It’s All About Food

It's All About Food - Saray Stancic, MD FACN and Ben Hartman - 11.07.17

Part I: Saray Stancic, MD FACN, Lifestyle MedicineSaray Stancic, MD, a graduate of UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School and a board certified Infectious Disease specialist since 1999, is the founder of Stancic Health and Wellness in Ramsey NJ. The mission of this innovative medical practice is to educate and empower patients for achieving optimal health via lifestyle modification, while shedding light on the large and mounting body of scientific data supporting the importance of optimal nutrition in disease prevention. She seeks a highly personalized doctor-patient relationship, pursuing individual health related goals which may include weight loss, and improved control of blood sugars, lipid profiles and/or blood pressure with an eye towards reducing dependency on medication.
In 1995, Dr. Stancic, a third-year medical resident working long hospital hours, was abruptly stricken with a severe and disabling case of multiple sclerosis. After 8 years of impaired and disrupted work and daily life, complicated by side effects of intensive pharmaceutical therapies, she stumbled upon a medical journal study reporting some beneficial reduction in MS symptom severity associated with one particular food: blueberries. This triggered an exhaustive exploration of the medical literature, revealing plentiful evidence in respectable peer-reviewed journals that dietary choices do play a key role in the development of chronic illness…. a topic that had eluded the medical school curriculum she knew so well.
Dr. Stancic concluded that the power of prevention/healing offered by a whole-food, plant-based diet for many chronic conditions is enormous and unquestionable. Inspired, she saw it as imperative to adopt this lifestyle personally, and she discontinued all medications and focused upon optimizing diet. Remarkably, after years of difficulty walking unassisted, she found her neurological deficits gradually improving, and felt renewed and infused with a great sense of hope. She decided to take up jogging, which evolved to running, and in the spring of 2010 ran a marathon. She followed through on a pledge to walk 2,015 miles in 2015, 20 years after being struck down by multiple sclerosis. These experiences laid the foundation for a personal crusade to prevent chronic illness by helping patients modify their lifestyles.
Opportunities for physicians within their usual practices and specialties to advocate for improved patient nutrition have long seemed very limited. Earlier in her career as a chief and director of infectious disease and virology clinics, Dr. Stancic did serve as Co-Director of the Dept. Of Veterans Affairs’ successful national “MOVE Program” (Optimizing Nutrition and Disease Prevention Program)…. leading a multidisciplinary team of nutritionists, psychologists, physical therapists and physicians in educating veterans about incorporating physical activity and greater attention toward nutrition into daily life. As the years went by, she shared with other physicians her insights from the research literature and personal experience about potential chronic disease prevention/remediation using plant-based whole-foods diets…. But she found regrettably that not many colleagues shared her enthusiasm or accepted that this approach could be valid.
As a physician observing unnecessary suffering and loss, Dr. Stancic had felt compelled to spread the word of this seemingly untapped therapeutic resource. The physician of today is relegated to symptom management via treatment plans highly dependent on prescription medications and invasive procedures…. with little time devoted to uncovering and addressing the underlying causes of disease, and little time available for counseling, support and education, interventions that have been proven to circumvent the need for drugs and surgery. Therefore Dr. Stancic concluded that she would establish her own small medical practice as a model for lifestyle based personal wellness promotion, where the primary intervention is educating patients on the importance of food choices and how these simple decisions affect our complicated health outcomes.
Part II: Ben Hartman, Lean Farm GuideBen Hartman grew up on a corn and soybean farm in Indiana and graduated college with degrees in English and philosophy. Ben and his wife, Rachel Hershberger, own and operate Clay Bottom Farm in Goshen, Indiana, where they make their living growing and selling specialty crops on less than one acre. Their food is sold locally to restaurants and cafeterias, at a farmers market, and through a community-supported-agriculture (CSA) program. The farm has twice won Edible Michiana’s Reader’s Choice award. The Lean Farm, Ben’s first book, won the Shingo Institute’s prestigious Research and Professional Publication Award. In 2017, Ben was named one of fifty emerging green leaders in the United States by Grist. Follow the Clay Bottom Farm on Facebook.

