The mindbodygreen Podcast

We know lifestyle changes such as better nutrition, more movement, and less stress can make a big difference in our health. No one knows this better than Jason Karp, the chairman, and co-founder of Hu Kitchen and founder and CEO of HumanCo who reversed what was deemed an incurable condition through nutrition. He joined me on the mbgpodcast to talk about his transformative health journey and share what we can do today for better health. At the age of 23, Jason started having double vision, brain fog, and hair loss, and an ophthalmologist told him he would likely go blind from what was diagnosed as a degenerative corneal disease.From there, he went to another doctor that (he credits with saving his life) who tested his blood and found his cortisol levels were some of the highest he’d ever seen. He told Jason he wouldn't live until the age of 40 unless he changed what he was doing.After an elimination diet for three months where he gave up packaged food, caffeine, and alcohol paired with more exercise, much to the doctors surprise they found his degenerative eye disease had reversed.While Jason is much healthier today, he still struggles with autoimmune issues and discovered he’s sensitive to stress and doesn’t detoxify environmental toxins and chemicals in products well. “I find stress to be much more potent of an inflammatory agent than anything else, including sleep and food.” Here are four of the ways that Jason supports his mind and body and recommends to anyone struggling with health conditions or hoping to boost their health.To contact Colleen or Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please email podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please email sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast email newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The CDC reports that more than a third of adults in the U.S. are getting less than 7 hours of sleep which, according to their research, is not enough (getting less than 7 hours of sleep has been linked to issues like high blood pressure, diabetes, and weight gain). While these stats may be enough to keep you up at night, there’s actually a lot we can do to get some better quality sleep. Chris Masterjohn, Ph.D., wellness entrepreneur and researcher, joined co-CEO Jason Wachob on the mbgpodcast to talk about what we can do for better sleep.It comes down to understanding what our bodies need and then putting the right things in. Chris has seen the immense impact nutrition has had on his mental, physical, and emotional health as well as his mother’s. Growing up, he watched his mother heal from fibromyalgia through eating more macrobiotics and doing practices like Tai Chi, and Qigong, and yoga. “I got a very early example to see how powerful diet and lifestyle could be in addressing chronic disease, said Chris.” This philosophy has influenced how he thinks about many common issues humans struggle with, including sleep deprivation. Chris shares his thoughts on how nutrition and small lifestyle tweaks can contribute to better sleep.Chris points out that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, and it’s worth trying out a variety of these tips to see what works for you. He recommends starting with basic sleep hygiene but said if you’re still struggling to find a solution or are interested, you could consider getting a comprehensive nutritional screening through your doctor. This could direct you toward which supplements will be best for you so you can get on your way to better sleep.To contact Colleen or Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please email podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please email sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast email newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Consumers are demanding more from brands—authenticity, transparency, and functionality are just a few traits that people are looking for. It often comes down to the values of which the brand is built on and Veronica and Miguel Garza co-founders of Siete Family Foods are an example of a brand created on a strong foundation. The brother and sister team, joined me on the mbgpodcast to talk about how they started a “better-for-you Mexican-American food brand” and why remaining true to their core values is critical as they grow.After Veronica was diagnosed with her first auto-immune condition at the age of 17, which then developed into lupus and Hashimoto’s years later, her brother suggested she try the paleo diet. Eating a healthier diet was just one component of her health puzzle that helped improve her symptoms, but she missed eating the foods she grew up eating like tortillas and chips. This led to her experiment with different grain-free flours. In her childhood, she learned how to make tortillas from her grandmother and decided to give it a try, this time with almond flour.She started sharing these delicious tortillas with her family and found more and more people around her were interested in a grain-free tortillas. “We saw how much it could help people, and realized that the best way to provide this product to people, make it more convenient for them, and have it change their lives the way it changed ours, was to put it out on shelves.”While building this brand, the seven siblings, who all work at Siete, have centered their growth around a list of core values which influence every product they launch and represent their roots as a Mexican-American family from South Texas. These are three that Miguel and Veronica spoke to as integral in creating an iconic brand.Enjoy this episode! Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or Stitcher, and sign up for our podcast newsletter! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all want to find ways to heal our ailments, but conventional medicine doesn’t always have the answers. No one knows this better than Kelly Turner, Ph.D., New York Times best-selling author, who has been studying what she calls “radical remissions,” for years. She joined mbg founder and co-CEO Jason Wachob on the mbgpodcast and described this term as “the remission from cancer that occurs in the absence of conventional medicine, or after conventional medicine has failed.”In her book Radical Remission, she describes her interviews with people who were told they had days to live but ended up surviving and thriving some 25 years later. Kelly pioneered this research and traveled the world for a year to 10 different countries to find the radical remission survivors and their healers. During her experience, she found nine common healing factors among the survivors, which she explains in her book.The process of healing does not have a set prescription or a list of steps. Each of us will have a different path that includes things we put into our body and the things we take away. These nine healing keys that Kelly discovered as significant themes in the healing journeys of the radical remission survivors. She emphasized that you don’t need to have cancer to benefit from these ways of living.While she does not have research to show