The mindbodygreen Podcast

Adi Jaffe, Ph.D., is a world-renowned mental health expert, the CEO of IGNTD, and the host of the IGNTD Podcast. His new book, The Abstinence Myth, is all about overcoming addiction and transforming your life without judgment or shame. Dr. Jaffe is well-known for questioning the status quo and the rules we've been living by when it comes to addiction and sobriety. His wife, Sophie Jaffe, is the woman behind Philosophie, a line of superfoods that are designed to promote health from the inside out.In this episode of the mbg podcast, I sit down with Dr. Jaffe to talk about his journey from dealing drugs and using meth to get through exams during college to becoming a researcher, lecturer, author, and successful entrepreneur. He gets candid about what he learned about life and humanity from spending an entire year in jail.Today, Dr. Jaffe's goal is to help as many people as possible recover from their own addictions and improve their lives. His approach is unique in that it doesn't always require a person to quit their addiction first. Instead, he works on improving other issues first so that the person has built enough confidence and has the internal and external resources to get rid of whatever substance, activity, or toxic behavior they are leaning on. This episode is a must listen for anyone struggling with addiction, who has a loved one that struggles with addiction, or who wants to radically transform their life.OMAX is now offering mbg podcast listeners an awesome deal: 70 percent off a one-month supply of Cognitive Boost, plus free shipping and a 60-day money-back guarantee. Go to omaxboost.com/mindbodygreen to take advantage of this great offer.To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com.For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast email newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By now, you've probably at least heard of Simple Mills: The line of gluten-free and paleo-friendly cookies, crackers, baking mixes, and frostings taking over grocery aisles around the country. But we bet you didn't know the story of the brand's founder and CEO, Katlin Smith.Smith launched the health food brand at the ripe age of 24 after seeing how cutting out dairy and gluten completely transformed her life. She first set out to, as she says, "raise the standards of what healthy food looks like" by cooking up GF-muffin mix in an industrial kitchen on the weekends while balancing a full-time job in consulting. Back then, she couldn't even afford a mixer, but Smith didn't let setbacks stand in the way of her goal to add more nutrition to the center aisles of the grocery store. She started off demo-ing her mixes in three Whole Foods Market stores and the rest is history. Now, Simple Mills has 28 products sold in 12,000 stores across the country (and we're not talking specialty health shops either—you can find the brand in Target and Kroger.)We asked Smith for her best advice on creating a product that will have real traction and handling stress amidst 15-hour workdays. Tune in to learn her favorite meal prep hack, her take on the biggest trends in health food, and why you'll never find turmeric in her products.OMAX is now offering mbg podcast listeners an awesome deal: 70 percent off a one-month supply of Cognitive Boost, plus free shipping and a 60-day money-back guarantee. Go to omaxboost.com/mindbodygreen to take advantage of this great offer.To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com.For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast email newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, I sat down with Dr. Dean and Dr. Ayesha Sherzai—directors of the Alzheimer's Prevention Program at Loma Linda University Medical Center and authors of The Alzheimer's Solution—to talk about all things brain health, a topic that is more important now than ever before.Did you know that half of the people who live to the age of 85 will have Alzheimer's? It's quickly becoming the most pressing health issue facing our world today. As we learned at revitalize 2018, when the Sherzais quickly won over the crowd with their well-rounded perspective on brain health—the Sherzais are on a mission to prevent Alzheimer's, slow its progression, help patients and families cope, and hopefully soon even find a cure. There's no doubt about it: They have a lot of hard-earned knowledge to share.In this episode of the mbg podcast, you'll learn about the lifestyle factors that are hurting your brain the most. High on this list is multitasking. Many of us think we're skilled at performing more than one task at a time, but the Sherzais explain that multitasking isn't just bad for your brain, it's impossible—since you just end up doing a lot of different things poorly instead of a few things well. On the flip side, establishing deep focus on one task is one of the healthiest