The Diet Doctors Are Using to Reverse Chronic Disease

Chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure affect millions of people worldwide. But what if the most powerful treatment isn’t found in a prescription bottle, but on your plate?

In this episode of the Plant Based Support Podcast, host Dr. Niki Davis sits down with renowned dietitian, author, and speaker Julieanna Hever Risse, widely known as The Plant Based Dietitian. Together they explore the science behind the diet doctors are using to reverse chronic disease and why whole food plant based nutrition is gaining increasing attention in the medical community.

Julieanna’s journey into plant based nutrition began more than three decades ago while working as a personal trainer.

Wanting to better understand what truly supports health, she pursued graduate studies in nutrition. While diving into scientific research, she discovered early groundbreaking work showing how diet can influence chronic disease. Influenced by pioneers such as Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. John McDougall, and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Julieanna became passionate about sharing the power of plant based eating with the world.

One of the most powerful points discussed in the episode is how traditional healthcare often focuses on managing disease rather than preventing or reversing it.

Julieanna explains that when she began applying whole food plant based nutrition in her practice, the results were dramatic. Many clients experienced improvements in weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels after shifting their diets toward whole plant foods.

Dr. Davis shares similar experiences from her work in lifestyle medicine. She notes that when patients adopt a whole food plant based lifestyle, improvements can occur quickly, sometimes requiring medication adjustments under medical supervision. These results highlight the potential of nutrition as a foundational tool for improving health outcomes.

The conversation also addresses a growing challenge in modern health culture: misinformation. With the rise of social media, nutrition advice is now everywhere, but not all of it is evidence based. Julieanna points out that misleading diet trends and heavily processed vegan products can create confusion and lead people away from truly health promoting choices.

To better reflect the goal of long term health and longevity, Julieanna recently rebranded her work under the concept of “healthspan.” Rather than focusing solely on diet labels, she emphasizes eating patterns that promote sustainable health and vitality throughout life.

Another important theme in the episode is the role of support and accountability. Julieanna’s coaching program, which she calls “Dietitian in Your Pocket,” provides personalized guidance to help people navigate real world challenges like restaurant menus, social pressure, and habit change. According to Julieanna, the key to success is not perfection but consistency and support.

Ultimately, both Julieanna Hever Risse and Dr. Niki Davis share a clear message: the food we eat plays a powerful role in shaping our health.

By focusing on whole plant foods and building sustainable habits, people can take meaningful steps toward preventing and even reversing chronic disease.

For anyone curious about plant based living or seeking evidence based guidance in a confusing nutrition landscape, this conversation offers insight, encouragement, and practical tools for improving long term health.

Watch the full episode herehttps://youtu.be/luq-YuOoiDM

Episode’s Transcript

Please understand that a transcription service provided the transcript below. It undoubtedly contains errors that invariably take place in voice transcriptions.

Niki Davis, MD (00:02.126)

Hi, I'm Dr. Nikki Davis and this is the Plant-Based Support Podcast, where we share evidence-based wisdom, real stories, and support for your journey to better health through plant-based living. Now, I actually started out as an engineer on the space shuttle program before making a big change in my own health and career by moving to a plant-based diet. And now I'm a lifestyle medicine physician helping patients all over the world through LifestyleTelemedicine.com.

Well, today I get to chat with Juliana Heaver, the plant-based dietician, author and internationally recognized speaker who has been educating the world about the power of plants for decades. But before we dive in, let's take a quick learning moment. Now, a common question that people ask when considering a plant-based diet is, will I get enough protein?

Now the truth is that all plants contain protein and when you eat a variety of whole plant foods like beans, lentils, whole grains, nuts, seeds and vegetables, you easily meet your protein needs without relying on animal products. It's one of the biggest myths about plant-based nutrition and one that Juliana has helped bust for years. I am so excited today to welcome Juliana Heaver. Thank you so much for being here.

Julieanna Hever Risse (01:15.84)

Thank you so much for having me.

Niki Davis, MD (01:18.389)

Yes, it's just a pleasure. Now I know all about you. I mean, I've been following you for a very long time, but this is actually the first time we've had a chance to talk and meet. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, the way that I always like to start out is with people who are listening today, there might be some people who aren't familiar with you or your work. So I'd love it if you would just take us back to the beginning. Tell us, you know, who you are and how you got into doing what you do today.