whether or not these factors are preventative, her colleagues and researchers have done multimodal longitudinal, randomized studies to show that these factors individually can help your immune system. These nine keys were not things the survivors did for a day and found they were healed, they made a commitment to the keys for life and saw incredible results. Wherever you are in your healing journey or the state of your health, supporting your immune system through these physical, emotional, and spiritual ways of being will be helpful.To contact Colleen or Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please email podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please email sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast email newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are so many exciting things happening in wellness from personalized testing to plant-based burgers popping up at fast-food chain burger restaurants. We invited entrepreneur, investor, and shark on ABC's Shark Tank Rohan Oza to join us on the mbg podcast to talk about the exciting wellness trends he expects will stick around and how he sees them evolving over time.As a consumer packaged good expert, Rohan is versed in the products and trends that have the potential to make it into stores across the country rather than just the coasts (where wellness fads traditionally start). Rohan pointed out that he believes fads are more fleeting and draw attention on the coasts and eventually fizzle out, while trends are indicative of more significant conversations in wellness and are followed in the middle of the country. Rohan breaks down the seven trends he sees as major players in wellness now and in the future.With all of these trends, Rohan said to expect bigger brands and companies to take a large share of the space by expanding their product offerings to include even more products with functional benefits. He said these larger players will likely scale to meet the growing demands of consumers. It's promising to see that many of these trends fulfill people's growing interest in making wellness work for them. It means that more companies are responding to the need for personalized and accessible wellness. There's a long way to go in making wellness more accessible to all, but it's encouraging to hear that many of these trends are expected to find their way across the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Michael Chernow got his first restaurant job at the ripe age of 13 he felt like he arrived. Now, with many successful restaurants under his belt plus two kids, the founder of the NYC sustainable seafood restaurant Seamore’s, co-owner of The Meatball Shop, and Executive Culture Officer of WellWell, a functional beverage brand offering sports and wellness drinks is taking his love of fitness and nutrition to every endeavor. It was that first gig that led to him becoming a dishwasher, then bartender, and eventually landed him a job as a bartender and server at Frank Prisinzano’s restaurant Frank. It was then that he got into alcohol and drugs, which wasn’t uncommon in the restaurant lifestyle.One day Frank took him aside and said “I love you, but I can’t watch you do this,” and said if he committed to getting sober, he could have his job back. This was a big enough incentive for Michael to get to the restaurant at eight in the morning sober and work.Since then fitness and wellness have become paramount in both his personal and professional life. When he opened his first restaurant at 28, he didn’t have much time to go to the gym so instead would run to work and do pushups in the bathroom. Now he’s waking up early in the morning, sometimes at 4:30 am to get to the gym so he can spend time with his family later on–whether it’s morning or night he doesn’t miss a day. Michael is also a big fan of functional nutrition and follows a mostly plant-based diet incorporating some protein and a little carbohydrates into his meals.Michael is so passionate about how fitness and wellness can impact our mental health that he’s extended his philosophy beyond his personal life. When he opened Seamore’s, he wanted to put an end to the idea that “the restaurant industry is all sex, drugs, rock, and roll, and smoking cigarettes.” For the employee orientation, Michael brought in yoga and mindfulness teachers and did a two-day self-development program.From that orientation, “fit squad” was created where once a quarter Seamore’s employees in all locations can come together to take a fitness class or bring a trainer into one of the restaurants. Michael credits the fact that 90 percent of the staff is original to this orientation where people got to know each other on a deeper level and participate in something that improved their health.This restauranteur is working to change the industry from the inside out through an emphasis on health and wellness. He’s seen how transformative it’s been in his own life and can’t wait to continue to share it in his restaurants and businesses. Michael’s inspiring story will encourage you to think about how wellness has already and could continue to propel your life forward in a positive direction. You’ll be left with tangible ways to incorporate more healthy eating and accessible movement into your life and will be excited to share with your community.To contact Colleen or Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please email podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please email sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast email newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all want to optimize our time on this planet and live the healthiest, longest lives possible. Joel Dudley, Ph.D., and Chris Mason, Ph.D., the founders of Onegevity, an AI-driven healthcare service, are committed to empowering people to better understand and take charge of their health through data-driven and customized solutions.Dudley and Mason joined me on the mbgpodcast to talk about what they believe doctors should be testing for, what we should be doing daily for our microbiome, and why prevention is critical for the future of healthcare.A big topic here at mbg is longevity, and with advancements in genetic, microbiome, and blood testing we know more than ever before. In this episode, we delve deeper into all that, but here, they offer four things we can all be doing right now, today.Whether it’s longevity, cardiovascular, gut, or immune health, it’s important to remember that every part of our health story is connected. Mason and Dudley explain that it takes the whole picture to understand what’s going on inside, and they have us excited about what the future of health looks like.To contact Colleen or Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please email podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please email sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast email newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Colicchio entered the NYC food scene in 1993 cooking for restaurants including Gotham Bar & Grill and then opened Gramercy Tavern in 1994. In 2001, Tom