The Dr. Jules Plant-Based Podcast
Hey, I’m Dr. Jules! I’m a medical doctor, teacher, nutritionist, naturopath, plant-based dad and 3X world championships qualified athlete. On this podcast we’ll discuss the latest in evidence-based and plant-based nutrition, including common nutrition myths, FAQs and tips on how to transition towards a healthier dietary pattern and lifestyle that creates little friction with your busy life!
The Dr. Jules Plant-Based Podcast
Healing Through Habits: A Doctor's Journey to Reversing Chronic Disease
Tired of the "pill for every ill" approach that treats symptoms but ignores root causes?
Discover the revolutionary framework that's transforming healthcare and empowering patients to take control of their wellbeing.
Lifestyle Medicine represents a paradigm shift in how we approach chronic disease, not as inevitable conditions requiring lifelong medication, but as largely preventable outcomes influenced by daily choices. Research shows that up to 80% of heart disease, diabetes, and many cancers respond to comprehensive lifestyle interventions, often more effectively than pharmaceutical approaches alone.
I break down the six evidence-based pillars that form the foundation of Lifestyle Medicine: whole food plant-predominant nutrition, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connection. Each pillar works synergistically to create an environment where your body can heal and thrive. From activating the vagus nerve through social connections to understanding the four macros of sleep, I provide practical insights you can implement immediately.
My personal journey from severe chronic conditions to optimal health illustrates the transformative power of these principles.
Once unable to run 5K without asthma medication, I've since competed in World Ninja Warrior Championships medication-free after transitioning to a plant-predominant lifestyle. But transformation doesn't happen overnight, I share my month-by-month approach to sustainable change that avoids the all-or-nothing mindset that derails most health journeys. Whether you're battling chronic conditions or simply want to optimize your wellbeing, these science-backed strategies offer a pathway to living fully and vibrantly for decades to come. Ready to write your own prescription for life?
Listen now and take the first step toward becoming the healthiest version of yourself.
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Thanks so much!
Peace, love, plants!
Dr. Jules
Hey everyone, welcome to Season 2 of the Dr Jules Plant-Based Podcast, where we discuss everything from plant-based nutrition to the main pillars of lifestyle medicine. Lifestyle Medicine Yo, plant-based buddies, welcome back to another episode. Today we're going to be talking about the power of lifestyle medicine as a prescription for life. Now, although this podcast is well into its second year and I talk about lifestyle medicine all the time, I wanted to dedicate a full episode to going in detail about the transformative movements in modern healthcare, which is lifestyle medicine. Now, this isn't about a quick fix or a fad or a gimmick. It's about science-backed and sustainable changes that could dramatically extend lifespan and healthspan. That's the years that we live in good health. So in today's episode, we'll explore the six pillars of lifestyle medicine and how each of them contributes to long-term health and why this approach is key to reversing chronic disease, and then we'll take a closer look at the work of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and the future of healthcare. So if you're asking yourself, what is lifestyle medicine? It's an evidence-based therapeutic approach that uses lifestyle interventions to prevent, treat and even reverse chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, cancers of all types, autoimmune and allergic conditions and neurodegenerative diseases. A lot of these conditions will absolutely respond to lifestyle interventions. Now think of it as getting to the root causes rather than just treating the symptoms, where the focus is on sustainable behavior change. Now the American College of Lifestyle Medicine defines it as the use of whole food, plant predominant nutrition, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management and avoidance of risky substances, with positive social connections, and research shows that up to 80% of chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2, diabetes and many cancers are preventable through lifestyle change.
Speaker 1:Now let's go through these six pillars one by one. The first pillar is nutrition, and the foundation is a whole food, plant predominant diet. That's a diet that's rich in fiber, rich in antioxidants, rich in anti-inflammatory food compounds, and it's low in saturated fat, low in added sugar, added fat, added sodium, low in ultra-processed foods, and studies have shown that diets that are high in fruits, veggies, legumes, whole grains and nuts and seeds can prevent and even reverse conditions like coronary artery disease. Nutrition isn't just about what you remove. It's about what you add in, and a colorful, plant-forward plate can support gut health, reduce inflammation and nourish your mitochondria. I want people to focus on adding healthier foods to their diets instead of focusing on removing unhealthy foods. This abundance mindset of focusing on nourishment instead of focusing on restriction tends to lead to better, sustainable outcomes, and by adding healthier foods to your plate, you naturally crowd out the unhealthy ones.
Speaker 1:Now the second pillar of lifestyle medicine is physical activity, and exercise is one of the most powerful medicines that we have. It improves cardiovascular health, it boosts mental health, it helps with weight regulation and can even stimulate neurogenesis, the growth of new brain cells. Just 150 minutes of moderate activity per week, like brisk walking, can reduce mortality risk by up to 30%. Now our third lifestyle medicine pillar is sleep. I've already dedicated a full episode to explaining how sleep impacts health. We describe all of the sleep stages, specifically N3, or the deep, slow-wave sleep, where physical repair happens. Then we describe REM sleep, where emotional repair happens, and we also discuss how sleep deprivation can drastically increase disease risk. Sleep deprivation can drastically increase disease risk. In fact, sleep is so important that it's linked to obesity, insulin resistance, mood disorders and weakened immunity. Now the four macros of sleep include sleep quantity, sleep quality, sleep regularity and also sleeping in accordance to our sleep chronotype. We want to make sure that we sleep at least seven to nine hours per night. But we also want to make sure that the quality of that sleep is maintained, and this means that we progress naturally through the different sleep stages and we have repetitive and recurrent and predictable sleep cycles. If you're lacking deep sleep or the N3 repair stage, then even if you were in bed for nine hours, you still might fall victim to the increased risk of sleep deprivation. And so sleep hygiene and having a good wind down routine, making sure that you sink your circadian rhythms with light exposure and you lower stress hormones before going to bed they all play a role in having good sleep.
Speaker 1:Now the fourth lifestyle pillar is stress management, and we know that chronic stress is a silent killer. It increases cortisol, it increases blood pressure, it increases inflammation and sets the stage for many of our chronic diseases. And that's why it's important to have mind-body practices like meditation, breathing techniques, journaling or even simply walking in nature, because they can all reduce stress hormone levels by activating the parasympathetic nervous system. We know that 80% of parasympathetic traffic travels through the vagus nerve, and the vagus nerve can be activated through things like social connection or walking, breathing techniques or humming or singing. Things like cold exposure can activate parasympathetic tone. All things that lower blood pressure, lower stress, lower heart rate and helps you manage stress better to reduce chronic disease risk.
Speaker 1:Now our fifth lifestyle medicine pillar is the avoidance of risky substances, and this would include substances like tobacco, excessive alcohol, recreational drugs or even the overuse of prescription medications. We also can't forget the artificial preservatives and additives basically the crap that's in our ultra-processed food. Things as simple as quitting smoking alone reduces cardiovascular risk within weeks and lowers cancer risk significantly over time. Last but not least, our sixth lifestyle medicine pillar is positive social connection. Loneliness is now considered as risky to health as smoking half a pack a day, and people who feel connected and supported tend to have lower rates of depression, better immune function, heal quicker and they have longer life expectancy. The blues ones are a great example of this, where centenarians in these regions maintain close social ties and a sense of purpose and they live longer for it.
Speaker 1:Now lifestyle medicine matters because our current healthcare system is highly reactive we wait until people get sick and then we intervene. But lifestyle medicine is proactive and empowering. It actually shifts the paradigm from a pill for every ill to self-care and long-term, sustainable transformation. And that doesn't mean that we abandon medicine and surgery, but it means that we no longer use them as first-line therapies for preventable conditions. The American College of Lifestyle Medicine is at the forefront of this movement and is advocating for training healthcare professionals in behavior change, health coaching and preventative medicine. I'm very proud to be a member, and this is especially important as we face rising rates of chronic disease, rising rates of burnout amongst healthcare providers and unsustainable healthcare costs. Providers and unsustainable healthcare costs. Now I've seen the power of lifestyle medicine firsthand, not only in my patients, but in myself and with my kids.
Speaker 1:When my oldest daughter was born in 2012, she was born with the same conditions that had plagued my own life for decades. Within weeks of being born, there was blood in her stools and she was diagnosed with a milk protein allergy. She had eczema. She had asthma Conditions that I was battling myself, and that's when I decided to transition towards a plant-predominant diet and within about a year, I was on a 100% whole foods plant-based diet. Now, within months, I noticed my recovery after workouts improve. Months, I noticed my recovery after workouts improve and about three or four months after transitioning, I had my first workout without a hive.
Speaker 1:I had been suffering with chronic idiopathic urticaria for years, which then deteriorated into cholinergic angioedema, into cholinergic angioedema, basically a condition which caused my throat to swell up, full hives to cover my body. My face swells up, and the fourth attack, my most serious one yet, put me in a hospital, thinking that I was going to die. Basically, I transitioned myself and my whole family towards a plant-predominant diet and in no time our conditions improved. Not only did my own personal conditions improve, they reversed completely, and within about a year, year and a half, of transitioning, I had stopped my heartburn pills, my migraine medications, my allergy medications, and I've not had a hive ever since. I used to not be able to run five kilometers without having to use my puffers, and now I can easily run a sub-two-hour half marathon without using any puffers at all. And not only that, the exercise and workout that usually triggered my symptoms are gone. I basically competed three times at the World Ninja Warrior Championships in 2022 in Vegas, at the World Ninja Warrior Championships in 2022 in Vegas, 23 in Orlando and 24 in California without any medication at all.
Speaker 1:Now, lifestyle medicine isn't alternative medicine, it's foundational medicine, and the six pillars nutrition, movement, sleep, stress management, avoiding risky substances and connection aren't just good for preventing disease, they're essential for living fully living a healthy life. Now, if you're a healthcare professional, I encourage you to go check out the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, and if you're someone on a journey towards better health, know that small, consistent changes can add up over time and lead to extraordinary results. Now some people need education, some people need information, but some people simply need a cheerleader in their corner. Some people need to be coached, but some people will change as they consume science-backed data, and I'm one of these persons. I saw the data, I was amazed by the statistics and immediately started to make small, incremental changes. Now, when someone says to me, oh, you convinced me, I will transition towards a plant-predominant diet, I say take your time.
Speaker 1:Although I'm a very intense person, I did recognize that we cannot be black or white. We need to see shades of gray and we need to make small, incremental changes that compound, and that you need to set yourself up for positive success, positive experiences that will then positively reinforce themselves men positively reinforce themselves. So what I did is, every single month, I decided on one goal, one objective that I wanted to attain. The first month was cutting out red meat. The second month was cutting out dairy and, most important thing is not just cutting out foods, but also having a plan on how you're replacing them, what you're substituting them with. Now, for example, if you just tomorrow decide to cut out red meat from your diet, well then, where are you going to obtain your protein and your iron if these were the main sources? If you decide to cut out dairy, then you need to have a plan on where you're going to get your calcium. So don't just focus on what you're cutting out of your diet. Make sure to have a plan on how you're going to substitute something in that covers these nutrient requirements that were covered by that previous food you're cutting out. Now. An easy swap is swapping dairy milk for soy milk, because plant milks like soy milk are equivalent in protein, calcium, b12, and vitamin D. But if you need more help, definitely go and reach out to a registered dietitian or to a healthcare professional that has knowledge and expertise in that area.
Speaker 1:Now the goal is adopting a sustainable lifestyle. Going on a plant-based diet is not a diet. Going on a plant-based diet is not a diet. It's a dietary pattern that needs to be sustained for decades, because your chronic disease risk will not be determined by what you do for a week or two, much in the same way as working out once a month or eating broccoli once a month is not going to make you healthy, eating a piece of cake once a month is not going to make you healthy. Eating a piece of cake once a month is not going to make you unhealthy. It's what you do most of the time over the long term that will determine your chronic disease risk. Now everyone's balance will be different and everyone's needs are different, and that's why it's important to find your way of living a healthy, sustainable lifestyle, which includes plant predominance, exercise, avoidance of risky substances, social connections, stress management and proper sleep Quality in sleep quality and quantity Right on.
Speaker 1:I hope this episode has cleared up the importance of lifestyle medicine, which includes all of these six lifestyle pillars combined into a lifestyle that is meant to be lived sustainably while creating minimal friction with your life. While creating minimal friction with your life, focus on low-friction behaviors first and change things that you know you can succeed. This will create positive reinforcement and build confidence that you can tackle the next step and crush your goals. Start low, go slow, and these incremental changes will add up and compound over time and will lead to a healthy, balanced lifestyle Right on. Thanks so much for tuning in. I hope to see you at the next episode. Make sure to share with those who care. We'll see you next time. Peace, hey, everyone. Go check out my website plantbaseddoctorjulescom to find free downloadable resources and remember that you can find me on Facebook and Instagram at Dr Jules Cormier and on YouTube at Plant-Based Dr Jules.