It's All About Food - Josh Tickell, Kiss the Ground - 10.31.17

Josh Tickell, Kiss the GroundJosh Tickell is a Sundance award winning film director, bestselling author and thought leader. His films and books focus on critical, “big picture” social issues including alternative energy, conscious capitalism and reversing climate change.Josh’s first movie, Fuel, won the Sundance Audience Award for Best Documentary and to theaters globally. He recently co-directed the 2017 Lionsgate release, Good Fortune, the rags to riches biopic of Paul Mitchell and Patron cofounder, John Paul DeJoria. He regularly films and interviews luminaries such as Elon Musk, Dan Aykroyd, Woody Harrelson, Sheryl Crow, and Shailene Woodley.Tickell’s movies have won more than 40 major awards and have been selected as a NY TimesCritics’ Pick, shortlisted for an Oscar and shown in the White House. He has spoken at more than 100 colleges and Fortune 500 businesses globally. He is a guest on shows such as The Tonight Show, Good Morning America, Morning Joe and on the Today Show.Tickell’s new book, Kiss the Ground – How The Food You Eat Can Reverse Climate Change, Heal Your Body and Save the World with a forward by Whole Foods Founder, John Mackey, will be released in November of 2017 and is being turned into a movie from executive producer Leonardo DiCaprio also entitled Kiss the Ground.

It's All About Food - Happy Halloween with Gary De Mattei & Caryn Hartglass - 10.24.17

Gary De Mattei, Happy HalloweenGary De Mattei is the co-founder and Creative Director of Responsible Eating and Living. Gary is an actor, director, producer, filmmaker, writer, teacher and trained chef. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the nonprofit theatre company, The Artist’s Theatre Repertory Ensemble (TheATRE). Before moving to New York in 2008 Gary worked extensively in Bay Area theatre as an actor, director, writer, producer, teacher, and arts administrator. He was the co-founder and producing artistic director of Theatre On San Pedro Square (TOSPS) in San Jose from January of 2000 to April of 2008. During that time Gary produced plays and musicals that showcased local, national and international theatre artists. Gary was the Theatre Department Chair at Presentation High School in San Jose. During his tenure at Presentation Gary directed plays and musicals and taught acting. His theatre department was awarded the prestigious Best High School Musical Award from the American Musical Theatre. Gary is a Bay Area Theatre Critics Award nominee for his portrayal of Fiorello H. LaGuardia in Foothill Music Theatre’s production of Fiorello. A proud member of Actor’s Equity Association, Gary trains at HB Studio in New York under the guidance of his acting teacher Austin Pendleton. For more about Gary go to his website, GaryDeMattei.com.

It's All About Food -Caryn Hartglass on the road, reporting on Food Myths (Fake News), Refrigeration and More - 10.17.17

In today’s show, Caryn will be broadcasting remotely from the Bay Area. She’ll be covering some of the current food myths about complete protein and soy foods. She discusses the pros and cons with laundry machines, dryers and refrigeration and what we foods should be refrigerated and often aren’t. Plus you’ll get more tips on eating while travel and a reminder about the importance of gratitude.

It's All About Food - Glen Merzer, Off the Reservation - 10.11.17

Glen Merzer, Off the Reservation
Glen Merzer is an author, playwright, and screenwriter. Merzer grew up in Bellmore, N.Y., on Long Island, and attended college at New College of Florida in Sarasota. After college, he became a stand-up comic in San Francisco circa 1980, working with such comics as Dana Carvey, A. Whitney Brown, and Will Durst.  He then attended two graduate schools in theatre (Indiana University and the U. of Alabama), receiving a degree at neither one, and one graduate Creative Writing Program (at Boston University, studying under Leslie Epstein), where he received his M.A.
Merzer’s most recent book is a novel (his first), Off the Reservation, published by Vivid Thoughts Press (Dec., 2014).   Off the Reservation is a comic narrative about a quirky vegan congressman from Bloomington, IN, who undertakes an unconventional quest for the presidency; actor Jason Alexander called it “as politically savvy and poetically literate a book as I have read in a long while…. a completely gorgeous and rewarding experience.” Kirkus Reviews chose it as one of the “Best Books of 2015—Indie,” and The Progressive Magazine chose it as one of their “Favorite Books of 2015.”
Merzer began his career in book-writing as co-author, with Howard Lyman, of Mad Cowboy(Scribner, 1998) and No More Bull! (Scribner, 2005).  Merzer is also co-author of Unprocessed (2011), by Chef AJ; Food over Medicine (BenBella Books, 2013), with Pam Popper; Better Than Vegan (BenBella Books, 2013), with Chef Del Sroufe, and The Plant Advantage, with Benji Kurtz (Vivid Thoughts Press, 2015).  He is also, with Eric Brent, one of the editors of The HappyCow Cookbook (BenBella Books, 2014).
Merzer has had dozens of productions of his plays staged throughout the country, including two productions that toured to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.  Three of his plays have been published by Samuel French.  Merzer directed a production of his play, The Sizemore Interviews, an expose of fraud at NBC during America’s invasion of Panama, in Hollywood in 2001; Variety called it “a thoroughly compelling probe of the potential for the manufacture of news by the media.”
One of Merzer’s screenplays was produced, Enemies of Laughter (2000), starring David Paymer, Rosalind Chao, Peter Falk, and Bea Arthur.

It's All About Food - Joel Fuhrman, MD and Mike Boss - 10.03.17

Part I: Dr. Fuhrman, Fast Food GenocideJoel Fuhrman, M.D., is a board-certified family physician and nutritional researcher who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional and natural methods. Dr. Fuhrman is the research director of the Nutritional Research Foundation. He is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers Eat to Live, Super Immunity, Eat to Live Cookbook, The End of Dieting, and The End of Diabetes.  Part II: Mike Boss, The Edible Nursery ProjectMike Boss is a Plant Ecologist, Permaculturist, and a certified Plant Geek. He is the founder of the Award-Winning: Rock & Rose Landscapes, based in San Francisco.      

It's All About Food - Guest: Pedram Shojai and Craig Cochran - 09.26.17

Part I: Pedram Shojai ProsperityPedram Shojai, OMD is a man with many titles. He is the founder and CEO of Well.Org, the editor of Be More!magazine, the author of the NY Times bestseller The Urban Monk (Rodale, 2016) and Rise and Shine (Process, 2011), the producer and director of the movie Vitality, the executive producer and writer for the film, Origins and the Host of two weekly video podcast series, The Urban Monk and The Health Bridge. He also has recent projects launching in 2017. His new movie Prosperity (2017) and his new book The Art of Stopping Time (Rodale 2017). In his spare time, he’s also a Taoist priest, a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, a kung fu world traveler, a fierce global green warrior, an avid backpacker, a Qi Gong Master, and an old school Jedi bio-hacker working to preserve our natural world and wake us up to our full potential.
Part II: Craig Cochran PS KitchenCraig Cochran has has been a tour-de-force in the NYC restaurant scene with over a decade of opening and running pioneering restaurants. In 2010, he co-founded Terri, the first plant-based fast food restaurant in NYC. Terri now has three locations. Craig is the co-founder of P.S. Kitchen, a new, gourmet restaurant which donates 100% of the profits to charity. Craig is also the co-founder of Blackbird Seitan. Craig co-founded and co-owns the newest business Plates By Terri, a full-service catering company.