activities for your mind. We also talked about how finding a sense of purpose can take time—but it's well worth the time and effort—and why it's so important to use technology mindfully in parenting. Don’t miss it!Promote energy, immunity and vitality with Om Mushroom Superfood Powders. Grown in the U.S., Certified Organic and Gluten-Free with no added sugars or fillers, Om Mushroom Powders are the perfect superfood boost to smoothies, coffee or any recipe. Learn more about Om at ommushrooms.com and enjoy a 20% offer for mindbodygreen listeners. Use the code: MBG20.To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com.For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast email newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've ever had a Perfect Bar, you understand the hype. The protein-packed snack stuffed with superfoods has picked up a serious cult following, thanks to its simple filling ingredients and downright addicting flavor (a box of the dark chocolate peanut butter bars has been known to disappear from the mbg office fridge in about three seconds flat).Co-founded by siblings Bill and Leigh Keith in 2005, the initial idea for the brand actually dates back to long road trips their large family took decades ago. In this podcast episode, the duo recounts how their father, Bud Keith, would use his background in nutrition and mind-body medicine to make a healthy snack product his (thirteen!) children would actually want to eat. Bud would ground up whole-foods supplements, mix them with peanut butter, honey, and protein, and the results were a sweet, hearty treat that he deemed "perfect."Nowadays, there are still at least 20 superfoods—like kale, spinach, alfalfa, and celery—slyly packed into every refrigerated bar, and the Keith children are managing the business in their late dad's honor. Bill is the acting CEO, Leigh is President, and sister Charisse handles quality control, but everyone in the family has pitched in to turn the product into a success story. More than just a feel-good family brand, Perfect Bar is also trying to do right by its employees and the planet with a variety of social and environmental responsibility programs.Bill and Leigh dive into all of that and more over the course of the hour. Along the way, they recount how they overcame periods of intense debt to create one of the fastest-growing bar brands in the world, describe the key to eating sugar more healthily, and predict the future of snacking. We hope you enjoy it.OMAX is now offering mbg podcast listeners an awesome deal: 70 percent off a one-month supply of Cognitive Boost, plus free shipping and a 60-day money-back guarantee. Go to omaxboost.com/mindbodygreen to take advantage of this great offer.Promote energy, immunity and vitality with Om Mushroom Superfood Powders. Grown in the U.S., Certified Organic and Gluten-Free with no added sugars or fillers, Om Mushroom Powders are the perfect superfood boost to smoothies, coffee or any recipe. Learn more about Om at ommushrooms.com and enjoy a 20% offer for mindbodygreen listeners. Use the code: MBG20.To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com.For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast email newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Functional medicine expert, mbg class instructor and Collective member, and my dear friend Will Cole, D.C., IFMCP, grew up in a wellness-focused household. But after 10 years of struggling with poor digestion and low energy on a carb-heavy, vegan diet, he knew there had to be a better way to eat plant-based. That's when he discovered the brain-boosting benefits of the ketogenic diet and fueling his body with healthy fats. If you haven't heard of the ketogenic diet yet, it's a high-fat, moderate protein, low-carb diet (we've written a lot about it on mindbodygreen). It's typically associated with eating lots of meat, dairy, eggs, and other animal products. But in his new book, Ketotarian, Will shares how to meld the two seemingly opposite diets—ketogenic and vegan—to get the best of both worlds. On this week's episode, I sat down with Will to explore what ketosis is, what it's not, and who should (and shouldn't) try going keto. We talked about the pitfalls of a conventional ketogenic diet and how it can work for a plant-based eater. He also shared his knowledge about how parasites can heal your inflammation and how to find your unique carb sweet spot. Finally, he shared the first thing he drinks every morning (spoiler: It's not butter coffee) and his favorite keto-friendly dessert recipe that had me drooling. Don't miss this one! OMAX is now offering mbg podcast listeners an awesome deal: 70 percent off a one-month supply of Cognitive Boost, plus free shipping and a 60-day money-back guarantee. Go to omaxboost.com/mindbodygreen to take advantage of this great offer. Promote energy, immunity and vitality with Om Mushroom Superfood Powders. Grown in the U.S., Certified Organic and Gluten-Free with no added sugars or fillers, Om Mushroom Powders are the perfect superfood boost to smoothies, coffee or any recipe. Learn more about Om at ommushrooms.com and enjoy a 20% offer for Mind Body Green listeners. Use the code: MBG20. To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. To join our podcast email newsletter, please visit our signup page. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicolas Jammet, Jonathan Neman, and Nathaniel Ru know what sweetgreen customers want because they are sweetgreen customers. More than 10 years ago, they were frustrated by the lack of affordable and delicious food that was also healthy and made them feel good, so the three then-college seniors set out to make salad cool. In 2007, they opened the first sweetgreen and immediately knew they were on to something. They have since grown the ingredient-driven, fast-casual chain to 86 locations across the United States and continue to innovate and elevate healthy food. I sat down with Nicolas and Jonathan to talk about their mission of connecting communities to healthier food, what "passion with a purpose" means, and how they build trust with their customers. They explained how a salad restaurant ended up hosting a music festival, the combination of art and science behind everything they do, and where they find the local artists that decorate their stores (spoiler: in line at sweetgreen). We also touched on the emotional experience of eating, food fatigue, sweetgreen's constantly evolving menu, and why they no longer serve bacon. Nicolas and Jonathan also dive into tackling food waste, introducing more sustainable ingredients, and educating consumers about the true cost of real food. If you love sweetgreen as much as we do, this one is a must-listen. Hungryroot delivers weekly boxes of healthy convenience foods that customers can use to make a variety of inspiring and delicious dishes. All our food is plant-based and gluten-free, and comes either ready to eat or ready in less than 15 minutes. Use code mbg to get $25 off your first two deliveries with a total savings of $50. Promote energy, immunity and vitality with Om Mushroom Superfood Powders. Grown in the U.S., Certified Organic and Gluten-Free with no added sugars or fillers, Om Mushroom Powders are the perfect superfood boost to smoothies, coffee or any recipe. Learn more about Om at ommushrooms.com and enjoy a 30% offer for Mind Body Green listeners. Use the code: MBG30 To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jon Sebastiani is no stranger to the world of entrepreneurship. At the age of 8, Jon got his taste of working as an entrepreneur on his family’s vineyard in Sonoma Valley, founded in 1894 as one of the wine region’s first vineyards. He continued to work on the business side of the family brand throughout his 20s and early 30s, until the company was sold in 2005. After a self-proclaimed identity crisis of sorts, Jon shifted his focus to his own health, which led him to run in the New York City Marathon, and shortly after, put him on the fast track to launching a jerky brand, KRAVE. Now, his passion for wellness influences the majority of his business endeavors as founder of Sonoma Brands, one of the most well-respected and innovative venture capitalist firms in natural consumer packaged goods right now, with investors in wellness favorites like Hu Kitchen and True Botanicals. In this episode, we trace Jon’s entrepreneurial spirit from his beginning wine days to the genesis of Sonoma Brands, the trend of mission-driven food companies, and how he uses his savvy business chops to tap into the heart of the wellness industry and introduce products that are bold and accessible to all. We also talk about the tough side of family business, what it was like to sell his company to Hershey, and how to elevate classic, old-fashioned snacks with a modern twist to the masses with health, innovation, and wellness in mind. If you’re curious about the future of small food brands, the tricky business of wellness and fast trends, and how to combine grit and passion as an entrepreneur, this episode’s the one for you. Enjoy! Go to TryOmax.com/mindbodygreen to get a box of Omax3 Ultra-Pure, for FREE! Omax3 comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee, so you have plenty of time to try it and really feel the Omax difference! Hungryroot delivers weekly boxes of healthy convenience foods that customers can use to make a variety of inspiring and delicious dishes. All our food is plant-based and gluten-free, and comes either ready to eat or ready in less than 15 minutes. Use code mbg to get $25 off your first two deliveries with a total savings of $50. To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jasmine Hemsley has been a force in the wellness