left Gramercy Tavern to open his own restaurant, Craft, to focus on serving dishes with high-quality ingredients in the simplest way possible. He is the founder of Crafted Hospitality, which includes several restaurants across the U.S. and has a mission to bring healthy food to more people. Tom is also the head judge on Bravo’s hit show, Top Chef, and uses his platforms to highlight the issue of food insecurity and food waste.Tom joined me on the mbgpodcast to talk about his path to becoming a celebrity chef and why food issues became a prominent focus for him. He talks about his eye-opening experience as the executive producer of the documentary A Place at the Table, which delves into the roots of food insecurity in the U.S. “Right now in this country, we have around 40 million people who struggle to put food on the table,” said Tom.In light of this statistic, Tom is dedicated to getting healthier meals in schools. He worked with Michelle Obama to pass the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act and has testified in front of Congress to push this mission forward.He’s also a huge advocate of reducing food waste as he's seen first hand the amount accumulated by Americans daily. “What we’re throwing out is not just food, it’s the resources it takes to make that food and produce that food. It’s a lot of energy, water, and also people’s lives,” explained Tom. He also lets us in on the one doable thing he does every Friday to limit waste and save money in his home and how we can get started reducing food waste in our home.After Tom started gardening six years ago he lost 20 pounds and shifted his food philosophy to being more plant forward. He talks about why he loves to cook seasonally and the three spring veggies he can’t wait to cook with. This episode will spark greater awareness about food access and encourage you to think about ways you can be a better food consumer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lissa Rankin, M.D., is the New York Times bestselling author of Mind Over Medicine, The Fear Cure, and The Anatomy of a Calling. She’s a physician, a mystic, and the founder of the Whole Health Medicine Institute.Growing up as the daughter of a physician put Rankin on the traditional Western medicine track and she trained as a physician at Duke University, the University of South Florida, and Northwestern University. After practicing as an OBGYN for eight years in San Diego, she reached an all-time low. She was pregnant with her daughter, sick on seven medications, and overwhelmed by the guilt of not living up to her patient's needs. It wasn’t until she found herself sitting on the floor ready to end her life that she discovered what she calls her inner pilot light.Lissa joined me on the mbgpodcast to discuss this challenging time in her life and how her inner pilot light saved her. At the time, this voice told her to quit her job and she did not know what was next. For two years she felt directionless, but she, ultimately, started her own practice in Marin County, California.She found more and more patients coming to her with mysterious illnesses, but instead trying to solve their conditions simply with prescriptions, Lissa asked questions like “What does your body need to heal?” When her patients started to see positive results, she began researching spontaneous remissions and unpacking the profound impact of self-healing. While physician and mystic may not sound like they go together, Lissa believes the physician is the healer and believes there is immense healing available in the spiritual world if one is willing to access it.Lissa tells real stories of people who healed when they were told they didn’t have a chance. Her blend of expertise in the traditional medical world with experience in the spiritual realm provides a fresh perspective to healing that empowers the patient. Her words will leave you inspired to take your health into your own hands and help you find out how to trust your inner voice.To contact Colleen or Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please email podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please email sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast email newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When we think of musicians on tour we think of late nights, junk food, and a whole lot of partying—in other words, we don’t think wellness. While this may be true for many, SOFI TUKKER, a Grammy-nominated musical duo featuring Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern, take their wellness practices on the road with them. Sophie & Tucker joined me on the mbgpodcast shortly after releasing their new single Fantasy to talk to us about what brought them together, bringing positivity to the stage, and how they spark creativity.Sophie and Tucker attended Brown University, where they met, and as Sophie told me, “the lack of wellness [in college] is really what brought us together, and we bonded over it.” Tucker had been an all-star basketball player at Brown, then had a severe illness that caused him to be bedridden for seven months, which was what ultimately led him to pursue music. As for Sophie, she explains, “I kind of beat up my body emotionally, physically, and mentally.” It wasn’t until someone close to her was diagnosed with bipolar disorder that she realized the fragility of life and how daily choices can impact our mental health.As they set out on their collaborative journey, they related to each other’s need for greater self-care. And while they credit wellness with some of their success, they both said it comes down to a unique approach to the creative process.They explained that they see two avenues to creativity: one is to wait for inspiration to come and then get down to work and the other is to continue working through the lulls and be ready for when the creativity comes. They both have a strong work ethic, staying late in the studio and creating on tour so that when the spark comes they’re already there and ready to make it happen.In this episode we talk about:The four unexpected wellness practices they do to prep before a concertTheir favorite ways to restore energy after big showsWhat’s in the smoothie bowl they make every morningSophie and Tucker are candid about the fact that wellness is a complicated journey. For them, music is about connecting with others from a present place and sharing positive energy and they acknowledge that this isn’t possible unless they care for themselves first. When asked what the future holds, Sophie said, “I would love to be in a place where it’s clear the world that we’re creating our music, and what we’re doing stands for something much larger than Sophie and Tucker.” Their words will inspire you to take action towards your dreams, put your health first, and be unapologetically you along the way.To contact Colleen or Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please email podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please email sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast email newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices