we delved into:

What does factory farming look like in Canada?

How can we help improve the lives of farm animals?

What legislation does the government have in place to help improve the lives of these animals?

Are farmers and industry open to change?

What are Ag-Gag laws?

Which animals are treated the worst?

What are some of the health implications of this unfair treatment to animals?

Lynn has been leading animal advocacy campaigns for many years. She is currently the Canadian Farming Campaign Manager for World Animal Protection, an international animal welfare charity with offices in 14 countries. She oversees the organization’s farm animal welfare and food systems campaigns to change government legislation, corporate policies, and people’s behaviour to improve protection for animals. She received an MSc degree in Animal Behaviour and Welfare from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

Have you ever felt like you simply weren’t good enough? 

Maybe for that new job, as a parent or just as a human showing up in your daily experience?

Or maybe you feel like a fraud, and you’re waiting for the shoe to drop and everyone to figure out that you’re just faking it.

These are feelings I know all too well, and if you can relate, sit tight as today we’re delving into imposter syndrome, high functioning anxiety and how to cope in our fast paced world.

Questions answered with Psychologist Dr. Kelly Vincent:

What is imposter syndrome?

What are some of the symptoms?

Why do you think someone experiences imposter syndrome?

What are some of the steps to overcome imposter syndrome?

Do you think social media contributes to anxiety and imposter syndrome?

What sort of boundaries should we put in place to protect our peace?

Dr. Kelly Vincent is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist practicing in Encinitas, CA. She obtained her masters and doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in San Francisco, CA. She is an author, certified yoga teacher and Co-founder of Movement Therapy Spaces, a co-working inspired space for therapists and holistic providers. Her areas of clinical focus are helping to support and guide women who struggle with anxiety, depression, trauma, self-esteem, along with mamas who are managing the ups and downs of motherhood. She incorporates a mind-body and holistic approach, as she is deeply passionate about treating the WHOLE person.

Have you ever turned over the label of your favorite smelling body wash and were surprised at the lengthy ingredient list with a whole bunch of chemical names you couldn’t pronounce?

Or maybe you’ve experienced ongoing symptoms like fatigue, insomnia and low mood with no source or explanation from your doctor? 

In this week's episode of the PlantPod, I was fortunate to interview Dr. Vivian Chen about about the impact environmental toxins can have on our health and how they often hide in some of our favorite household products. We also discuss some simple steps to help offset the health consequences of toxic buildup.

Dr Chen is a UK-trained medical doctor with 15 years of clinical experience. She is board certified in the UK in both internal medicine and family practice.

Her world turned upside down when her daughter was hospitalized soon after being born with symptoms no doctor could figure out. Through doing her own research, she was able to help her daughter recover. She also realized that the many years of chronic fatigue, acne and brain fog she had was due to environmental toxicity. This opened the world of root causes she had never considered before as a conventional medical doctor.

Today she lives in San Francisco with her family and coaches clients back to health by identifying root causes and implementing lifestyle solutions. She is also on a mission to help people reduce their toxin load because she believes environmental toxins to be one important root cause of many chronic health conditions.

Before we get started, if you enjoy this episode while listening, take a screenshot and share it in your instagram stories tagging me at @plantyou and Dr. Vivian Chen at @plateful.health so that we can share in the love.

And of course since this is a newer podcast your five star reviews literally mean the world to me. Thank you, thank you thank you.

Have you ever felt like you were shopping and buying things just because you’re bored?

Or maybe you feel like you need the newest style of jeans or workout machine to keep up with your favorite social media influencer?

Well today we’re talking about breaking that cycle and living more with less.

I’m super excited to be welcoming author Courtney Carver to the podcast who is an expert in this space.

In this week’s episode, we’re analyzing inclusivity within the vegan movement, and how we can better strive for collective liberation for both our fellow humans and non-human animals.

I interview Social Justice Activist Iye Bako, touching on several important issues and questions including:

• What is white veganism?
• What is collective liberation?
• Do you think the vegan movement lacks representation of people of color?
• How can we be better activists?
• Do you find purity culture counterproductive?

We’re delving into one of the most controversial nutrition topics in the vegan community: SOY.

I interview Dr. Matthew Nagra to interpret the latest research on soy, and ask all the questions you had about this heavily contested food including:

• Is soy bad for your health? 
• Is soy estrogenic? 
• Will it increase breast tissue in men?
• Can it have adverse effects on women's hormones? 
• Does soy cause acne? 
• Is soy consumption linked to cancer? 
• Should we be seeking out non GMO soy? 
• How much soy is too much?

We also clear the air on other highly controversial foods in the plant-based community including nutritional yeast, vegan protein powder and oil.

Wondering how to reduce your environmental footprint? Hint: It has less to do with you as an individual, and more about keeping the world's largest corporations accountable.

This week I sit down with Environmentalist and Sustainability Content Creator Lauren Ferree to discuss the world's biggest polluters, how to approach low waste living, and most importantly, how to not lose hope in the midst of all.

Some of the questions we dig into: 

- How can someone start their low waste journey?
- Why Lauren no longer uses the term "zero waste"
- What are the world's biggest polluters?
- How can we hold corporations accountable?
- Are the introduction of paper straws more of a marketing campaign or actually relevant?
- How do you hold out hope when it can feel so grim?

How to achieve better focus, a richer human experience and prevent cognitive decline with brain health experts Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, also known as Team Sherzai.

Questions we answer:

What diet is best for brain health?

How can you optimize sleep for better cognitive function?

Are alzheimer's and dementia related more to genetics or lifestyle?

How can someone start taking better care of their brain?

Can you improve your intellect through brain activities?

Dr. Dean Sherzai is a behavioral neurologist/neuroscientist whose entire life has been dedicated to behavioral change models at the community and population level. He has revolutionized the world of public health nationally and internationally. Dean finished his medical and neurology residencies at Georgetown University with a subsequent fellowship in neurodegenerative diseases at the National Institutes of Health, followed by a second fellowship in Dementia and Geriatrics at the University of California, San Diego. 

Dr. Ayesha Sherazai completed her medical residency at Loma Linda University. She subsequently completed a residency in preventive medicine and neurology and then received a fellowship in vascular neurology from Columbia University, and is currently finalizing her PhD in Epidemiology at Loma Linda University. Ayesha also has a culinary degree, giving her a unique understanding of nutrition as a powerful tool for disease prevention.

How to manifest your dream job, dream partner and dream life.

For this episode, I was fortunate to sit down with the amazing Payal Corley, who is the founder of Affirmation Addict and the app, Affirm It. She's been using the power of manifestation and affirmations since she was 12 and after quitting her corporate dream job, she's made it her mission to help people understand the power they carry within them daily. Her goal is to make affirmations accessible and understandable for the masses because everyone deserves to feel empowered and realize that they can create their own reality.

Questions we answer:

What is manifestation?

How can someone start manifesting?

How you can manifest your dream life, dream partner and dream job?
What do you say to critics of manifestation?

Can you truly manifest anything, like winning the lottery?

How does hard work tie into the conversation of manifestation?

Can negative thoughts manifest as well?

Studies discussed during this episode:

In this episode we answer all your pressing questions about how the birth control pill impacts the body with Naturopathic Medical Physician Dr. Jolene Brighten, Author of Beyond The Pill.

This includes:

• How the birth control pill actually works in our body
• The biggest risk to taking the birth control pill
• How the pill can impact our mental health and contribute to brain fog
• Whether or not the pill impacts fertility
• The way the pill can impact a person’s libido
• Non-hormonal alternatives to the birth control pill
• Why there isn’t a birth control pill for men
• Tips and tricks to coming off the pill effectively and limiting side effects

And more!