EP255: Shireen Kassam - Plant-Based Eating

Health Coach Conversations

Is your plate making you and the planet sick? Dr. Shireen Kassam shares that a plant-based diet is the optimal way to improve your and the planetary health. She shares evidence that eating plant-based nutrition and avoiding animal products can significantly reduce the risk of chronic diseases. She also discusses how shifting to a more plant-heavy food system would help reduce the environmental harm caused by industrial animal agriculture. Tune in to learn the science behind plant-based nutrition and get tips for transitioning to a healthier and more sustainable way of eating!

In this episode, we talk about:

• How Dr. Shireen became interested in plant-based nutrition

• The health benefits of plant-based diets in preventing chronic diseases

• Evidence that plant-based diets are better for the environment

• The NHS in the UK should provide more plant-based meals in hospitals to improve health

• Common myths around plant-based diets

• Is plant-based diets suitable for people of all ages

• Best ways to make the transition from a standard diet to a plant-based diet

• How can healthcare practitioners help provide information and support to clients interested in plant-based nutrition

Memorable Quotes

• “A diet centered around fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds, lots of herbs and spices for flavor, and mainly water for thirst is one that has been known for decades now to be associated with lower rates of all of our common chronic conditions.”

• “Without a healthy planet, we have no healthy people. And it’s absolutely clear that our food system is one of the key drivers of both the climate crisis and the ecological crisis.”

BIO:

Dr Shireen Kassam is a Consultant Haematologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer at King’s College Hospital, London with a specialist interest in the treatment of lymphoma. She is also a Visiting-Professor at University of Winchester, Hampshire, where she has developed and facilitates the UK's first University-based course on plant-based nutrition. In 2023 she launched a course on lifestyle medicine for cancer.

Shireen is passionate about promoting plant-based nutrition for the prevention and reversal of chronic disease and for maintaining optimal health after treatment for cancer. In 2019 she became certified as a Lifestyle Medicine Physician and is also a CHIP facilitator. Shireen founded Plant-Based Health Professionals UK in 2018, a non-profit, membership organisation whose mission is to provide evidence-based education on whole food plant-based nutrition.

Shireen qualified as a doctor in 2000. During her training, she completed a PhD, which investigated the role of selenium in sensitising cancer cells to chemotherapy. Shireen has published a number of peer-reviewed papers in the field of lymphoma. Her first book, Eating Plant-Based, Scientific Answers to Your Nutrition Questions, co-authored with her sister Zahra, was published in January 2022. She has also co-edited the textbook Plant-Based Nutrition in Clinical Practice, published in September 2022.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Eating Plant-Based Book: https://www.hammersmithbooks.co.uk/product/eating-plant-based/

Plant-Based Nutrition in Clinical Practice Book: https://www.hammersmithbooks.co.uk/product/plant-based-nutrition-in-clinical-practice/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wholefoodplantbasednutrition/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/plantbasedhealthprofessionals/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/plantbasedhpuk

Plant Based Health Professionals UK Website: https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/

Links to resources:

Health Coach Group Website https://www.thehealthcoachgroup.com/ Use the code HCC50 to save $50 on our website

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