It's All About Food - Guest: Eric Toensmeier & Gary De Mattei - 09.19.17

Part I: Eric Toensmeier, Project DrawdownEric Toensmeier is the award-winning author of Paradise Lotand Perennial Vegetables, and the co-author of Edible Forest Gardens. He is an appointed lecturer at Yale University, a Senior Biosequestration Fellow with Project Drawdown, and an international trainer. He has studied useful perennial plants and their roles in agroforestry systems for over two decades. He is the author of The Carbon Farming Solution: A Global Toolkit of Perennial Crops and Regenerative Agricultural Practices for Climate Change Mitigation and Food Security. Part II: Gary De Mattei, Autumn in NYGary De Mattei is the co-founder and Creative Director of Responsible Eating and Living. Gary is an actor, director, producer, filmmaker, writer, teacher and trained chef. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the nonprofit theatre company, The Artist’s Theatre Repertory Ensemble (TheATRE). Before moving to New York in 2008 Gary worked extensively in Bay Area theatre as an actor, director, writer, producer, teacher, and arts administrator. He was the co-founder and producing artistic director of Theatre On San Pedro Square (TOSPS) in San Jose from January of 2000 to April of 2008. During that time Gary produced plays and musicals that showcased local, national and international theatre artists. Gary was the Theatre Department Chair at Presentation High School in San Jose. During his tenure at Presentation Gary directed plays and musicals and taught acting. His theatre department was awarded the prestigious Best High School Musical Award from the American Musical Theatre. Gary is a Bay Area Theatre Critics Award nominee for his portrayal of Fiorello H. LaGuardia in Foothill Music Theatre’s production of Fiorello. A proud member of Actor’s Equity Association, Gary trains at HB Studio in New York under the guidance of his acting teacher Austin Pendleton. For more about Gary go to his website, GaryDeMattei.com.

It's All About Food - Guest: Dean Sherzai, M.D., PhD. & Ayesha Sherzai, M.D.: The Alzheimer’s Solution - 09.06.17

Part I: Dean Sherzai, M.D., PhD. and Ayesha Sherzai, M.D., The Alzheimer’s Solution*Recent findings about the impact of lifestyle changes—diet, exercise, sleep, stress reduction, and healthy challenges for our brain—support the premise of this new book by leading experts in brain health.The Alzheimer’s Solution asserts great news about a dreaded disease: 90% of Alzheimer’s disease cases are preventable through lifestyle factors. While medical advances have extended our lifespans, keeping our hearts and bodies active into old age, brain science has lagged behind. Over 50% of individuals over the age of 85 suffer from Alzheimer’s, dementia, and debilitating cognitive decline.The Alzheimer’s Solution is the first book for a wide readership to offer a solution to Alzheimer’s, and is essential reading for both health professionals and laypeople. The authors are leaders in the field of Alzheimer’s and cognitive health and co-directors of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University Health (Loma Linda, CA is America’s only Blue Zone).Ayesha Sherzai is also a professionally trained cook with an emphasis on brain health. The book provides 25 easy-to-make recipes that feature the healthiest foods for the brain.
Ayesha Sherzai, MD, is Co-Director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University Health, where she leads the Lifestyle Program for the Prevention of Neurological Diseases. She completed a dual training in Preventative Medicine and Neurology at Loma Linda University, received a Masters degree in Advanced Research Methodology from UC-San Diego, and completed a fellowship in Lifestyle and Vascular Brain Diseases at Columbia University. She will soon complete a PhD in Epidemiology from Loma Linda University, where her dissertation focuses on nutrition and its role in cognitive aging and neurological disease. Ayesha has published more than a dozen scientific papers, and in 2015, she won the American Heart Association’s Trudy Bush Fellowship Award for Cardiovascular Disease Research in Women’s Health. She is the lead researcher in the landmark study at Loma Linda that investigates the effects of a comprehensive lifestyle intervention on individuals at risk for Alzheimer’s.
Dean Sherzai, MD, PhD, is Co-Director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University Health, where he was previously the Director of the Memory and Aging Center as well as Director of Research. During his years at Loma Linda, a Blue Zone community where residents live measurably longer and healthier lives, he was the lead scientist studying the effects of healthy living on cognitive aging. Dean trained in Neurology at Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed fellowships in neurodegenerative disease and dementia at the National Institutes of Health and UC-San Diego, where he studied under Dr. Leon Thal, one of the world’s most renowned dementia researchers, and Dr. Dilip Jeste, the world’s foremost specialist in cognitive aging. He also holds a PhD in Healthcare Leadership with a focus on community health, and a Masters in Public Health from Loma Linda University, where his research focused on the prevention of cognitive decline through lifestyle changes. Dean has won several awards and published numerous scientific papers, including comprehensive reviews on nutrition and neurodegenerative disease and a recent meta-analysis of cognitive training and memory improvement.
More at www.teamsherzai.com

