John Adamson is the founder and owner of Neon Tiger, a cool, hip, concept-driven restaurant and bar in Charleston, SC. If you are in the area - you have to visit! Neon Tiger just won The Best New Restaurant in Charleston. And if know anything about the food scene and the level of competition there, you know that goes a long way. Neon Tiger is located right on Kings street, has a remarkable and tastefully crafted drink menu... And oh wait... it just happens to be vegan!

John Adamson is a visionary. Since he started his first restaurant in 2001 - a Mellow Mushroom - he opened 10 restaurants and bars, with the last few being The Rarebit and The Americano.

Neon Tiger, his latest creation, is a glitch in the matrix. Set in 2048, when the oceans are dead, and most wild animals are extinct, Neon Tiger represents a beacon of hope, a call to action, and a price we should not want to pay for our taste preferences today. If you walk through the restaurant you will notice subtle and very powerful messages displayed in every element of the design.

In this conversation John shares his story, career, transition to veganism and approach to activism. We talk in detail about the concept behind Neon Tiger and what it symbolizes, we discuss our  experiences with veganism, and our values. Join the conversation!

Follow John and Neon Tiger:

• Neon Tiger: @neon_tiger_
• John: @chephotel
• Website: neontiger.com

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

In this conversation we talk about... surprise! - THRIVING! What it means and what it takes. We discuss our healthcare system, its strength and opportunities for improvement. Dr. Zhu shares his story - what inspired him to go into medicine, and how his unique career evolved into what he does today - helping people thrive. We talk about various types of medicine he practices, and why the intersection where he finds his niche today, makes perfect sense. Tune in to learn more, and hear Colin's personal tips on thriving and living a life of purpose, meaning and joy!

Resources and links:

• TheChefDoc website
• Thrive Bites Podcast
• "Thrive Medicine: How To Cultivate Your Desires and Elevate Your Life" Book
• The THR5 Formula Virtual Summit

The THR5 Formula Virtual Summit is a thriving masterclass series that combines 5 pillars as a foundation to thrive in our lives: Food as medicine, functional fitness, relationships, community, and resilience. It acts like a summit but also as a workshop series. There will be sessions to learn from, a digital workbook, quizzes, a private FB community, and lots of virtual goodies exclusive to this summit. It is meant for healthcare professionals, students, and individuals that are looking for additional resources to optimize their overall wellness for 2021 and beyond. It has 52 experts bringing you over 50+ hours of inspirational, educational, and practical tools for you and your family. 

Please click this link for a special 25% discount code (link expires May 31, 2021): https://www.thethr5formula.co/?coupon=25KRYSTYNA"

Trish Ahjel Roberts is on a mission to share her revolutionary 12-step approach to mind-blowing happiness with the world. She is a self-actualization coach, yoga and meditation instructor, happiness expert and founder of HoneyButterflyz LLC and Black Vegan Life™. Trish was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and holds an MBA from Long Island University. Trish is the author of three self-help books: the e-book, Mind-Blowing Happiness™ Guide to Self-Care; the self-help memoir, Thinking Outside the Chrysalis: A Black Woman's Guide to Spreading Her Wings; and the inspirational journal, 12 Steps to Mind-Blowing Happiness: A Journal of Insights, Quotes & Questions to Juice Up Your Journey. Trish has ten years of Buddhist study and twenty years of yoga experience. She believes movement and nature are therapy and loves running, hiking and yoga. Sign up for her inspirational blog and learn more at mindblowinghappiness.com. 

Trish's website is: mindblowinghappiness.com

Social Media Links 

IG: @trishahjelroberts

FB: @mindblowinghappiness

Twitter: @trishahjel

Clubhouse: @trishahjel

In 2012, Adam Sud’s life was completely out of control. Once weighing nearly 350lbs and struggling with multiple addictions, serious chronic diseases, and mental health disorders. His life nearly came to an end when he attempted suicide by drug overdose. He checked into rehab and with the help of his parents and a plant-based diet, he began a journey that led to a remarkable recovery.

Adam is now a diabetes and food addiction coach for Mastering Diabetes ( masteringdiabetes.org ), a program that focuses on reversing insulin resistance to master type 1, Type 1.5, pre-diabetes, and type 2 diabetes using low fat, whole food, plant-based nutrition. He also works with Engine 2 and Whole Foods Market’s Total Health Immersion Team. He is an international speaker for the plant-based movement. Adam has worked in recovery centers using plant-based nutrition as a tool for strengthening recovery and relapse prevention.

Adam is the founder of Plant-Based for Positive Change that is dedicated to advancing the research of diet and mental health / addiction and is running the very first research study to investigate the effects of a nutrient dense food intervention for addiction recovery. He firmly believes that the simplest change on your fork make the most profound change of your life and that self-love is the root of all recovery. He is working on a research study along with Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, MDs.

