In this video our plant-based doctors answer your questions about suppliments, olive oil, and kidney disease, with quest speaker Dr. Michael Greger.
Questions Answered
- (00:47) – Dr. Michael Greger, do you have any new projects that you like to share with us or things that we should be on the lookout for?
- (01:51) – What is something that we can all work on to really help with the planet?
- (02:47) – Are there any adjustments during COVID that we should be doing to protect ourselves and our families and friends?
- (05:24) – Are there any other supplements, vitamins, etc. that you typically recommend to your patients besides B12?
- (22:52) – Dr. Michael Greger, what is the most common question that you get?
- (27:40) – Dr. Michael Greger's website
- (30:47) – What can I eat besides beans to get enough protein?
- (35:34) – Could you please discus the debate around olive oil.
- (41:11) – I'm concerned about my kids not getting enough calcium. What do you think of adding a little calcium carbonate powder to our daily smoothies?
- (45:51) – Any suggestions for someone who may have moderate to severe chronic kidney disease?
- (48:42) – What effects, beneficial or not, does a plant based diet have on Type 1 diabetes and hypothyroidism?
- (51:18) – What foods, in a plant-based diet, aid in mood stability or help with stress and anxiety?
Complete Transcript
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(00:04)
All right. So, Dr. Greger, could you tell us, first of all, we've had a lot of questions regarding COVID-19 and what the state of affairs is. What is your thoughts on everything that's going on right now?
Dr. Michael Greger
(00:17)
We have achieved a landmark 50% of the US population with at least one dose of the vaccine and a remarkable human achievement. And I've been patiently waiting. Washington State just opened up their eligibility so I'm on the list and looking forward to vaccine selfie-ing to everyone.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(00:47)
Fantastic. And do you have any new projects that you like to share with us or things that we should be on the lookout for?
Dr. Michael Greger
(00:54)
Oh, huge new projects. How not to age. I will be out, God willing, December 2022. I have narrowed it down to 15,000 studies and have completed two of the 60 sections and finding all sorts of amazing new stuff that I'd never even heard about and that's always a lot of fun.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(01:24)
Oh my goodness. Excellent. And then as far as you also have a webinar coming up on SIBO, would you like to talk about that?
Dr. Michael Greger
(01:30)
Oh, tomorrow. Unfortunately, registration's closed so [crosstalk 00:01:35].
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(01:34)
Oh, okay. All right. That's unfortunate. But do any of our panelists have any questions for Dr. Greger?
Dr. Chris Miller,
(01:42)
I have a question actually. Dr. Greger. Sorry to jump in, everybody else.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(01:46)
It's your birthday. You can do that.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(01:49)
You're the birthday girl. You're allowed.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(01:51)
It's also an Earth Day question. So today's Earth Day and let's assume that all of our panelists and, I mean, everyone that's here, all of our audience, is pretty much plant based or mostly there. So we're a pretty plant based group in general. So what is something else that we can all work on for today, in this year, to really help with the planet and take it to the next level?
Dr. Michael Greger
(02:13)
You have to ask someone who knows something about the planet. I can tell you about nutrition. But I don't think I have any unique insights into ways to reduce our greenhouse gas footprint or water… beyond what everybody knows in terms of not driving, blah, blah, blah. But yeah, sorry, not my area of expertise. I'll leave it to the experts.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(02:44)
I have a question.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(02:45)
Yes. Dr. Kim.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(02:47)
Given COVID and given that you did the Daily Dozen a while ago, are there any adjustments during COVID that you would do to your Daily Dozen app or that we should be doing to protect ourselves and our families and friends?
Dr. Michael Greger
(03:01)
Oh, that is a fantastic question. Yeah. There are these amazing studies on simple foods that can boost your immune system, like randomized double-blind trials showing that, for example, broccoli sprouts can reduce viral loads from influenza, decrease virus-induced inflammation and boost our antiviral natural killer cell activity, all from just eating broccoli.
Dr. Michael Greger
(03:35)
But of course this isn't the flu. Unlike most common viruses, corona viruses have not been shown to cause more severe disease in immunosuppressed patients. Why? Because it is your own immune system that appears to be the main driver of lung tissue damage during infection. Starting around the second week of symptoms, the virus can trigger what's called a cytokine storm. It's kind of like an autoimmune reaction where your body overreacts and in attacking coronavirus, your lungs get caught in the crossfire. And in burning down the village in order to save it, we may not survive the process.
Dr. Michael Greger
(04:14)
So I certainly encourage everyone to follow general recommendations for healthy living during this crisis, getting enough sleep, keeping active, reducing stress, staying connected, albeit remotely with friends and family, eating a healthy diet. But I would not go out of one's way to take supplements or eat specific foods to boost various elements of your immune system until we really know more.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(04:44)
Excellent. Thank you.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(04:46)
Any other questions, anybody else here?
Dr. Niki Davis
(04:48)
Dr. Greger.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(04:50)
Dr. Nikki.
Dr. Niki Davis
(04:50)
I don't think I introduced myself earlier. So, Dr. Niki Davis. I'm a new graduate from residency, so I'm boarded in family medicine and lifestyle medicine.
Dr. Michael Greger
(04:58)
Awesome. Where are you located?
Dr. Niki Davis
(05:00)
I'm in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dr. Michael Greger
(05:05)
Oh, I've got family in Salt Lake.
Dr. Niki Davis
(05:05)
I think I saw you here a few years ago at one of the local plant-based restaurants. I think so.
Dr. Michael Greger
(05:15)
That would not be a surprising find. Hopefully, I was eating an enormous plate of broccoli and, if I wasn't, you can just pass it [crosstalk 00:05:24]
Dr. Niki Davis
(05:24)
Yeah. I don't think it was. Well, my question is kind of a follow-up with the supplements. I think all of us can agree that B12 is important if you're going to be eating a plant based diet. Are there any other supplements or vitamins or anything else that you typically recommend to your patients or, I mean, I guess to the general public, besides B12?
Dr. Michael Greger
(05:49)
Yeah. So not just important, but critical. And I think as you continue into practice and have a plant-based clientele, you will see these cases of sometimes irreparable damage done by vitamin B12 deficiency. So yeah, critically important to have a regular reliable source of vitamin B12. That can be through supplements or fortified foods. And one hesitates to even make any other supplement recommendations, to dilute the importance of the message about B12.