It's All About Food - Guest: Wildman Steve Brill with Violet Brill, and Celine Ikeler, the Karma Baker - 08.29.17

Part I: Steve Brill with Violet Brill, Edible/Medicinal Wild Plants and Mushrooms PLUS Hands-on Environmental Education for KidsNaturalist-Author “Wildman” Steve Brill has been leading foraging tours in parks throughout the Greater NY area since 1982, for the public, for schools, libraries, parks departments, day camps, scouting groups, teaching farms, museums, environmental organizations, and more. His Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not-So-Wild) Places (William Morrow Publishers, 1994) is considered a classic on the subject. His innovative Wild Vegetarian Cookbook (Harvard Common Press, April, 2002) is changing the way people think of preparing gourmet food. His Shoots and Greens of Early Spring in Northeastern North America (self-published, 1986 and 2008) teaches people how the foraging season begins, and his Foraging NY covers the best plants of New York. His Foraging With the “Wildman” DVD series is showing people how it’s all done, and his Wild Edibles Forage app includes everything he knows about edible/medicinal wild plants. But he’s still best known for having been handcuffed and arrested by undercover park rangers for eating a dandelion in Central Park! To learn more, visit www.wildmanstevebrill.com.
Violet Brill is a 13-year-old naturalist. A self-taught expert on birds, she’s been co-leading half my public tours, and many private tours (schools, scouts, doctors, museums, day camps, teaching farms, birthday parties, herbalists, artists, etc.) since she was 9. The photo is of her with a 30-lb. chicken mushroom she spotted from a moving car when she was 10.   Part II: Celine Ikeler, The Karma BakerCeline Ikeler is the Karma Baker. A mother, artist, and foodie with a daily meditation practice, Celine has refined a new style of baking. She is transforming organic plant-based and gluten free ingredients into extraordinary baked goods for everyone. While she’s immersed in serving up desserts such as Karma Cakes, brownies, Karma Sandwich cookies, Cake Pops, layered cakes, donuts, pies, tarts, cheesecake, muffins, rolls, baguettes and bread loaves…it is her custom made Organic Gluten-Free Baking Flour Mix that puts the magic in all of it. A proprietary blend of vegan flours, Celine was in need of a gluten-free flour that was bean-free. After years of trial and error she magically perfected a recipe which was not only bean and nut-free, but also enhanced her overall vegan baking.
At Karma Baker in Westlake Village, California, Celine and her husband Arek share a philosophy with their employees of Enlightened Baking™ -the intention of one’s heart and mind becoming infused with food as its made. The vibration of the kitchen is high and essential to the manner in which the Karma Baker team works together and supports one another. Sharing ideas is highly encouraged with a loving kindness at every turn. The Karma Baker mission is to change the way vegan & gluten-free baking and cooking are perceived. Through baking Celine and her team want to erase stereotypes and create corrective experiences for everyone. Baking has been a lifelong solace for Celine. At age twelve, it started with boxed brownies until she worked her way up to making chocolate chip cookies from scratch. This creative (and yummy) outlet became something Celine loves to share to this day.
In 2005, she began her journey into the world of vegan baking (no eggs, wheat, butter or cream) when her neighbor’s daughter, Sofia, was unable to eat dessert due to severe dietary restriction. This felt unacceptable to Celine so she became determined to make something edible and sweet that this little girl could enjoy along with everyone else. The end result was a delicious garbanzo bean brownie that became a huge hit. In fact, Celine continued to bake for Sofia and her family and eventually discovered her own list of mild allergies to gluten, wheat, dairy and eggs. It was during this time Celine shifted becoming acutely aware of her own karmic footprint (when a person consumes animal products, their karma is affected) and as a result, chose an animal free diet. Being plant-based, inspires and moves Celine to show the world there is another way to partake in life’s pleasures of good food and delectable desserts. Karma Baker is meant to be enjoyed and she’s letting everyone know – one (gluten-free/vegan) cupcake at a time. Celine lives in Agoura Hills with her husband/business partner Arek, their four children and pet dogs and cats. She enjoys meditating, working out, hiking, backpacking, spending time with her family, creating new recipes and living a vegan lifestyle.