Thrive on Plants

What if the healthcare system was never actually designed to make you healthy?
Dr. Zeev Neuwirth spent decades inside major health systems as a physician, Chief Medical Officer, and Population Health Officer. What he found there shocked him, then frustrated him, then ultimately set him free.
In this conversation, Dr. Neuwirth breaks down three phases of his career-long awakening: from realizing that even world-class hospitals were failing patients relationally, to discovering that improving healthcare delivery was not the same as improving health, to his most unsettling realization of all: that the entire system, including much of the wellness industry, is built around consumption rather than creation. 
This is one of the most riveting conversations we have had on Thrive on Plants. We ran out of time before we ran out of ideas. Part 2 is coming.
What We Cover
Why the US ranks 40th in lifespan and 80th in healthy adjusted life years despite spending over $5 trillion on healthcare annually
The Groundhog Day moment that changed Dr. Neuwirth's career trajectory
Why willpower is the least reliable health tool you have and what actually works instead
The three reframes that shift you from self-blame to self-protection
How your social environment is shaping your health behaviors, whether you realize it or not
The wellness industrial complex: when the solution becomes part of the problem
About Dr. Zeev Neuwirth
Dr. Zeev Neuwirth is a physician, healthcare executive, and author of Reframing Healthcare. He is the host of the podcast Creating a New Healthcare and spent decades in senior leadership roles at major US health systems, including Atrium Health (now Advocate Health), one of the three largest health systems in the country. His work sits at the intersection of healthcare systems reform, behavior change science, and personal health agency.
Connect with Dr. Zeev Neuwirth
X: https://x.com/ZeevNeuwirth
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zeevneuwirth
Apple Podcast: https://www.creatinganewhealthcare.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0bU0A671AbKoeKIKLlaKSk
Amazon (books): https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07NK5YP7H
#HealthcareReform #Healthspan #LifestyleMedicine #ReframingHealthcare #BehaviorChange #ThriveOnPlants 
Additional resources to help you thrive on plants:
🌱 Access the free Plant-Powered Body course: Access Here
🌱 Take the free health assessment for women 40+: Start Here  
🌱  Watch every episode on YouTube
⭐️ If you loved this episode, please leave a review! ⭐️
Here’s how to do it on Apple Podcasts:
Go to the Thrive on Plants Podcast page: Click here
Scroll down to the ‘Ratings & Reviews’ section. Tap ‘Write a Review’ 
(you may be prompted to log in with your Apple ID). 
Thank you for your support!

Julie Gibson Clark is not a billionaire with a team of longevity doctors. She is a full-time recruiter, a former structural engineer, a single mom from Phoenix -- and she has outperformed most of the world's highest-spending biohackers on the most rigorous biological aging leaderboard.
Her DunedinPACE score of 0.665 indicates she was aging at a rate of 65 days per 100 days. She got there with a pound of vegetables a day, weights four times a week, a $20 gym membership, and a very clear reason why she refuses to age faster than she has to.In this episode of Thrive on Plants, Julie shares what she has learned over the years. She did not just tell me what works. She told me what went wrong, including the time she added one too many supplements, developed a fibroid, cut her HRT in half, stopped sleeping, and watched her pace of aging jump from 0.665 back up to 0.77. 
What we cover:
What biological aging pace actually measures, and why it matters more than a static "biological age" number
How she accidentally slowed her aging faster than Bryan Johnson, and why she is not surprised he has since surpassed her
The quercetin experiment gone wrong: a new fibroid, disrupted HRT, and a DunedinPACE score that climbed back up -- and what it taught her about adding supplements without understanding your own genetics
Why she stopped eating 100 grams of protein every day and what she does instead 
This is not a story about biohacking. It is a story about what happens when you pursue healthspan with consistency and intention.
Resources:
Julie Gibson Clark's website: https://www.juliegibsonclark.com
Julie's YouTube channel (Longevity Kitchen -- From Paper to Plate): youtube.com/@JulieGibsonClark
Julie's Instagram: @juliegibsonclark

Additional resources to help you thrive on plants:
🌱 Access the free Plant-Powered Body course: Access Here
🌱 Take the free health assessment for women 40+: Start Here  
🌱  Watch every episode on YouTube
⭐️ If you loved this episode, please leave a review! ⭐️
Here’s how to do it on Apple Podcasts:
Go to the Thrive on Plants Podcast page: Click here
Scroll down to the ‘Ratings & Reviews’ section. Tap ‘Write a Review’ 
(you may be prompted to log in with your Apple ID). 
Thank you for your support!

Forty percent of women are not being heard by their doctors when they report menopause symptoms. Andrea Donsky was one of them.
She is a nutritionist with 26 years of experience. She had studied health and wellness her entire career. And she still spent 14 years in perimenopause without knowing it.
When she finally understood what had been happening to her body, she did not keep it to herself. She spent two years researching, surveyed over 5,200 women, published her findings, and wrote the book she wished she had been handed at 35. That book is Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition and Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best. 
In this episode, we cover:
Why perimenopause likely starts earlier than you think, and why most women miss it
How one night of poor sleep disrupts insulin, increases cravings, and contributes to weight gain
The REST Protocol for better sleep: Routine, Environment, Support, and Technology
Why "eat less, exercise more" stops working in perimenopause, and what to do instead
The 17 reasons you may be gaining weight, and most of them are not your fault
How your gut microbiome and estrobolome affect hormone clearance
The blood tests every woman in midlife should be asking her doctor for
Andrea's simple protein formula, built directly from the research
Why most electrolyte supplements are formulated for male athletes, not perimenopausal women
How mindset shapes your menopause experience more than most people realize
Andrea's research found that 50 to 90 percent of the top 10 most common menopause symptoms are brain and mental health related
Get Nourishing Menopause (available now): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668061546
Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Nourishing-Menopause-Audiobook/B0FXHRZX63 
Book website: nourishingmenopausebook.com (a great download is available on this site)
Learn more about Andrea and her research: https://wearemorphus.com
Follow Andrea Donsky: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearemorphus 
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andreadonsky 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wearemorphus
Additional resources to help you thrive on plants:
🌱 Access the free Plant-Powered Body course: Access Here
🌱 Take the free health assessment for women 40+: Start Here  
🌱  Watch every episode on YouTube
⭐️ If you loved this episode, please leave a review! ⭐️
Here’s how to do it on Apple Podcasts:
Go to the Thrive on Plants Podcast page: Click here
Scroll down to the ‘Ratings & Reviews’ section. Tap ‘Write a Review’ 
(you may be prompted to log in with your Apple ID). 
Thank you for your support!

Lori Baum is a medical assistant who has spent over two decades working in oncology. She knows cancer. She knows screenings. She eats well, stays active, and has been proactive about her health for years.
And still, in November 2022, she found the words "invasive carcinoma" on her phone screen at lunch.
In this episode of Thrive on Plants, Lori shares her full story: a heavy family history of cancer, a negative BRCA test, a breast MRI that changed everything, and a triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis that her mammogram earlier that same year had completely missed.
What follows is one of the most honest conversations we have had on this podcast. Lori talks about what it actually feels like to go through 16 rounds of chemotherapy and 15 rounds of radiation, how she stayed active and kept eating well when treatment was taking everything from her, what the healthcare system gets right and gets wrong during survivorship, and how she found her way back to herself on the other side.
Lori is now 58 years old, fully plant-based, strength training, running half marathons, and training for an Ironman relay. She says she is in the best shape of her life.
Topics covered:
Why family history and dense breasts may require more than a standard mammogram
Triple negative breast cancer: what it is and what treatment involves
How Lori stayed active and ate well through chemotherapy and radiation
The emotional weight of survivorship and what comes after treatment ends
How plant-based eating and strength training transformed her recovery
Why self-advocacy is the most important tool you have in your healthcare journey
Connect with Lori: [email protected]
Additional resources to help you thrive on plants:
🌱 Access the free Plant-Powered Body course: Access Here
🌱 Take the free health assessment for women 40+: Start Here  
🌱  Watch every episode on YouTube
⭐️ If you loved this episode, please leave a review! ⭐️
Here’s how to do it on Apple Podcasts:
Go to the Thrive on Plants Podcast page: Click here
Scroll down to the ‘Ratings & Reviews’ section. Tap ‘Write a Review’ 
(you may be prompted to log in with your Apple ID). 
Thank you for your support!

Content Warning: This episode includes an honest, courageous conversation about the mental health toll of hormone deficiency, including a moment of profound hopelessness. Sarah speaks to this with full self-awareness and strong support in place. If you or someone you love is struggling, please reach out to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

What happens when a nurse practitioner who specializes in women's hormonal health spends an entire year fighting to get her own hormones covered by insurance?

That is exactly what happened to Sarah Katkhouda, FNP-C.

Sarah is a women's health nurse practitioner and a provider at MIDI Health. In this episode, she pulls back the curtain on one of the most frustrating and overlooked realities in women's healthcare: the gap between what women need and what the system is actually willing to provide.

After undergoing a hysterectomy and oophorectomy for pelvic congestion syndrome, Sarah was plunged into surgical menopause overnight. What followed was a year of insurance denials, medication shortages, dose trials, canceled appointments, and a slow but deliberate fight to reclaim her health, her strength, and her sense of self.

In this episode, we cover:
What pelvic congestion syndrome is, why it is underdiagnosed, and what women need to know before pursuing surgical intervention
The critical differences between surgical menopause and natural menopause, and why treating them identically is doing women a serious disservice
How to optimize estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, and why the sequence and method of delivery matter
The role of muscle in hormonal health, metabolic resilience, and longevity, and what happens to musculoskeletal integrity when hormones are out of range
How to self-advocate when you feel dismissed or worn down by a system that was not built with women in mind
Sarah does not sugarcoat what this year has cost her. She also does not stop there. She shares what she has learned, what she wishes she had known, and why she is committed to making sure other women do not have to fight as hard or as long as she did.

Connect with Sarah Katkhouda, FNP-C:

Sarah is a provider at MIDI Health, a telehealth organization focused on women's midlife health. MIDI accepts insurance and is available in all 50 states.

MIDI Health: https://www.joinmidi.com

Disclaimer: This episode is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider for guidance specific to your individual health needs.

#MenopauseHealth #HormoneReplacement #SurgicalMenopause #WomensHealth #HRTAwareness #TestosteroneForWomen #PelvicPain #PelvicCongestionSyndrome #MenopauseSupport #HormoneOptimization #MidlifeWomen #WomensHealthAdvocacy #ThriveonPlants #DrDaphneBascom #PerimenopausalHealth #MuscleAndHormones #MentalHealthAndMenopause
Additional resources to help you thrive on plants:
🌱 Access the free Plant-Powered Body course: Access Here
🌱 Take the free health assessment for women 40+: Start Here  
🌱  Watch every episode on YouTube
⭐️ If you loved this episode, please leave a review! ⭐️
Here’s how to do it on Apple Podcasts:
Go to the Thrive on Plants Podcast page: Click here
Scroll down to the ‘Ratings & Reviews’ section. Tap ‘Write a Review’ 
(you may be prompted to log in with your Apple ID). 
Thank you for your support!