world since she started the world-famous Hemsley + Hemsley brand alongside her sister Melissa in 2014. Their first book, The Art of Eating Well, flipped the script on dieting and proved that eating well can be delicious, soul-satisfying, and not at all restrictive. Since this book became an international best-seller, Jasmine has served as a food consultant to a celebrity clientele, penned two more cookbooks, and traveled the world sharing her food philosophy with the masses. Along the way, she stumbled into a food philosophy that would ultimately change her life: ayurveda. The answer to why she always preferred hot, stewy foods and would take a burger over a salad any day, ayurveda is an ancient Indian approach to whole-body healing that focuses on centers of heat within the body. It extends far beyond food and touches on how we can find balance across our lives. Though it dates back around 5,000 years, its remedies for everything from poor digestion to anxiety continue to prove effective today. In this episode, Jasmine, a longtime friend of mbg, mbg Collective member, and workshop host at mbg's revitalize event last month, takes us through the three different ayurvedic personalities, or doshas, and how to find out which one you are. Along the way, she dispels some of the leading myths about practice, lists the little ayurvedic-approved tweaks that she can't live without, and provides top tips for anyone looking to dive deeper into this timeless approach to healing. To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erik Oberholtzer is a renowned professional chef who spent 10 years in some of the best fine dining kitchens in California. After getting his start at Chez Panisse, he cooked everywhere from Lark Creek Inn to Left Bank to Shutters on the Beach. Inspired by his relationships with local farmers and his access to fresh ingredients, he became passionate about finding a way to bring farm-to-fork to the masses. In 2006, he opened Tender Greens, a slow-foods-meets-fast-food restaurant in Culver City with an emphasis on affordable chef-created dishes. It has since grown to 28 locations spanning across both coasts and is backed by hospitality giant Danny Meyer. In this week’s episode, Erik and I discuss how he cultivates culture at Tender Greens, America’s shifting relationship with food, and why it’s an exciting time to be in the food space. We also talk about the "forgotten foods" you might be seeing on the Tender Greens menu soon, his commitment to regenerative agriculture, the collision of technology and food, and the power of partnership in growing a business. Go to TryOmax.com/mindbodygreen to get a box of Omax3 Ultra-Pure, for FREE! Omax3 comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee, so you have plenty of time to try it and really feel the Omax difference! To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Tanzeem Bhatia, M.D., is a superwoman in her own right. She's not just an M.D.—she has functional medicine, integrative, and holistic physician training, and she's a certified nutritionist, acupuncturist, yoga teacher, and traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. Whew! She might be one of the most qualified medical professionals to help women, as she's seen thousands through her practice and has noticed a few patterns in the way health issues present themselves. Her book, Superwoman Rx, speaks to her experience by demystifying common health problems women face—low energy, unwanted weight gain or loss, and hormone-related issues, to name a few—by breaking them down into five different archetypes. Dr. Taz has been part of the mindbodygreen family since the early days. She's a class instructor, part of mbg's Functional Nutrition Program, and a longtime contributor. In this podcast episode, Dr. Taz and I discuss the reason we're facing a women's health crisis in the first place; how each of the five archetypes named in her book can start to take charge of their own health; what blood tests to run when going to your doctor; nuances about thyroid, gut, and metabolic health; the best herbs women can add to their diets; and much, much more. One question Dr. Taz asks all of her patients is: Why are you trying to take control of your health? She believes that the answer will help clarify the right path for you and motivate you on your journey. If you're someone who has struggled with these issues, or know someone who has, if you prefer taking the more natural route with your body, if you're dealing with information overload, or could benefit from a detailed primer on women's holistic health and well-being, this episode is for you.To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail podcast@mindbodygreen.com. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail sales@mindbodygreen.com. Want to join our podcast newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices