The Power of Plants to Nourish & Heal

About this episode

Imagine this: you are a practicing pediatric ER doctor; all day long every day you treat kids that are not just overweight, but obese. More than obese, these kids are sick — really sick. What do you do? Well, you can do what most doctors do – tell the kids to ditch the salt, sugar and fat; swap the video games for some fresh air; maybe prescribe some medication for the cholesterol or blood pressure; then move on to the next patient. No time to linger…. Or you can take a harder road. Despite a fellowship at Harvard Medical School, full time employment as an emergency room pediatrician, and editor of 3 medical textbooks, Dr. Sujit Sharma felt the need to do more. It was time to try something new: address the cause; focus on prevention; identify and provide doable, sustainable solutions that actually work. Radical! It was around this time that Dr. Sanjay Gupta– Sujit's longtime University of Michigan buddy and yes, the guy from CNN — introduced Sujit to his friend Ladell Hill — a molecular health specialist, herbalist, fitness trainer and wellness expert who had been spent the last 20 years researching and experimenting with nutrition. A passion for healing Ladell inherited as legacy from his Native American grandfather. When he wasn't training celebrities like Gwen Stefani & Lenny Kravitz, Ladell studied tirelessly for years to understand how to best apply the wisdom of his grandfather to his modern practice of health and wellness. He came to realize that science now substantiated much of what he learned from his grandfather: the power of an indigenous, whole food plant-based diet to not only promote overall well being and wellness optimization but to also expedite physiological recovery from exercise induced stress and even — in certain cases — prevent and reverse disease. Bold and powerful, particularly when you get a glimpse of Ladell, who at almost 50 sports jacked guns and the physique a 26 year old NFL running back would envy. Sujit and Ladell immediately hit it off. The result of their collaboration, combined expertise and passion is Chuice – a brand new category of food product that can only be explained as chewable juice. Chewable juice?!? Say what? Bizarre, right? I was skeptical. But I've tried it and it's great – a mastication of nuts and seeds plus fruit and vegetable juice with all the fiber, every ingredient chosen for a specific cellular benefit — it's like a delicious, super easily digestible whole food meal in a bottle. Disclaimer: This is not a paid endorsement or an advertisement of any kind. I have absolutely no business, financial, sponsorship, affiliate or other incentivized relationship with Chuice whatsoever. I just like these guys and find their mission worthy of discussion. A couple months ago, Sanjay introduced me to Sujit and Ladell simply because he thought we would hit it off. Out of courtesy to Sanjay, I ended up calling Sujit a couple days later thinking we would have a cordial few minutes on the phone. Instead we spoke for almost two hours — dialoging on everything to wellness, to plant-based nutrition to the state of medicine and disease prevention. At at that moment I knew I needed to meet Ladell and have these guys on the show. They do not disappoint — a fascinating deep dive into the state of nutrition education in medical school; the ills of our current healthcare system; the potency and power of plants to prevent and heal disease; and a culminating call to action to return to the natural. I sincerely hope you enjoy the listen. Rich