Please consider donating to Adam’s study

https://www.gofundme.com/f/6ah8f-infinite-study

Plant-Based for Positive Change

https://www.plantbasedforpositivechange.org

***

Kind gift-giving - consider these ideas this season for you and your loved-ones:

https://www.jamiescookiedough.com

https://www.farmofthefree.org

https://www.fullcirclefarmsanctuary.org

Hanni Berger is a speaker and the CEO of JOYVIAL, an online network of professional health coaches who help you live your healthiest, most joyful and fulfilled life.

With 20 years of prior experience in the hospitality industry, she managed large teams, millions of dollars in revenue, and as such experienced firsthand the effects of stress on her mind and body.

Today, after years of studying from the best in the health industry, she has combining science backed data, with her own real-world experience. Seeing the life-changing effects certain techniques had on her life, she is passionate about helping others live a life they love.

She is a native of Austria who never even heard about the movie “The Sound of Music” until coming to the US. Today she gets her sanity from riding her motorcycle – preferably on the race track. Often referred to as a “ray of sunshine”, she brightens up every room with her energy and her beaming smile.

In this conversation Hanni shares her own story of transformation and how she discovered a path towards JOY! Hanni shares her 3-prawn framework for cultivating more joy - monitoring the things we ingest, outer work and inner work. We talk about sugar addiction, stress management and simple but powerful tools for letting go of beliefs that no longer serve us. Tune in to learn more!

Check out Hanni's website with a variety of free resources here:

https://www.joyvial.com

JOYVIAL YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9yZCc2VP21YlnYKnvgxd0Q

Laurie Marbas, MD, MBA is a double board certified family medicine and lifestyle medicine physician, who has been utilizing food as medicine since 2012. Previously, she created a new medical model combining the power of nutrient-dense foods and intensive clinical psychological therapy to treat not only food addiction but also chronic disease. As the past Managing Editor for the Plantrician Project’s International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention, she worked closely with the journal’s Editor in Chief, Dr. Kim Williams. The journal is focused on bringing plant-based research to the forefront of modern medicine and to the general public. She is also co-founder of Healthy Human Revolution, whose mission is to provide resources that will empower individuals with the knowledge, tools, and mindset to successfully adopt and sustain a whole food, plant-based (WFPB) diet.

In Colorado, when Laurie convinced a large hospital to create a lifestyle medicine program centered around a WFPB diet, the program showed resounding success. At another hospital, she conducted a one-month study of 26 employees on a WFPB diet. All employees were fed from the hospital’s kitchen, and each individual experienced improved health. She has spoken at the Golden VegFest in Colorado, the International Plant-based Nutrition Healthcare Conference, and other venues teaching about the value of the WFPB diet.

Laurie received her dual degrees (MD and MBA) from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine and TTU School of Business. She was awarded the Texas Tech University School of Medicine Gold Headed Cane Award, a symbol for excellence in the art of medicine and the care of patients. She wrote seven books while in medical school, six of which were in a series called “Visual Mnemonics.” These books used cartoons to help people memorize vast amounts of information—a system that helped her personally when she was a mom attending medical school. As a United States Air Force veteran, she served in the Middle East and South America. She is also a wife, mom of three grown children, host of the Healthy Human Revolution podcast, author, speaker, and avid runner.

In this conversation Dr. Marbas shares her story, how she discovered plant-based nutrition and how a patient and a divine intervention put her on this path. We talk about the lack of nutrition education in many healthcare professionals and what a patient can do to navigate the system, find a qualified specialist and advocate for themselves. Finally, we also dive in in the topic of "radical healing" - be it from an accident, a surgery or severe chronic disease - and how nutrition, rest and social connection can significantly expedite the process. Tune in to learn more!

To learn more about Plant-based Telehealth please visit:

https://plantbasedtelehealth.com

Dr. Sujit Sharma is a Harvard-trained pediatric ER doctor in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the CEO at Chuice, an innovative food company, and a member of the board of directors of Georgia Organics. He is a researcher working on a manuscript about respiratory diseases. He is a father, a husband and a friend.

In this conversation we talk about gut health - what it is, what can we do about it, what does the science say, what gaps still exist. Did you know we are completely outnumbered by creatures that live in and on us? At least 10 to in! Did you know that the diversity of plant in our diet is number one predictor of gut health? We also go beyond that - what are the bigger lessons we can draw? What are the principles and made our evolution possible? Things like tolerance, collaboration, diversity and inclusion have allowed us to be where we are today. It works on microbial level, as well as local, national and universal one.