Dr. Michael Greger
(06:31)
So when someone says, “Oh, if you get insufficient sun, you might want to take some vitamin D. You want to do this. Well, maybe you should consider this.” It's a whole bunch of stuff you got to do, when there should be one supplement message for plant=based populations, B12, B12, B12.
Dr. Michael Greger
(06:49)
Now, that's not to say there aren't other things that can be useful for people. But I think that's such a most important message. And any time I'm caught talking about other supplements, I'm always in the back of my mind, have this nagging fear that this is going to get people to just kind of haze over the importance of the big one.
Dr. Michael Greger
(07:15)
So that's like way on top of the mountain, like da da da, scientific consensus, no controversy, have to do it, blah, blah, blah. Okay. So that's important thing. Okay. But that doesn't answer your question. And that's an excellent question. Okay. Well, yes, besides that. That was my preamble.
Dr. Michael Greger
(07:36)
And so of course there are specifics populations that have specific needs, pregnant women, alcoholics, that may need specific nutrient requirements. But in the general, healthy population, for those getting inadequate sun, vitamin D, I recommend 2,000 International Units of vitamin D3 a day. You can get plant based sources.
Dr. Michael Greger
(08:06)
In fact, I was just reviewing this morning. We're putting out a vitamin D infographic, which talks about, well, at least for the Northern hemisphere, where it talks about at each latitude of what city you live in, what months you can get enough vitamin D if you're white enough and skinny enough and young enough and have enough of your skin exposed. And then we kind of go through…
Dr. Michael Greger
(08:29)
I mean, it's not difficult, but some areas, no matter how much you sun bathe naked in January or February, in the Boston Commons, you are not going to make any vitamin D. The sun's rays are at such an angle that you simple just don't make it. There's was a fascinating research done at the roof of the HNRC, the USDA research building there, where they took human foreskins on the roof, and they didn't make any vitamin D because the sun was like, “Where are you going to get a lot of skin from?” That's how you do it.
Dr. Michael Greger
(09:05)
So that's how we knew. And now of course, fat soluble, you can maintain those D levels during those months, but can you maintain optimal D levels for optimal health? That's a legitimate question. I have a bunch of vitamin D videos coming up talking about all the new, big randomized controls trials that are coming out. And a lot of sacred cows over vitamin D have been absolutely toppled in terms of benefit.
Dr. Michael Greger
(09:36)
I don't want to screw this up. So I think there was zero benefit for diabetes, for example, even though the observational data is very tight, it seems very promising. I think zero benefit for heart disease, but there was benefit for cancer mortality, and a whole bunch of other things. So anyway, fascinating subject, but in general, that's something people may want to consider.
Dr. Michael Greger
(10:01)
Of course, it has very little to do with one's diet and more with one's sun exposure, because the amount found in foods is relatively so small. I encourage people to consider 250 milligrams of preformed long-chain pollutant-free source of DHA and/or EPA. So there's algae sources, yeast-based source. And, for reasons that I put in my videos, it's convincing to me, maybe that same body of data may not be convincing to others so I'd encourage people, when I say consider, watch those videos and be like, I'm convinced, I'm not convinced, and do so accordingly.
Dr. Michael Greger
(10:46)
I encourage people to get a source of iodine in their diet. Of course, it's critically important for pregnant women, pregnant and breastfeeding women. But there was really just one big study. There's a study down in Boston Vegans found really something that you do with these 24-hour urine collections. And iodine was really low. Of course, except the one vegan who's like “I have [inaudible 00:11:16] and kelp.” So sea vegetables. I don't think people need to take iodine supplements, though it should be part of a prenatal.
Dr. Michael Greger
(11:25)
But we should love our sea vegetables and encourage our patients to have nori sheets, snack on nori sheets as snacks. And sprinkle some arame or [inaudible 00:11:40] or something onto our food. Because there's some really mild seaweeds for people that don't like really strong seaweedy flavors. It's really the best source of iodine, has tons of other trace minerals and everything. You know the number one source of iodine in the United States?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(11:57)
[crosstalk 00:11:57].
Dr. Chris Miller,
(11:57)
Dairy products.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(11:57)
Dairy products?
Dr. Michael Greger
(11:58)
And of course, why? Well, they give iodine supplements to the cows and they use these iodine-containing teeth disinfectants, which kind of leach into the milk. But however it gets there, it's in there. And guess where it's not? Plant-based milks, soy milk. It's not fortified. It's fortified with calcium. It's fortified with B12. It's fortified with vitamin D, most on the market.
Dr. Michael Greger
(12:20)
None of them, and when I say “None of them,” none that I've been able to find. There was a study, about 200 in Australia and one or two were, but in general, I'm surprised that silk milk companies haven't gotten on board. And so I wish Silk would just put a little iodine in there because it's critically important, particularly for a developing fetus.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(12:44)
Absolutely. Any other questions? Dr. Elizabeth?
Dr. Elisabeth Fontaine
(12:48)
[crosstalk 00:12:48] jump in. Before I introduce myself, I want to give the analogy of Dr. Greger is like when you watch Harry Potter movie and you take an information inside. If you could have just him with you all the time, he can board and tell you so many things. So my name is Dr. Elisabeth Fontaine. I'm originally from Quebec. I've known you for probably 10 years that I've been to the American College [inaudible 00:13:13] Conference and you're always at the end giving a very good report.
Dr. Elisabeth Fontaine
(13:16)
I was wondering, maybe it's going to be more general, but for the audience that is listening to us, knowing that, with COVID-19, there's such a huge association with obesity, chronic disease, and the studies are coming out. How do you give the information to the people to say that plant food base might be the way to reverse that?
Dr. Michael Greger
(13:41)
Yeah. No, I'm so glad you brought it up, particularly since I didn't really cover it before when asked about what can we eat? And I kind of suggested, well, you want to be a little careful about what you eat. I mean, in terms of “boosting” your immune system, but I left out the critical point of comorbidities. I'm so glad you brought that up.
Dr. Michael Greger
(14:01)
What are the key underlying risk factors for COVID-19 severity and death, other than the age? And that is obesity, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension. All of which, as we know, can be prevented or arrested. Even potentially reversed with a healthy enough plant based diet and lifestyle.
Dr. Michael Greger
(14:21)
And you don't have to be obese. At just a BMI of 28, which is about 175 pounds in the average height, puts you six times the odds of suffering a severe COVID-19 course. Do you know what's the average BMI in the United States? 29. So even being skinnier than you're average American can leave you with so much excess body fat, that it can significantly increase your risk.
