“I realized that I had just discovered something that my body has been needing for such a long time.”
Dr Will Bulsiewicz (or “Dr B”) is an award-winning gastroenterologist, internationally recognized gut health expert and the New York Times bestselling author of Fiber Fueled and The Fiber Fueled Cookbook. He sits on the Scientific Advisory Board and is the U.S. Medical Director of ZOE, has authored more than twenty articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, has given more than forty presentations at national meetings, presented to Congress and the USDA, and has taught over 10,000 students how to heal and optimize their gut health. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with his wife and children.
If you want to learn more about Dr B’s relatable story of becoming plant-based as well as his new book, The Fiber Fueled Cookbook, which is so much more than just your average cookbook, and the problem with our health care system, then you’re in for a treat.
If someone had told Dr B that in the future, he would be plant-based, let alone someone who’s advocating publicly for a plant-based diet, he wouldn’t believe them. Because ten years ago, all his favorite foods were not plant-based foods. There simply was no dedicated interest or desire to increase the amount of plant foods in his diet. But during his hyper rigorous medical training to become a gastroenterologist, which took him 16 years from the beginning of college to actually finish, he found himself in a situation where he needed to find shortcuts.
He, therefore, prioritized convenience because he just didn’t have any time to cook. That led to eating a very unhealthful and unbalanced diet filled with heavily processed foods and lots of fast food. And to tell the truth, it was inexpensive, quick and low effort – it checked a lot of the boxes for Dr B at the time.
But there were consequences.
And these consequences crept up slowly over time. In his early thirties, Dr B was 50 pounds overweight. He had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high anxiety, low self-esteem and low energy. It just wasn’t a good time in his life by any means.
So, he decided to change.
But he also realized that what he had been taught in his 16 years of medical training wouldn’t be of any help to him. Which is why he looked elsewhere – ideally without changing his diet, as it was still checking all his boxes. So, Dr B started to exercise more. But that wasn’t solving all of his health problems, either.
It wasn’t until he went on a date with his now wife and mother of their children, that he realized it was the food he was eating that was making him ill. He started with a very small change: One day, he made a random green smoothie. And to his surprise, he felt amazing and energized afterwards! This was the moment he realized that he had just discovered something that his body has been needing for a very long time.
That once-random smoothie became a habit. Dr B then started tackling his coffee and soda drinking habits, which were both too excessive for his liking. And those changes started adding up. Within a few days, his skin was clearing, his hair was starting to grow thicker, and his energy levels were surging. And over the course of months, his weight started to decline. He started to feel empowered, the way that any person should feel in their early thirties.
Changing your life like that is also something that both your gut microbiome and gut microbes will appreciate. They are part of this complete ecosystem consisting of 38 trillion living microorganisms inside of you. And this life is there for a purpose. You evolved with them, and they are actually integrated into your physiology. You need them for digestion, metabolism, immune system, hormones, mood, and brain health.
All of these mechanisms are connected back to these microbes. And what’s exciting is that this life force is not something that is rigid or stuck or that you are born with and can’t change. It is adaptable and will change together with you.
Your body is not designed for radical change. Your body is designed for adaptation, much like exercise. You don’t go to the gym on day one and lift 270 pounds on the bench press. You start with the bar and then you work your way up from there. For Dr B, it was the small swaps that started to add up, and not a radical overnight life change.
This is something that Dr B likes to share with his patients, too. Reflecting on his own journey, he knows how important small steps and changes can be over a long period of time.
Luckily, Dr B is not keeping all of his amazing knowledge to himself. In 2020, he wrote a New York Times bestseller, Fiber Fueled, which talks all about the importance of your gut microbiome.
And his new cookbook, The Fiber Fueled Cookbook, is much more than just a simple cookbook. It does contain 125 plant-based recipes, from fermented salsa to sourdough and fermented carrot sticks. With all the full-color photography it is beautiful to look at, but it goes beyond just your average cookbook. Actually, the recipes don’t even start until the back end of chapter four. There are eleven chapters total, and they include Dr B’s entire methodology.
You can learn how to train your gut and how to find the root cause of your problem. Dr. B calls this the G-R-O-W-T-H strategy: Genesis, restrict, observe, work it back in, train your gut, holistic healing. Essentially, optimize your gut, and overcome food intolerances.
All the work Dr B is doing is extra special because very few doctors take the time to research and teach us about nutrition. In the American healthcare system, you go to your doctor, but they may not take the time to explain things to you or listen to you or talk to you about nutrition.
This is why Dr B started using his platform to change that. Fiber Fueled was about sharing this exciting revolution that’s taking place in science and how you can eat to empower your gut microbiome. And now the Fiber Fueled Cookbook is showing you how to put it into practice. Make sure you get your copy as soon as you can, your gut and digestive system will certainly thank you!
If you enjoyed this episode, go ahead and hit SUBSCRIBE. There is a new episode every Monday. Click here to subscribe on iTunes.
And if you’re feeling generous, take a few seconds to leave The Plant Centered and Thriving Podcast a review on Apple Podcasts. Hearing what you think helps me to curate the best content possible that will benefit YOU. So all you do is click here to review, click “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.”
If you want to connect with Dr B, visit the following:
share
click to LEAVE A COMMENT