Embracing a Plant-Based Lifestyle and Achieving Better Health - Dr. Melissa Mondala - S3E28

Ever wondered how to truly nourish your body and achieve optimum health? Brace yourself for an enlightening conversation with our favorite health guru, Dr. Melissa Mandala. This episode is a treasure trove of valuable insights about the plant-based lifestyle, a journey that involves embracing unprocessed foods and prioritizing organic, locally-sourced produce.

Embark on a journey with us as we unravel the truth behind living a plant-based lifestyle. Dr. Mandala, a renowned expert in this field, dispels common myths about protein deficiency and emphasizes the role of regular exercise. She opens up about the remarkable health transformations she's seen in patients who've switched to a plant-based diet, striking a chord on the potential dangers of consuming meat.

We don't stop there. We further explore the profound effects of a plant-based diet on gut health. Dr. Mandala emphasizes the hazards of animal products loaded with antibiotics and chemicals, and the role of organic fruits and vegetables in healing and cell regeneration. This episode will leave you with practical advice on how to transition to a plant-based lifestyle and live a healthier life. So, gear up for a deep dive into the plant-based world, and learn how you can transform your life one meal at a time.

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We look forward to seeing you succeed! - www.KeepOnSharing.com - Code - KOS

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:14

Hey, I'm Coach Mickey and I'm so glad that you've joined us, and if this is your first time joining us, come on in and make yourself comfortable. For those of you that join us on a regular basis, I'm so glad that you do. Thank you so much for reaching out to many of my guests and making your comments and your suggestions and just kind of connecting with them. I know they appreciate it and I appreciate it because that's why I do this podcast and this YouTube channel is to kind of help them share their stories and maybe help a little something, something that you need in your life. And today I'm excited to have back with me Dr Melissa Mandala. She has been with us a couple of times and talked about a long-term COVID, but today we're going to talk about her plant-based lifestyle and that's her expertise and what she does, and even for myself, I'm curious about how to live a plant-based lifestyle.

Speaker 2: 1:07

Yeah, absolutely, I know right, it's like you see it on labels a little bit more. There are some restaurants and places where they have it on the menu, especially more blessed, not in just the US but California, certain areas where you can look for that logo the plant, and that's what the plant-based lifestyle can signify.

Speaker 1: 1:29

So let's share with us. So if somebody says I live a plant-based lifestyle, let's just start out right off the bat. What is it? What is that?

Speaker 2: 1:37

Yeah, great question. You know plant-based lifestyle is not. You know somebody may think, oh, it's somebody who's a gardener, or you know somebody who likes plants, but it's really, really eating healthy, plant-based foods, so whole foods, straight from the ground, meaning it hasn't been processed or manufactured with tons of solid oils or artificial flavors. It's pure. It's fruits, vegetables, beans, greens, nuts, seeds. It's the whole rainbow of colors that can be on your plate and made into recipes. And really often, sometimes I interview some patients they only probably eat one vegetable a week or one a month, and so my goal is to just introduce these new types of foods and flavors and see how much we can get it on their plate, because the lifestyle is is introducing it every day as much as possible, because that's what actually heals from the inside out, that brings down disease, that minimizes medications, decreases weight, helps with energy focus. There's a whole multitude of benefits from it. But really it's the beauty of it because it's such a pure, whole, complete, nutritional product, pretty much from nature.

Speaker 1: 2:50

And that makes a lot of sense, because you're not worrying about preservatives. You're not worrying about, you know, antibiotics. The only thing. Again, we're gonna go down another path here, because I'm assuming you're talking about get organic, because one of the things you would have to worry about will be pesticides and things like that. So living a plant-based lifestyle to help you heal from the inside out would also be, you know, taking that stuff into consideration. Am I on the right path here?

Speaker 2: 3:17

Yeah, exactly, it's really hard because in America, when amount of products or dairies made, it's just hyper-processed and they add a lot of steroids and that increases insulin resistance and increases blood factors and the body can. That's no longer natural and the body has all these foreign bodies, including their allergens, whatever they consumed, and then we're consuming it as well. So organic is really the best way and even if you're not 100% plant-based, at least farm-raised and really getting farmers market food is great, growing on your own fruits and vegetables, or I have families who have school urban gardens and just sharing amongst family members. You know I got apples, what do you have? And in making a trade there, but as much as a pure ingredients, that's when you're winning.

Speaker 1: 4:13

And that makes sense. So now let me ask you this because I work with a lot of people and even for myself, I need protein, because I go to the gym and I want to keep that muscle tissue, especially as you're getting older and you're lifting weights. How do you get the right amount of protein from plant-based that you would normally get from, like chicken, beef, ground beef, what you would normally eat to keep muscle growth? How do you supplement that?

Speaker 2: 4:41

Yeah, great question. So everyone always wants to know where's the protein, how much protein I need because I'm building muscle, I want to stay strong, and really the foundation is is that all plants have all the amino acids. They're all complete in itself. So that's, if that's the beans, your greens, but if you're just eating fruits every day, it's probably not going to have enough protein. So really a balanced plant-based lifestyle is really what helps. So, having enough grains, if it's, you can have anything from quinoa to brown rice to amyreth and then all the types of beans. There's garbanzo beans, there's white navy, as many variety lentils, and so if you have a salad, at least using a couple different grains, a couple different beans in there hemp seeds is another wonderful protein and so you're adding a lot of variety in there. And, yes, a big part of it is using your muscles First of all. That's how you become stronger and build up.

Speaker 2: 5:42

I was just at F 35, it was a gym and you rotate within stations and that's just fun. Different body groups and a lot of people ask me well, do I need my amino acid patterns, my creatinine and all these things? And those are really more. The studies have shown those are really more. For the most, I would say elite athletes who are exercising all day, every day. That's their full-time job. But really, for someone who's a busy person like you, you may not need all those extra supplements and powders.

Speaker 1: 6:11

Really, it's the complete, well-balanced meal that will get you enough protein, and then I want to touch on that a little bit, because I just read a study that protein powders are not really healthy for you. They have got additives that are in it that just really counteract what your body is supposed to be doing and helping you not only with the building of the protein, but also some of the additives really cause some serious damage to some of the cells. And so I wanted to ask you, because there is so many different proteins that are out there protein powders I see plant-based, such as pea-platter Pea-platter you got it.

Speaker 2: 6:50

You know the peas. It's like plant pea right, pea-protein powder. I love that, right. It's just like everywhere. You're like oh, there's so many different varieties. You check the labels and you're absolutely right. You're like do I go for the pea, the soy? Now there's whey and casein. But really it's what's happening is they're called emulsifiers, and emulsifiers are your gums and your xanthums, and they're even in plant-based milk, because they're adding all these things and those have been shown in studies to increase intestinal permeability, which means leaky gut, because they are additives that are really foreign. Once again, they're not the plant, and so that creates more bloating for some people. That can actually be disruptive to the immune system, just as the lead and arsenic and other things that might be in that same product as well.

Speaker 1: 7:52

Well, the sucralose too. People don't understand that anything ends in ose is a sugar. So you know, sucralose, glucose, I mean all of that, and some of them even have aspartame, and I'm not going to go into any certain brands, but my suggestion would be you know, read your ingredients just like anything else. Or what would be a better way, like give us an example you come back from the gym and you want to make a really strong plant-based protein shake that would help not only build muscle but put back the nutrients into your body. So what would you suggest to do?

Speaker 2: 8:26

Yeah, exactly. So really I always have my hemp seeds, my cheese seeds and my flax seeds. Those are wonderful, not just for building protein, but good for gut health, immune health, even brain health, omega-3. So that's where the core protein comes in, and after that, if you really wanted some more, you can put some like some soy, some tofu in there. If you wanted some extra flavor, you can put cacao powder with date, a date in there, or put some pineapples and mango in there to sweeten it up a little bit, and that's a natural sugar, right, but it's not the other, the Ose, it's not the.

Speaker 2: 9:06

The deck shows where it's a simple sugar. Where you are, you're basically spiking your sugar so quickly. But no, this is mixed in in its natural form with other fiber, natural fats, like through omega-3s, and the seeds, and that makes it really good. So ideally, those types of proteins and seeds, and then your base of fruit and your another base of your favorite vegetable if it's spinach or kale, I get a spring mix. That's really easy. And then I got to get a tropical mix from Costco. I'm like very simple tropical mix, veggies, tropical mix of fruits and then my core seeds.

Speaker 1: 9:45

That's. That's good. That's good advice. What are your thoughts on almond butter and peanut butters for a protein? What do you think about that?

Speaker 2: 9:53

Great question. I would say you know a lot if you follow history and even test infants and newborns. A lot of people are still allergic to peanuts and and they tend to have more salt and sugar in, especially like the processed creamy versions out there. So my favorites are going to be pure almond butter or things like nutso with Brazil nuts and other cashews. There's different forms of nuts and seeds because it's you really want variety and you want you know some people, all they know you. Sometimes we grow up on just peanut butter and jelly, but that's only one, one aspect to our health. So if you you really go for the almond, you'll get higher protein, higher fiber, you'll get less of the other additives. When you go for something more pure like that and literally there's organic almond ones that you can get once again Costco spouts. You name every common grocery store. Now they have it.

Speaker 1: 10:54

You know you've been doing this for a really long time and I know you've helped a lot of people, so can you share a story of you know, without telling a name or anything, what someone who came in that was really struggling with their health, that switched over to a plant-based diet, that you saw huge impact on their health to be able to benefit?

Speaker 2: 11:15

Yeah, absolutely, you know I have many patients, but you know, I think the common theme is, you know, most of the time, people. There's one patient who just had, you know, overweight and really fatigued and had autoimmune disease and bloating constipation, and we went on a plant-based diet and really sometimes they're like, oh, how do I fix my constipation? I haven't been able to poop for a week, or I, you know, and I'm like, oh, let's eat more fiber. And you know it starts, I know, coming out right Smoothly and surely Just like not better, but anyways, I know that's TMI, but literally that's when I get really happy and they feel much better, when they're adding more fiber and when they're able to see that, you know, we get really creative.

Speaker 2: 12:07

We pick their favorite foods, their favorite vegetables and make five ingredients per recipe, or I help guide them which restaurants to eat at and maybe which items in a restaurant are a little bit more plant forward and that allows them to have, literally they're able to lose the unwanted weight they were trying to lose for years on their blood pressure normalized and they're in less pain, and I think the pain is a big factor. When people are in less pain, their quality of life just is better and they're able to go back to what they enjoy and build that confidence again that it's going to be okay and they can go on vacation here and there or they don't have to socially withdraw Because once again I think I talked to my last podcast people can get really depressed and anxious and with what, how they're experiencing their life. So once they see the hope of having those small benefits every day, they just want to keep going. Literally it's once you see the benefits, there's no turning back.

Speaker 1: 13:09

You know. So that leads me to my next question. Again, these are things that are just popping into my head, so I'm sure I know my circle of friends are probably thinking the same thing. So walk us through how what meat does, because I know meat is not the same as it used to be, just like flowers not the same. That's why a lot of people are gluten intolerant. You know, I know meats are raised now with these, with these huge antibiotics. If you look at an organic grown chicken, compared to something I mean, the size different is just huge. You know, no pun intended. So what happens? So what's happening to our bodies recently that are consuming these meats that all of a sudden switch into a plant based diet? That really makes the difference. Pork Lemon.

Speaker 2: 13:53

Yeah, great question. And so basically, with animal products, not only do they have higher saturated fat and that increases cholesterol, obesity, stroke risk, cardiovascular disease, but also cancer risk, and so there's factors that are being released not just let me call it TMAO and there's NAU. They go into the bloodstream and they cause not only inflammation but it's in a way where you're just throwing more fire into it and most people are in homeostasis. But when they start eating animal products, there's only so much the body can actually fight off, and more and more studies are showing that. The hardest part that I see that it's heart-breaking is high rates of heart disease, also breast cancer and prostate cancer. These are really high common ones related to red meat alone and even chicken. And then there's some studies even one egg a day can increase risk for cardiovascular disease. So it's-.

Speaker 1: 14:58

So what do you think actually causes the connection with cancer? Is it the antibiotics that are given to these animals, Like so how long does? And maybe this is I'm asking you something that's out of your wheelhouse, so I'm, you know, just asking here. When animals given these antibiotics and then it makes it to the grocery store, wherever you purchased your meat from, how long does it take for those antibiotics to leave that meat? Or do they never leave that meat and that's why, when we consume it, it seems to transfer into our body? Or am I off base here?

Speaker 2: 15:32

No, no, you know, antibiotics is a medication that reduces bacteria and viruses and infection, and, yes, we're trying to avoid infection and basically sepsis within an animal cell, because they can get sick and die and we don't. You know, they try to prolong a little bit of their life so that they can get a certain amount of size and then the humans consume them. And so I think your question is what are the byproducts, what is in the animal products itself that actually is cancerous? Is that what I'm hearing?

Speaker 1: 16:05

Yeah, that's what I'm asking, because people that are eating meat compared to a plant-based diet, you know, I'm just trying to get an idea or an outline of what's happening with meat that causes, like you said, breast cancer, you know, and these things that cause leaky gut and other things that are within our that, you know, change our molecular structure to cause all these problems. So, because I know that's gonna be the first thing, people will go well, how is meat affect me? Why, you know, why should I change to a plant-based diet? So I think having that knowledge can really solidify why you know plant-based is so much better for you. Now, I'm all about that because I truly believe it. You know we're just a molecular organism. You know we're made up all these cells and so why wouldn't you eat things that are going to feed those cells? And I know that a lot of you know plant-based offers everything else. So what is it I mean? Again, if it's something that's on your mind, I totally understand, I'm just curious.

Speaker 2: 17:01

Yeah, no, great question. And I you know, when we have to go back to the source, right, not only the source of what they're feeding them, you know, is it these GMO modified like? You know? What kind of corn, what kind of meals are they eating? Is it, you know? And is it it's all gonna be altered in a way. It's not a pure food. And so, you know, imagine giving your own and I hate to say this imagine giving your own dog, would you, you know? So you can tell what's quality versus unquality foods that you wanna give and what kind of pet foods are out there.

Speaker 2: 17:39

But when you start giving foods that are genetically modified already, that's one trigger.

Speaker 2: 17:47

And then another trigger is the fact that when it hits the gut itself, it's not, it's foreign, it's gonna be angry, it's not gonna want the actual animal products that could have the antibiotics or the actual. And I don't wanna say it's out of my wheelhouse, because, if you, it's more of the, if we look at cohort studies and the risk factors, it's an association that they build and the actual. If you look at the gut microbiome, what happens there that's where we see is because when there's a lack of not just fiber that you get from plant-based foods and you have increased animal products, which is not just the saturated fat but the chemicals within. That's what really gets them into having a pro-inflammatory disbalance, dysregulation in their gut. I can. What I think would be clear is if I send there's about five or 10 specific mechanisms and, I would say, components that I can share in a link, because it is it's one of those things that may be over everyone's head, so I don't wanna overwhelm you.

Speaker 1: 19:10

Well, it really made sense what you said, because if the animal's eating a genetically modified grain or filler or something else and they're given all these steroids and then now they come to the grocery store and then we're consuming it, obviously we're eating whatever that animal is eating, which makes sense even for us. I mean, whatever we're putting up, like you said, you wanna go for organic fruits and vegetables and things that are going to be the less things that we put in our body that don't work for us, such as pesticides and all that, the better off. Your body is gonna have an opportunity to not only heal but also when those cells regenerate, regenerate with a strong ability because it's fed the right thing, because whatever you're putting your body you're feeding. I mean, it goes back to you are what you eat. If you're eating good things, you're gonna have a good, strong body. You know, if you're eating just sugar, well, reno, sugar just doesn't, you know, really takes a toll on everything, on your body, everything.

Speaker 2: 20:12

Right, and the World Health Organization classifies red meat as a type 2 carcinogen. And that's, that's really, you know, bold, because there's tons of evidence that it is Procantress. It's, it's really, especially when you grill it and fry it. It's, you know, you've tested at a molecular level and you can see how this actually Increases cancer angiogenesis, which means more, more tumor growth and blood vessels where you don't want them to go, and growth factors that are out of control. So that's where cancer comes from. It's dysregulated growth and you have tumors that you don't want.

Speaker 1: 20:56

Well, yeah, and that makes sense. So, so, going back, so, so walk me through what a day in your life looks like with a plant-based diet. I mean and I hate the word diet, because it should be the lifestyle. I mean, everything we do is should be a lifestyle, whether it's, you know, exercising, you know, your lifestyle is always is the same thing its habits. So what, what we do, something that would be really beneficial that someone could take away from today.

Speaker 1: 21:22

Because, well, first of all, me back up, I really highly recommend that if you are at a point in your life that you want to make a change and you in your struggling with this Stuff, please reach out to dr Melissa. She is, as you know, a plethora of information. She can help you with all kinds of stuff and, again, all the links will be down below, and then, if you're listening to the podcast, I'll have a little embedded into the podcast too, because she does work virtually, and then she can also help you in person. You know, because your, your places are where they're a new poor and where's the other one. You got two of them, right.

Speaker 2: 21:53

New ports, the main one, and then everything else is virtual.

Speaker 1: 21:57

Yeah, the rest of the world. If you don't live a new poor, you can't have to virtual.

Speaker 2: 22:00

Oh yeah, everything I know right People could drive from all over and fly from all over, so it's it's just an honor to see everyone. It's either healthy vacation.

Speaker 1: 22:11

Come to sunny California and get your health in order. I'm good, I'm up for that too. Yeah, it's emotional and physical. Yeah, there'll be tree out here, that's right. That's right. So walk us through a day of what it's like to do a plant-based lifestyle.

Speaker 2: 22:25

Yeah, you know, it's really one step at a time. And and starting at looking in your pantry and figuring out what you ready to have, because most of time you may have a few familiar things, like some people just love their tomatoes and you know Lemons are great. Start having more lemon squeezed in your water, lemon squeeze on your salad, or you might have some greens, but instead of waiting till the end of the week and having them rock because we forget about them, because they're tucked away, bringing up, bring them a closer to your eye level, view so you can see them, and start chopping them up so you have little bowls ready to eat, either veggies or things you can roast or things you can add to your soups. So, literally, I my goal is to make it really realistic and make it fun and enjoyable If there's some of your favorite recipes you ready make or things you need in a restaurant.

Speaker 2: 23:18

I had one patient who told me he has someone with ADHD. He's on the standard American diet, weeks about 5 am, isn't home till 8 pm and he's all just tell me where to eat because all I know is peanut butter and jelly and maybe a tuna sandwich. And I said, okay, let's, let's go, and so, literally, hummus and carrots for snacks you know that was a good first step for him and finding the healthier types of breads when you're out the grocery store. So I really go in there and go into the weeds and make it really Something that you can do at on a day to day and tying it into your health condition. Why is it so important? Because everybody has probably heard this in one shape or form. But knowing the why why it's connected to your blood pressure, your hormones, your, your post, covid, your, your mood what does it really do and how can we start minimizing your medications and does the supplement?

Speaker 2: 24:11

Is that really something fit for your own health condition? That's what I'm gonna do. It's really the art and the magic as we work together and and so on. My day to day, literally, I'm not only having some smoothies and soups, I have roasted veggies and salads, but I really still love my. You know I can make some like orange tofu, like I love I used to love orange chicken, right. So I'm gonna make something I love and I'm making it enjoyable. And maybe you're not gonna go 100% plant-based, but even doing 25, 50% is still a long way. So I I help you get there and you'll get to see some really great results on your labs and that's where we want you to see, so you can also feel it and know it from the inside.

Speaker 1: 25:00

I love it. Yeah, I think whatever your offering is is definitely going to be beneficial and for a lot of people that are listening because I know even for myself there are so many people that deal you know they're struggling with their weight loss, they're struggling with their blood pressure, you know diabetes and you know and again, that's another whole podcast that we can do in regards to that but I mean, in your expertise and what you've seen, I mean, have you seen a huge difference from people going from plant based you know, a plant based lifestyle to what they have? You know, all of a sudden, seeing a significant change that has helped them, you know, either alleviate a lot of these symptoms or take them away, or even just get to a point where they're now living such a healthier lifestyle that they're living their life again. I guess that's the question.

Speaker 2: 25:45

Yeah, great question I'm. You know people who have a plant based diet typically are in the normal weight range and maybe some a little bit overweight. But we're like we're doing a little bit of tweaks, so immediately at least five, 10, 15, 20 on average weight loss and that normalizes blood pressure Most. Most of the time, you know it's it's really like there's not many medications can do that, can one lifestyle that treats all these medical, all these medical conditions. When you go into traditional medicine you get 10 medications and one for each thing.

Speaker 2: 26:24

So the beauty of it is, when you plant based to, your sugars are going to be a lot lower, where you don't have to be in the 200s and 300s. Usually. The average is, you know, around low, one fifth, 120s, 130s, but usually under 100. That's really healthy for you and most of the time people have less pain and inflammation, less PCOS If someone has that, less painful periods, less acne and really less bloating and, as I mentioned before, any some people have issues with their, their stoles too. So that normalizes the power of plant based and fiber and the variety you can get is huge, and so when you incorporate these new foods you're going to see a benefit, Literally, I say from head to toe in the inside out.

Speaker 1: 27:14

I love it. I love it. Well, I could sit here and talk all day and I'm sure our circle of friends have got a plethora of questions. So that's why I love having you back, because so so many people struggle with what you were talking about and I really think that they should reach out to you because, you know, throwing, throwing a pellet, something, is just a bandaid. It's like putting a bandaid on a broken leg it's not going to fix it. You know, you have to really look at what's the underlying cause and address it from there, and I truly believe that figuring out our food is huge. I mean, we eat it every day. That's the most common thing we do every day is eat. But what are you feeding? You know. So I love this. So, again, I'll let you finish off this. So how can people contact you? And again, everything's going to be down in the description and it'll be embedded in the podcast, but go ahead and give a shout out for those who are listening.

Speaker 2: 28:04

Yes, and I love Coach Mickey. I love the talk and you know you're active, eating well and it's just a synergy and I would love to you know. Anyone who's curious or even skeptical, give me a call. I do meet and greets. I just want to hear you out and see what the questions you have, Listen to your health goals and we'll go from there. Literally, it's DrLifestyleorg is where you can make an appointment on all time zones. You will make it work, and then at Dr Melissa's Kitchen is where you can find me on Instagram, on YouTube for recipes, and then also I'm on Pinterest and other places. Dr Melissa Mundala, I have websites, resources with more documentaries. I have lots of guides to get you through. Even a small jumpstart can get you going.

Speaker 1: 28:54

Oh, I love it. You know what I would love to have you back and let's do some of your cooking.

Speaker 2: 28:59

Wouldn't it be fun? Oh, that's fun, let's go. We can learn how to cook in a healthy lifestyle, oh yeah, just give me either a start with one ingredient or a theme. I'm there. I love cooking. I really love cooking.

Speaker 1: 29:13

That's so much fun. That would be so much fun. All right, you guys, thank you so much for being with us. I am glad that you join us each and every week. Thank you so much for reaching out to my guests. I know many of you have commented on some of the other YouTube podcasts that we had here with Dr Melissa, and I'm excited to have her back on again. For those of you that are struggling with stuff, please, please, please, reach out to her. I know she can help you. I know she can. I know, just from the questions I've asked her and from me having her on as my guest, I've learned so much and it has really made a huge difference in my life. So please do, and I will look forward to seeing you next week and until then, see ya, bye. Thanks, y'all.