Tune in to learn more!

https://chuice.com

https://www.instagram.com/lovechuice/

https://www.instagram.com/drsujitsharma/

TONI OKAMOTO is the founder of Plant-Based on a Budget, the popular website and meal plan that shows you how to save money by eating veggies. She’s also author of the Plant-Based on a Budget cookbook, The Super Easy Vegan Slow Cooker Cookbook, and the co-host of The Plant-Powered People Podcast. Okamoto’s work has been profiled by NBC News, Parade Magazine, and she’s a regular presence on local and national morning shows across the country, where she teaches viewers how to break their meat habit without breaking their budget. She was also featured in the popular documentary What the Health. When she’s not cooking up a plant-based storm, she’s spending time with her husband in Sacramento, CA.

You can find Toni on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Toni's new book - The Friendly Vegan Cookbook - is coming out next month and is ready for pre-order today! It is filled with meals that will become your new favorites and go-to staples for when you have meat-eaters to impress. Because amazing food should be shared!

Learn more at:

https://www.plantbasedmealplan.com/cookbook

In this conversation Toni shares her story of discovering plant based diet, becoming an activist and evolving her work into a successful business concept. Toni share her biggest tips for saving time and money on a plant-based diet.

Tune in to learn more!

Abigail Oberla, MS, APRN, FNP-C, DipACLM is a Family Nurse Practitioner and a Certified Lifestyle Medicine Healthcare provider. She works at the MinuteClinic where she regularly sees patients coming with specific and urgent concerns. Abby has found a way to weave in lifestyle medicine in very short conversations she has with patients. So we ran through a few imitations on how to make plant-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine in general applicable to most popular conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension and heart disease. Abby also talks about making plant-based transition easy - where fo you start? How do you plan for success? Tune in to learn more!

Some links and helpful resources from Abby:

Plantastic Columbus is the local PlantPure Pod she leads. Their personal FB page is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PlantasticColumbus. However, if you're looking to find or start your own PlantPure Pod, please visit https://plantpurecommunities.org/plantpurepods/.

She volunteers with Kind Meals: https://www.facebook.com/kindmealscolumbus.

Virtual cooking demos for Community Development for All People and All People's Fresh Market. These can be found on her personal FB page: https://www.facebook.com/abby.oberla/ (the videos have links to these community organizations as well).

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/o.be.well/.

Matt Tullman is a Cofounder of Complement, Managing Partner of No Meat Athlete and the Founder of 80 / 20 Plants. A successful entrepreneur, innovator, creative thinker who is “passionately curious” as Einstein puts it, athlete, dad - Matt is focused on creating the best quality vegan nutrition supplement that he can stand behind and is comfortable feeding to his family. In this conversation Matt shares his story and how the sickness of a loved one inspired him to look deeply into what it means to live well as a human, the pillars of health and happiness, and the power of plant-based nutrition. He describes how he started the nutrition supplement company - Complement, the motivation behind it and the guiding principles for the business. Tune in to learn more!

For more information please visit:

Complement: https://lovecomplement.com

No Meat Athlete: https://www.nomeatathlete.com

80/20 Plants: https://8020plants.com

Michael Greger, M.D. FACLM is a physician, New York Times bestselling author, and internationally recognized professional speaker on a number of important public health issues. Dr. Greger has lectured at the Conference on World Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, and the International Bird Flu Summit, among countless other symposia and institutions; testified before Congress; has appeared on shows such as The Colbert Report and The Dr. Oz Show; and was invited as an expert witness in defense of Oprah Winfrey at the infamous "meat defamation" trial. In 2017, he was honored with the ACLM Lifestyle Medicine Trailblazer Award.

His new book - How to Survive a Pandemic - is a vital, timely text on the pathogens that cause pandemics and how to face them. From tuberculosis and measles to AIDS and COVID-19, these infectious diseases share a common origin story: human interaction with animals. Otherwise known as zoonotic diseases for their passage from animals to humans, these infections—both pre-existing ones and those newly identified—have sparked some of the deadliest plagues in history.

How did these diseases come about? And what—if anything—can we do to stop them and their fatal march into our communities, our homes, and our bodies? In How to Survive a Pandemic: Overcoming COVID-19 and Preventing the Next Deadly Outbreak, Dr. Michael Greger, physician and an internationally-recognized expert on public health issues, cuts through the prevailing noise and nonsense and reveals not only what we can do to protect ourselves and our loved ones during a pandemic, but also digs deeper into the roots of the problem and tackles the fundamental question: How can we stop the emergence of pandemic viruses in the first place? If there is one concept Dr. Greger draws from his work on preventing and reversing chronic disease, it’s that we must—whenever possible—treat the cause.

All proceeds of this book are donated to pandemic prevention charities.

You can get the book on DR. Greger's website or at your favorite book seller:

https://nutritionfacts.org/how-to-survive-a-pandemic/