Dr. Michael Greger
(14:49)
This is probably due to greater systemic inflammation, but at a certain weight, you actually get fat covering the heart itself, which can directly drip inflammatory cytokines onto the heart. Then of course, there's obesity hyperventilation syndrome, where there's just restriction of breathing from so much fatty tissue in the upper body at a certain weight.
Dr. Michael Greger
(15:10)
But this is critically important. This is something we could dramatically alter in terms of our risk. We may not be able to change our age, although my next book, maybe we'll get somewhere on that, but right now, we're not going to be able to change our age. So what can we do to reduce our risk? Well, guess what? It's been over a year. If a year ago you had taken advantage of this change in your life to… Now that you're no longer walking by the donut shop or facing down a bowl of M&Ms on your coworker's desk and our kids aren't getting cupcake celebrations every day.
Dr. Michael Greger
(15:46)
If we now took the advantage of this time to start the exercise program we know we've always wanted to do, or that meditation practice or cleaning out our pantries, now that we have a little more control over our food environment, by now you could have lost enough weight to dramatically reduce your risk, as much as so many other things. So much more than wiping down surfaces wit…
Dr. Michael Greger
(16:14)
All that time you were spending wiping down surfaces with some kind of antiseptic cloth. Well, if instead you were doing some squats, we would be in a better place right now. Although, you could probably squat while you're wiping. Kind of like a [inaudible 00:16:36] kid, kind of thing.
Dr. Elisabeth Fontaine
(16:38)
I think it is so critical what you just mentioned. And, unfortunately, I think that the majority of the population may not be sufficiently aware of how much they could do about a virus like COVID. So thank you very much.
Dr. Michael Greger
(16:55)
And if they're unwilling or unable, well, then, look, it's their body, their choice, but they should be aware. It's that critical ignorance. I think that's what we are all here on the Earth to do is share that critical information that we have that expertise and education as medical professionals. That's what we can share. And then it's up to them. If people want to smoke cigarettes or go bungee jumping. But they should know the predictable consequences of their actions. And we can share with them that information so they can live the longest and healthiest lives.
Dr. Elisabeth Fontaine
(17:31)
And that's what all the group here is all about.
Dr. Michael Greger
(17:34)
I love it. This is so exciting to be on with such an esteemed panel of experts. I feel like I'm so glad we're all in our different locations, because the industry could just take us out with one this is a bad…
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(17:52)
Oh goodness. And, Jeff, did you have a question? Dr. Jeff?
Dr. Jeffrey Pierce
(17:58)
Oh, I think Dr. Greger said as he was wrapping up, but I think part of it is we've seen patients who, during COVID, have taken this opportunity to start to change their life around, based off their comorbidities and say, “Okay, this is really going to be the impetus for me to lose those 10 pounds or for me to switch to eating a better diet to help control diabetes.”
Dr. Jeffrey Pierce
(18:21)
But there are plenty of people who say, “Oh, I'm just going to…” Or think maybe it's too much to overcome my hypertension in my obesity, I'll just hunker down until all this passes by. But when all of this passes by, which we're seeing improvements with vaccines and all that, they're still going to be living with their obesity and their hypertension and their heart disease.
Dr. Jeffrey Pierce
(18:44)
So I think it is our role to get the information out, to talk to our colleagues who are medical professionals, who either have no idea that this information is out there or don't believe in it, get them turned onto your site and other sites. So that the next time something comes through, as well, something like you've been mentioning, an influenza that has a higher mortality, that everyone is in a little bit better place. And maybe it doesn't come around at all in the first place, because we've backed down on the amount of meat production and chicken production, et cetera, in the United States and around the world.
Dr. Michael Greger
(19:22)
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we can't predict the next pandemic, but we can predict the current pandemic of chronic disease. So, right, you're hunkering down, you live through this, to have a stroke next year. I mean, how is that going to help you? And so this could be that window of opportunity that the motivation is the current infectious disease threat, but the benefit will be this long-lasting thing that's going to prevent the heart attack that was going to come eight years down the road.
Dr. Michael Greger
(19:50)
That could be really, really useful. And then that could be kind of the silver lining. Unfortunately, it appears, what the statistics are showing, at least early, is that people have gone in the opposite direction and have used these new delivery apps they have just discovered to be like, “What? I can get donuts at a press of a button at any time?” Unfortunately, they're not using it to get kale with a single button press.
Dr. Michael Greger
(20:24)
Which is certainly understandable, but there's been, looking at some of these medical insurance database, there's been this steady increase in reported weight gain. And so we definitely have our work cut out for us to have people even reestablish the health they had going into it. Because unfortunately, I think, people are slipping.
Dr. Michael Greger
(20:51)
But that's why we are all so important. And I'm so excited that you have this whole consortium of folks that can help people wherever they are. That may be one of these side benefits. One of these silver linings is realizing, really giving telemedicine that boost and lifestyle medicine practitioners have this. We're like dermatologists. We could do everything offline, basically. It's pretty amazing. And so we should take advantage of our natural edge to save lots of lives.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(21:27)
That's fabulous. Dr. Greger. We actually launched Plant-Based TeleHealth, March 23rd of 2020, unbeknownst to us.
Dr. Michael Greger
(21:33)
Perfect.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(21:34)
It took us 15 months to plan, but we launched and we've been a year old. We've since registered over 2,000 patients. We're bringing on these incredible physicians and we're very excited about our growth and-
Dr. Michael Greger
(21:46)
I love it. I love it. Please let me know what I can do to help get the word out.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(21:51)
Oh, we would be honored to be associated with you in any form.
Dr. Michael Greger
(21:56)
Have you sent me stuff to post?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(22:00)
I can. I will definitely.
Dr. Michael Greger
(22:01)
Yeah, please. Yeah. Send me images or suggested text, whatever.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(22:09)
Awesome.
Dr. Michael Greger
(22:09)
I don't think we should be surprised if people just don't know about this tremendous resource.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(22:15)
Yes. And we're in all 50 states and DC. I'm licensed in 50 states, myself.
Dr. Michael Greger
(22:20)
Amazing. It's crazy.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(22:22)
It is crazy.
Dr. Michael Greger
(22:23)
I want to know how long that took.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(22:26)
Or the amount of money. I won't tell you how much-
Dr. Michael Greger
(22:27)
Oh, my God. Right, right. You're the only one who's advocating against kind of a unilateral system. Because you went through it all. Like, it should not be easy for other people. This is-
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(22:40)
I want it to be good for our lifestyle medicine docs, because that really is one of the barriers is getting the docs licensed in all these states, but-
Dr. Michael Greger
(22:48)
Sure. Oh, my God. What a nightmare.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(22:52)
But I have a question. What is the most common question that you get? Because I know we all get several different questions. What is the most common question you get?
Dr. Michael Greger
(23:00)
I probably get the same kind of things that everyone else here could all share their common questions. I get such, this breadth of questions. But nothing's come up that actually changes the order in which I research things. Well, like tomorrow's webinar, SIBO. I get a lot of SIBO questions, leaky gut questions. Last webinar, thyroid. A lot of thyroid questions. So it's those kind of questions and I would just give my standard, “Well, last time I looked into it, this is all we could do,” to be like, wait a second. Last time I looked into it was like 2007 or something. It's like, oh my God, who knows what's out there?
Dr. Michael Greger
(23:53)
And that's what I'm discovering with the book I'm writing now. There are entire fields of biology that did not exist before 2018. Like, literally. I did not learn any of this. Why? I was like, “Boy, I got a horrible education.” No, literally the entire field, we just had no idea about this entire system of biology. Wild, wild stuff. It's been a lot of fun. I can't wait to share it with everybody.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(24:20)
Oh my goodness. I'm looking forward to it. That's fantastic. And I do get a lot of patients with osteopenia, osteoporosis. Do you have any suggestions on prevention of osteopenia? Obviously, the earlier we can jump in, the better, but do you have any optimal vitamin D levels or any other thoughts or suggestions? Because it's become so apparent in our patients that I'm really trying to dig down deeper into, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Dr. Michael Greger
(24:45)
No, no. I love it. And you mentioned my favorite word, prevention. So I have collected every important article that has been written on this for my chapter on preserving your bones, which is in this book. So I'll have all sorts of new, exciting things to share. All I have now is basically what's on the site and that is the most critically important is weight-bearing exercises. Just like we were built to move.
Dr. Michael Greger
(25:18)
And so people look at you when you say you should be doing weight-bearing exercise an hour a day. Like, “An hour a day? Are you kidding?” It's like, wait second? How did we evolve? All we did was always moving around. So, wait a second. I mean, nowadays, it's nothing compared to kind of what our… Our skeletons were meant to have this constant stress all the time.
Dr. Michael Greger
(25:40)
And when it's not, why would our body waste… It's use it or lose it. Why would our waste all this energy constantly remodeling our skeleton when it's got other things to do, if we're just going to sit on the couch all day. Oh my God, we got all sorts of other things we can use.
Dr. Michael Greger
(26:01)
It's like putting your arm in a cast and your biceps wither away. Well, you're putting your whole body in a cast, basically. And it almost seems like it's such a boring answer. It's like, “Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. No, but tell me the super cool, super food that can help my bones.” No one wants to hear that all you have do is stop smoking. All you have to do is move. Like, “Yeah. No, no, no. But give me the super individualized, personalized… No, but for me, what should I do?”
Dr. Michael Greger
(26:33)
I mean, that's the foundation, I think, of where we should go with it. And then yes, there are other things we do. You have to get a certain amount of calcium, a certain amount of vitamin D, all these other things. But you could be bathing your body in all the calcium in the world, your body's not going to stick in your bones unless it thinks it needs to. It's not going to just waste it.
Dr. Michael Greger
(27:02)
So that's the foundation. But I will have all sorts of other cool stuff and I'm going to be doing a review of all those crazy new generations of osteoporosis drugs, which, at first glance, don't seem like great options to me. But I don't want to say anything without doing a deep dive. But yeah, we'll see where the science goes.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(27:32)
Excellent. Any other of our docs have questions?
Dr. Elisabeth Fontaine
(27:36)
I wonder if the audience, is that okay to-
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(27:37)
Yeah, go for it.
Dr. Elisabeth Fontaine
(27:40)
Dr. Greger mentioning what's his website and… So that our audience-
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(27:49)
Yes. Yes. Dr. Greger, where can we find you? Because I'm pretty sure-
Dr. Michael Greger
(27:51)
You should go to nutritionfacts.org, which is free science-based public service offering about 2,000 videos on every topic I could think of on nutrition and health. Everything's free. No corporate sponsorship, no ads, nothing like that. I encourage people to check it out and share the good news that we have tremendous power over our health, destiny and longevity. The vast majority of premature death and disability is preventable with a plant based diet and other healthy lifestyle behaviors. And you are all making it happen.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(28:34)
Thank you, Dr. Greger. That's fantastic. And I will say your site has been up since a long time. How many years now?
Dr. Michael Greger
(28:41)
Today, well, not today. This year is our 10-year anniversary. It was 2011.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(28:45)
Wow. That's incredible. Because when I switched to a plant-based diet in 2012, your site was one of the first ones I found to try to start to figure out how to do this, as a doctor. So thank you for putting in your effort and work.
Dr. Michael Greger
(28:56)
Fantastic. Fantastic.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(28:58)
You have influenced every single one of us in such a positive way.
Dr. Michael Greger
(29:03)
Oh, I'm so excited. Well, look, you're the ones in the trenches, right? You're the ones with the clinical experience. I can read all the peer-reviewed papers in the world, but I have this massive knowledge gap. And that is what actually happens on the day-to-day basis. And so together we can complement each other's knowledge base and help people out there.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(29:24)
Fantastic.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(29:27)
You're our secret vitamin K, as in knowledge. Really.
Dr. Michael Greger
(29:31)
Excellent. Excellent.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(29:33)
Not only for how often during the week I referred to nutritionfacts.org. You've just an invaluable resource. But I got a compliment. Today you were pitch perfect. As far as your answers go from the osteoporosis to obesity to COVID, you just hit all the right notes there and you were a virtuoso and I really treasure you. So thanks for dropping by. You really helped. Thank you.
Dr. Michael Greger
(29:58)
Oh, big shoes to fill. All right. Thank you everybody.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(30:02)
Thanks Dr. Greger. Have a great day.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(30:04)
Thank you, Dr. Greger.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(30:04)
Thank you, Dr. Greger.
Dr. Niki Davis
(30:04)
Thank you so much.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(30:07)
Excellent. All right. Thanks everyone. We have all these wonderful doctors at your beck and call now. We do have multiple questions that we'll be happy to answer for you, and we do appreciate everyone for joining us. That was a lot of fun and hopefully we'll be seeing Dr. Greger, sharing even more about Plant Based TeleHealth. And that is plantbasedhealth.com and you can make a visit with any of these lovely doctors. So we'll jump onto some questions. You guys have a little bit, a few extra minutes to answer some questions.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(30:35)
Sure.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(30:35)
All right.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(30:36)
Can I just say real quick while you're reading the questions?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(30:38)
Go for it.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(30:38)
How about that enthusiasm, you guys? Everyone out there, how do you just [inaudible 00:30:43] to get even healthier, and then we already are. I just love it.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(30:47)
That's fantastic. And here are some good questions. Eva had a question. “I'm allergic to soy. What can I eat besides beans to get enough protein? How much protein is needed for a 70-year-old, 130 pound woman?” Any thoughts or just some general suggestions on protein sources in a plant-based diet? Anybody?
Dr. Michael Klaper
(31:07)
Lots of whole grains are very rich in protein, millet, quinoa, buckwheat, et cetera. If you're not allergic or have a general problem with gluten. And on nuts and seeds, throw some almond butter into your smoothie. Hummus is a wonderful way to get high protein dishes going. But everything, as long as you're eating whole foods, even potatoes and greens, they have a good dollop of protein in them.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(31:39)
So you keep those soup and salads and steamed veggies going, but don't hesitate to throw in some lentils and some chickpeas. There's other legumes besides beans. And, again, a handful of almonds or sunflower seeds into your oatmeal, really bumps up the protein intake. It's not really an issue. Just a good day of whole food eating, plant based, is going to give you 50, 60 grams of high-grade protein. You can't really avoid it. So not to worry so much about not being able to tolerate soy.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(32:17)
Fantastic.
Dr. Niki Davis
(32:18)
I was going to say, I think we know that all living things have protein. So, just like you said, a whole-food plant-based diet is going to have protein in everything you eat already. And a lot of people actually get too much protein. So if you're so worried about getting enough protein, don't worry about that. Just eat the whole-food plant based diet. You're going to get plenty.
Dr. Elisabeth Fontaine
(32:41)
It seems, Niki and Dr. Klaper, you have a little bit more in the nutrition part. And that question that Eva is asking about how much is enough, because do you remember, or do you have an idea of where this amount of protein came from in the literature, for our baseline? Just to try to help people determine how much protein when you say enough is enough?
Dr. Michael Klaper
(33:09)
Yeah, it's a strange and sordid story. As the nutrition guidelines are being formulated, the meat industry, the dairy industry, all had their input and really jacked up the amount of protein that's recommended. The truth is, our homo sapiens body, really, when you do amino acid studies and balance studies, et cetera, we really use about 20 grams of protein a day. We don't use that much. We recycle a tremendous amount as we slough intestinal cells off our mucosa.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(33:42)
And so this whole thing, 50, 60, 80, or 100, it's just a gross excess. And so, as Dr. Davis said, if you just eat the grains and the beans and the fruits and the veggies you'll easily wind up with 50 or 60 grams of protein, which, incidentally, happens to be the ballpark numbers of what the USDA is recommending, NIH.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(34:06)
But again, the only pitfall is getting into the processed stuff that are oily and salty and sugary and filling up on that, then everything goes pear shaped, as they say in New Zealand. But as long as you're eating whole foods, the protein really isn't an issue. Relax and enjoy your vegetable lentil soup.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(34:31)
Dr. Klaper, every time we are on here, I always get another Dr. Klaperism. I'm going to make a list. The [inaudible 00:34:40] was by far my favorite. I think I've mentioned that multiple times. Oh my goodness, it just tickles me. All right. And, I will say, after 20 years as a doctor myself, and I'm sure there's probably a hundred years of more of experience on this panel, the only time I see protein deficiency is someone who's not eating enough, who has a severe eating disorder.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(35:00)
Calories.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(35:00)
Exactly. It's the number of calories. And so if you're eating enough calories to maintain your optimal weight, you're going to be doing okay and eating a wide variety of foods, as Dr. Klaper is suggesting, but also being a burn unit. Like literally when you're seeping things, losing it from fluids. And there's obviously other rare where that people are very ill, but really just pay attention into eating the wide variety of foods and enough to satiate your hunger, and then also maintain your healthy weight. And, honestly, you'll be fine.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(35:34)
And then there's a good question we get all the time. I'll leave it, since we have all of you amazing… The mind power here is kind of cool. It's a little bit fun. Could someone please address the debate around olive oil. “All other oils eliminated, but keep hearing conflicting evidence around olive oil. Thank you.” That's from Karen. Any question? Anyone like to start that debate or [crosstalk 00:35:59] yeah, debate?
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(36:01)
I'll let other people add to this, but the basics of oils are you are taking out all the fiber and all the connected micronutrients, or most of them, no matter whether it's olive oil or any other oil, and certainly you don't want something like coconut oil which is a high amount of saturated fat, but olive oil is 120 calories per tablespoon of pure fat. It is not as healthy.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(36:26)
It's processed. You want to go to olives versus olive oil. And it is also inflammatory. It affects your endothelium lining. There's so many reasons that I would not suggest having olive oil on a regular basis, but I'll let other people add on to that.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(36:45)
Anybody else?
Dr. Chris Miller,
(36:47)
And I'll say, just clinically speaking, in addition to what Kim just said, I agree completely. But when we're working with diabetics and they're wearing the continuous glucose monitors for us, and those who are struggling, we'll see of people, their numbers will spike, their blood glucose will spike, and then they'll stay elevated from eating the extra fat.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(37:08)
Whereas somebody who's not eating any type of oil, olive oil, any type of oil at all, they will have a little less of a spike and it'll come immediately right back down, which is what we want. We don't want to be in a high insulin state at any time. And so we're seeing dramatic results. And I can look at my patients and think uh-oh, what did you have last night? So it really does respond for diabetes that every little bit of oil, regardless of the type, we can see a difference,
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(37:33)
100%, Chris, 100%, because I have so many patients on the continuous glucose monitor. And you're exactly right. You see this spike that maybe they didn't see, that was evident by poking their finger. But when you wear these continuous glucose monitors, you can see 24 hours of what their blood sugar's doing while they're sleeping, while they're being active, after they're eating.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(37:51)
Someone who's eating on a plant-based diet, they go out and have a cheat meal or they go out to celebrate something, they may suffer for two or three days with higher blood sugars than they normally have, and they feel it. So every little bit counts. And I don't care if it's olive oil or anything like that, a higher fat mainly from avocados and nuts and seeds.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(38:10)
So even that, if you're having some insulin resistance and you're worried about your blood sugars, and I'm not saying these aren't healthy foods and they shouldn't be part of your diet, but they should be definitely moderated in certain cases. So these are excellent answers. Anyone else have anything else to say about that?
Dr. Niki Davis
(38:29)
I was just going to say some of our participants might not really understand how eating fat correlates with high blood sugar. And so something that we do know is that you have what's called these intracellular lipids, it's fat within cells, so especially muscle cells, where your body, your cells, have a difficult time using that blood sugar and getting it into the cell when you've got extra fat in that cell. It just kind of gums it up and doesn't allow you to pull that glucose out of the blood and into your cells to make energy.
Dr. Niki Davis
(39:02)
So there is a correlation. It's not just about eating sugar. I mean, all the time I hear people saying, “Well, I got to lower my carbs. I got to lower my sugars to take control of my diabetes,” but really look at the fat content. Because if you've got a high fat diet, even if you're eating plant based, you're going to have issues with insulin sensitivity.
Dr. Jeffrey Pierce
(39:24)
I agree with all that. I just like that we talked about earlier, when we're eating something, we always have to think, compared to what? And I think, as plant based providers here, we're seeing patients at all levels and all stages. And if I have a patient who's been cooking her beans with lard for the last 30 years and she's willing to trade olive oil for lard, I think that that's a great start for her.
Dr. Jeffrey Pierce
(39:56)
If I have someone who has three-vessel heart disease, whose next heart attack might be around the corner, I'll focus even more on even taking the olive oil out because it's healthier to start stir frying your onions with water, et cetera. And so I think we'll meet everybody where they are. But, speaking in broad strokes, I think a lot of the marketing and commercialization of fancy olive oils and stuff like that, is trying to make everyone think that it's a health food, but it isn't.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(40:35)
Exactly. I think when they focused on the Mediterranean diet, everyone's like, “Ooh oil. Okay. All right. Let's disregard all the vegetables.”
Dr. Niki Davis
(40:43)
Well, isn't it Dr. McDougal who says people love to hear good news about their bad habits.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(40:51)
Yes. 100%. I have so many of… I've stolen so many little phrases from people. Like they weren't even said, I'll just steal them. It's all good. We have another question. It's good. Kip always asks great questions and is one of our biggest supporters, always here, so thanks, Kip, for always supporting Plant-Based Health. We really appreciate you.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(41:11)
He says, “I'm concerned about my kids, nine and 11, are not getting enough calcium due to eating mostly unfortified and unprocessed whole-food plant based foods. What do you think of adding a little calcium carbonate powder or something better to our daily smoothies, just as insurance? They will only tolerate so many grains in them. Any suggestions?” Excuse me. Calcium foods. Dr. Klaper, Dr. Miller?
Dr. Michael Klaper
(41:39)
There's calcium-fortified soy milks and rice milks that you can add into your smoothie. And you should really do a nutritional analysis of… Document what your kid's really eating and put it in onto a nutritional program meter, one of the programs, and find out how much calcium they're really consuming. Is it really an issue at all? If they're clipping along 400, 500 milligrams a day, that's probably really all they really need.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(42:12)
If they're only eating five milligrams or so, it's hard to believe. But, as I said, you can use the calcium-fortified soy milks and rice milks. Would a teaspoon of a liquid calcium supplement be totally out bounds? Probably not. You might sleep better, but I don't know if it'd really make much difference. But find out of how much calcium they're really taking in or try and modify their daily intake so you can get it out of whole food.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(42:42)
Absolutely.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(42:42)
Yeah. I hesitated to answer that, too, because I've never really thought about taking extra calcium supplements for a kiddo. So I'm not really versed in that. And I agree with Dr. Klaper to do an assessment to see how much they really are getting. It's one thing to be concerned. That's great that you're looking into like these nutrients, but they are, they're in the greens, they're in the grains, so in a bowl of oatmeal. They're going to be in a sweet potato.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(43:07)
There's calcium in all of our vegetables and fruit. Oranges have calcium. So maybe your kids are actually getting more than you think. And when you absorb it as a whole food, you absorb it actually better and can utilize it a little bit easier than the amount of calcium people are getting from milk or things like that. But it's a good question, just I am not familiar with ever having to use it.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(43:28)
So my guess is maybe there's other things that they really are getting enough. And also I'd question, how are they doing on their growth, height-weight charts? Are they meeting it? Are they average? Are they doing okay? Or are they small? Are they putting muscle on? Are they doing their weight bearing, also, for their bones and for the prevention that we talked about today already. So it's a great question and I think, if you did an analysis, maybe you'd see that you really are getting more than you think.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(43:55)
Yeah, exactly, Kip. I think even three to seven days of just logging everything that they're consuming, that's on their normal average consumption. And then there's always additional blood testing we can do. There's specialized calcium tests, if you're really concerned about what that is. And then I think what Dr. Klaper and Chris are saying is exactly right. Most of the time we should be fine.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(44:17)
We spent thousands and thousands of years growing as humans and never worried about supplementation when it came to calcium and other things. So if you're really worried about it, let's really do a detailed analysis and tests and don't guess, and then you can rest at ease, but I understand as a parent. But I will tell you, I raised… They were mostly, well, except for the oldest one. My two youngest ones were 13 when they started a plant-based diet and they've reached 5′ 9″. The 25-year-old's doing 900 pull ups in 90 minutes. The other one has done a half marathon or half an Ironman.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(44:49)
He's also broke a leg hitting a tree and healed within five weeks. He had two plates, 22 screws, and healed six tibial fractures and was running in five weeks, five miles. And so you tell me, there's some very good stuff. We did no extra calcium supplementation. We just did foods. We did a ton of smoothies, soy milk, that type of thing. So again, I think it's been put into the media so much that we worry way more than we need to. Anybody else?
Dr. Jeffrey Pierce
(45:17)
What's the book with Brenda Davis and was is it Reshmah Shah?
Dr. Chris Miller,
(45:21)
Nourish.
Dr. Jeffrey Pierce
(45:22)
Yeah, Nourish.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(45:25)
Actually, that's a great idea, Jeff. Yeah. That book has so many resources for people at all stages of their lives, including kids with the nutrient recommendations. That's an excellent resource.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(45:35)
Absolutely. Okay. Kip says her daughter's allergic to soy, or his daughter's allergic to soy milk. “I've tried, but she's fine with homemade soy milk.” So that's good. Okay. Excellent.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(45:46)
Homemade soy milk? That sounds delicious.
Dr. Niki Davis
(45:48)
Yeah, it is good.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(45:49)
It sounds good.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(45:51)
It sounds very good. And one really interesting question, too, I think, which Chris and I have actually talked about offline before, is someone's asking about polycystic kidney disease. It's a genetic variant of it, but kidney disease in general, any thoughts or suggestions for someone who may have either moderate to severe chronic kidney disease?
Dr. Chris Miller,
(46:16)
Well, first of all, whole-food plant based diet really is the way to go. Animal protein and dairy products really are hard to digest for the kidneys. So hopefully whoever is writing that is already whole-food plant based, completely committed to it. It really, really, really affects the kidneys. And then, from there, I would say just go with, at least to start with… As it gets more advanced, there's a lot that we do, but at the beginning, it's a diverse whole-food plant-based diet.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(46:45)
Eating your whole grains and your legumes and your fresh vegetables and your fresh fruits and nuts, a little bit of nuts and seeds. So a very good, diverse well-balanced diet is important. As people progress with kidney disease, if they start having abnormalities in phosphate or in potassium, then we do more low potassium type diets.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(47:06)
So certain foods, there's certain vegetables that are a little bit lower in potassium. And that's because people with kidney disease aren't able to metabolize these electrolytes, which are happening at the level of the kidney, and they're supposed to be excreted and absorbed and that's not working properly anymore. And so we have to start paying attention to the amount of electrolytes in the foods, but we can help work with that.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(47:28)
So working with a knowledgeable physician, one of us, or dietician or your doctor, to make sure if you're an advanced person, but we do see kidney disease at least stabilize oftentimes, and sometimes even improve, so there is hope with it. It's definitely the right diet it, though, for that.
Dr. Jeffrey Pierce
(47:50)
Right. Not polycystic kidney disease per se, but when thinking about the major causes of chronic kidney disease in the United States, hypertension and diabetes, these are both chronic conditions that are preventable, treatable and reversible with a food plant based diet. In addition to what Chris was just saying about how the diet is easier on the kidneys directly, the comorbidities can be under much better control following this kind of diet.
Dr. Jeffrey Pierce
(48:20)
And for someone who has polycystic kidney disease, which is a genetic condition not caused by diet, they are also at risk for other things like hypertension, diabetes and stuff like that. So everything that this whole-food plant-based diet is just good for the kidneys in so many ways.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(48:36)
Absolutely. Excellent. You have time for two more questions, everybody?
Dr. Niki Davis
(48:41)
Sure.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(48:42)
These are some good questions and I think they're broad. So “What effects, beneficial or not, does a plant based diet have on Type 1 diabetes and hypothyroidism?” Any thoughts? I can tell you what it does in hypothyroidism. I have my own personal story of that.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(48:56)
Why don't you take that one to start with, Laurie?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(48:58)
All right. So I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 25 years ago after I gave birth to my second kid. And I went to plant-based diet nine years ago and had escalating doses of levothyroxine, which is a thyroid medication. So I was 15 years in and I started having some weird issues occurring after I switched to a plant based diet, not thinking that my thyroid would improve and, sure enough, it did.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(49:22)
My testing showed that I was taking way too much medication. I have since then continually actually needed to reduce my dose. And actually this year I need to reduce it again, which is mind blowing. Yeah. It's just bizarre to me. I was like, oh my goodness, again, here we go. And so it certainly can improve even well into now.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(49:42)
Obviously, it probably will never completely reverse my thyroid because of the regeneration issues. It's not going to happen. But I'm obviously not taking it off as much as I was apparently before. So there is some hope, especially if you're early into your diagnosis, that we can. I've certainly seen people completely reverse it, if you're early into that process.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(50:00)
Now, of course, if you've had thyroidectomy and some other things, or you've had thyroid cancer, you will need medication, things like that. The Type 1 diabetes, obviously we're not going to reverse that process occurring. Now, there is a few case reports from Dr. Furman that, very early on, you had some antibodies showing positive. Those are some interesting ones that you can find at the ijdrp.org. It's the International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention. And those have been posted there, published.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(50:26)
But Type 1 diabetes, they can also have insulin resistance. We want to prevent that. So even if you're a Type 1 diabetic, you will have benefit just like a Type 2 in reversing that process. I see patients who I have, my youngest Type 1 patient was four, he's five now. He's doing fabulous. What we're looking for is this time in target. We're in this nice control zone. Not like you're going woo, woo, like this, where your sugar is having mood and all sorts of issues. But what we see is a nice gentle control, just like someone who doesn't have diabetes. In that tight control there's all this fiber and these amazing nutrients and you have wonderful control.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(51:04)
Some of our dearest friends and supporters are mastering diabetes. Cyrus and Robbie, check them out, masteringdiabetes.org. They have such amazing resources and their book, Mastering Diabetes, will answer all and many of your questions. So definitely, definitely check them out, guys. They're an amazing resource.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(51:18)
But anything else anyone would like to add or… Okay. I got one more question for you guys. One is, Stacy asked, “What foods in a plant-based diet aid in mood stability or help with stress and anxiety?” Any thoughts on any of those or suggestions? Because anxiety and depression is so rampant, especially now.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(51:41)
The issue is creating healthy microbiome. Because most of the serotonin and feel-good chemicals that find a way to the brain actually come from our gut. So you want to really foster a healthy garden of microbes in your gut, and then giving them lots of delicious fiber to consume. So lots of dark green leafy vegetables and especially the resistance starches in legumes. So lentils and beans and any greens, like tomorrow.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(52:07)
My wife and I had beans and greens for dinner last night and I'm feeling happy today. But seriously. And don't be drinking alcohol, a lot of chlorinated water and things that imbalance your gut flora there, but cultivated healthy garden down your colon there and everything will start feeling better, probably up north of the collard rows.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(52:31)
Does everybody agree with me? I love Dr. Klaper when he talks, because cultivate your garden down below. That is awesome. Oh my goodness gracious. Does anyone else have anything else to add to that? That was great. Any others?
Dr. Elisabeth Fontaine
(52:43)
Maybe just the chance for Jeff and I to introduce the fact that next week we're going to present the Menopause and Plant Food Based and, with the menopause, you do have mood swing, anxiety. So it might be a good idea if some of you or friends wants to join us. So Jeff and I will discuss that next week.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(53:03)
Absolutely. So that's a wonderful segue into all of that. So number one, we are the Plant Based TeleHealth team. You can find us at plantbasedtelehealth.com. Dr. Elizabeth will be opening up her schedule in the coming weeks, or a month or so. But everyone else is available for immediate appointments. You can make those appointments on our website, plantbasedtelehealth.com.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(53:26)
We do these webinars the second and fourth Thursday of every month. We go live on Facebook where we will see your questions and answer the ones the best we can. You also can register for the webinar at plantbasedtelehealth.com. You'll see a little link at the top there, at the menu bar. And then, starting on Fridays, we either do an Instagram live or a Facebook live. I believe it was at 11:00, 10:00. No, 10:00 AM Mountain Time. Yes. 10:00 AM Mountain Time on alternating Fridays.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(53:57)
So that would be the first and third Fridays of the month. And if there's a fifth Friday, we'll jump in there if we can, but be watching for those. Follow us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram. That's where we do a lot of these things. Sign up for our mailing list. We put out a monthly newsletter that Dr. Chris Miller and Anthony put together every month. And Anthony Masiello, who's our co-founder, as well.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(54:19)
So just some really awesome information that you'll find there. And sometimes we just jump on and give you guys a free bonus. For example, every Friday, actually, I have one of the docs on at 11:00 AM Mountain Time. Forgive me if I put everything in Mountain Time. I know most people don't live in Mountain Time, but that's why I have to think because that's where I am.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(54:42)
But we'll be interviewing the docs and just love to see you guys there and answer any questions that you have. We're trying to make ourselves available as possible. We're adding additional services coming soon. We're excited about that. But before we go, could everyone please, again, just tell us your names and anything about you or a few words, and then we'll go off. Dr. Klaper, I know you have to go. Do you want to go ahead and start?
Dr. Michael Klaper
(55:11)
I'm Michael Klaper. I've been doing this for a long time and I'm happy to share my experience with you. And the best thing I do is shut up and listen to what you have to say and that usually sorts itself out from there. So I hope to see you, and take advantage of my wonderful colleagues. They're just excellent physicians. It's been an honor to be here today. I wish you all the best and Happy Earth Day. Go out in the green and do something to make it a better world.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(55:40)
Thank you, Dr. K. And I know you're off to Israel, so [crosstalk 00:55:44].
Dr. Michael Klaper
(55:43)
Okay. Take care. Bye.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(55:47)
Bye. Dr. Jeff?
Dr. Jeffrey Pierce
(55:49)
Sure. I'm Jeff Pierce. I am licensed in California and in Texas. Happy to meet with you and help however I can to work with you to maximize your health.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(56:04)
Excellent. Dr. Niki?
Dr. Niki Davis
(56:07)
Yes. Hi. Niki Davis. I am board-certified in family medicine and lifestyle medicine, and happy to see you. Come see me anytime. I love being part of Plant Based TeleHealth. I've just recently graduated from my residency in 2020 so I'm super excited to get going and thank you for coming out and seeing us today.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(56:36)
And Niki has merged engineering with medicine. That's kind of cool.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(56:42)
A smart cookie. That's a smart cookie right there. Oh my goodness. It's incredible.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(56:43)
And Dr. Elizabeth?
Dr. Elisabeth Fontaine
(56:48)
I'm Dr. Elizabeth Fontaine. I'm in Vermont now and I'm an OB-GYN, also lifestyle medicine. I'm going to be starting with the group, seeing people in May. ,I like to focus into women menopause and exercise, weight loss. That's definitely an arena that plant based can do some amazing impact.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(57:16)
And you are quite the athlete so whoever gets to see you will be very blessed. And so, Dr. Kim?
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(57:23)
I'm Dr. Kim Scheuer. I am family practice, lifestyle medicine, licensed in over 10 states and love also weight loss, exercise physiology, and getting people off of medications. That's what I love to do. I love to see you all.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(57:40)
Now, Dr. Kim also speaks Spanish. So does Dr. Pierce. So please keep that in mind. So even if you're international, from Spanish-speaking countries, they will be happy to see as well. Or if you speak Spanish. And Dr. Kim also does American Sign. Kim, you'll need to talk so it'll pop up here.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(57:56)
I'll do American Sign Language also. So I'd be happy to see anyone who is deaf and needs that help there.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(58:04)
Perfect. Excellent. Dr. Chris?
Dr. Chris Miller,
(58:06)
Hi, I'm Chris Miller and I am based in Colorado. I've been doing lifestyle medicine for 10 years now, and I love it. I love helping people with chronic illness. So if you have some medical condition you can't figure out, or you're not getting the results you thought you want, I'm happy to take a look at it and dig deep and figure out what's going on with your individual body.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(58:26)
It's been so fun. It's so fun to see all you guys here so thanks for joining our community. And it's so wonderful having all these docs here. It's great to see that everybody growing and all this knowledge power, I just feel it, being around you guys. So that's awesome. This is a great group.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(58:41)
Chris, you're so right. I mean, when we look back over the last 13 months, when Anthony and I started this, it was myself in 13 states and we were like, “I hope this works.” We spent a lot of time and money launching. And then Chris was brave and joined us very shortly thereafter, then Dr. Klaper. And we started bringing on these amazing doctors. We've talked to so many doctors and so many patients and here we are in all 50 states and DC, and we have been in multiple countries around the world.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(59:10)
So honestly, it blows my mind. And I will tell you, we have to lay all this at the feet of Anthony Masiello. It was his idea. He harassed me to no end, lured me. “We have to start this plant based teleHealth thing.” And I'm like, “Are you crazy? Do you have any idea what this is?”
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(59:26)
You guys, it took us a year to plan and overcome and pay lots of money to lawyers and figure this out. But thank you, Anthony, for your due diligence in pushing when we know it can happen. Anyway, so if you guys ever say hi to Anthony, I know a lot of our patients love him because-
Dr. Niki Davis
(59:40)
We love you, Anthony.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(59:41)
We love you, Anthony. Woo hoo, Anthony.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(59:47)
We should be supporting him and telling him how awesome he is all the time. So thanks everyone for listening. We so appreciate your time and we love your support. Please tell people about us, because that's the only way we're going to grow is continue sharing. Of course, we put money behind marketing, but nothing is like telling someone else “I got help at Plant Based TeleHealth and I'm so glad I did.” So thanks everyone and we hope you have a wonderful, wonderful weekend.
Dr. Chris Miller,
(01:00:12)
Bye. Thank you.
Dr. Jeffrey Pierce
(01:00:12)
Bye, take care.
*Recorded on 4.22.21