Julieanna Hever Risse (01:26.6)

Yes, I'm so excited. Yes.

Julieanna Hever Risse (01:48.092)

it's a long journey, a very long journey. About 30 years ago, I was a personal trainer and I started grad school because everyone was asking me about what they should eat.

as a trainer and I was like, well, don't really wanna tell you based on what I memorized in the personal training handbook, I wanted to understand it. So went back to grad school, fell absolutely passionately in love with nutrition and it just was the trajectory of everything I wanted to pursue in my life. And as I was finally reading and digging into the literature and really learning how to analyze research and how to kind of assess all the things, I stumbled upon books like the China Study and you know,

like the original, know, like the first, wow, groundbreaking information about how powerful plant-based diet is, even the concept of a plant-based, what the heck was that? Nobody knew what that was back then. And I had the great pleasure and fortune to be able to collaborate and work with Dr. Campbell, and I decided I wanted to tell the world about it. So I started, I did an infotainment documentary, and I went around the country interviewing all of these great founders, know, Dr. McDougall.

And it was incredible. Dr. Furman, all the people. And I was just wanting to talk about it nonstop. And I remember I was blogging. I just would literally shout this from the rooftops. And of course, this is before social media and everything. So it was just like a slow start. And I was like, plant-based, that's going to be a thing. So I had an agent reach out to me and say, do you want to write this book, The Complete 80s Guide to Vegan Nutrition? Yes, I've always wanted to write a book. And this is my opportunity. So I started writing the book.

But then I petitioned, I told my agent, like, I don't want to call it vegan nutrition. I want to call it plant-based nutrition because I'm not an ethicist. I don't want to talk about that stuff. I want to talk about the nutrition. I'm a dietitian. And my agent's like, honey, they never change the title of a book. But I do this whole petition because that's when...

Julieanna Hever Risse (03:47.2)

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn and Sanjay Gupta had them on CNN when Bill Clinton had his heart attack. And so they were talking about plant-based. So I had this really compelling argument, and I got the book title change, and it ended up being their best-selling title for a long time of all the idiots, guys.

Niki Davis, MD (04:02.798)

Wow.

Julieanna Hever Risse (04:03.71)

Because the timing was so epic, right? People were like so excited about this new information. And it's funny because people are like, what's plant-based? what's a plant? Because I call myself the plant-based dietitian. Like, what the heck is that? Well, now it's everywhere. It's like mission accomplished. Right now people know what that means. And so I've been speaking and I had TV shows and just going around the world just wanting everyone to eat more plants. That's kind of been my mission for almost 30 years now.

Niki Davis, MD (04:30.047)

That's incredible. Wow. I mean, that's, you know, that's kind of how I got into this too, is just being so passionate about it and, and knowing that people could be helped by learning about it and trying to figure out, okay, how can I make my life such that I can talk about this all the time with everyone? Right.

Julieanna Hever Risse (04:48.566)

That's wonderful. I know what was so neat was that what I learned in graduate school and my internship and all that was, you know, the goal of the dietitian, the role of the healthcare practitioner is to help the progress of the disease not happen, like to slow down the progression of the disease or to manage the disease as is. We were never taught about the possibility of actually stopping and even reversing these chronic conditions, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes. And so when I started implementing this with my

clients it was like miraculous. I'm like wait this is possible and I every time. Results are typical like the results were so predictable like people I'd have to warn I still warn my clients all the time like when you're starting this plan please tell your doctor because if you're on blood pressure meds or glucose meds you're gonna have to be really careful because it can go down that significant that quickly and results are typical it's been extraordinary. I've witnessed thousands and thousands of firsthand transformations that are just mind-blowing.

Niki Davis, MD (05:48.452)

I agree. mean, I'm right there with you. That's the same kind of thing that I see. And I love that you say that, that results are typical because I also say that, you know, we can say that because that is really what we expect. And because of that, we know to be like what you mentioned, make sure that your doctor is watching because those are the things that we see very quickly that you can become over-medicated if you're on blood pressure medications or diabetes medications for sure. And so that's something that I

You know, I had a chance to work with Dr. McDougall as well. you know, he taught me very quickly, like, you need to trust that this person is committed and they're going to be making this change. so treat them as if they are going to see benefits really quickly. And so don't hesitate to decrease or stop medications early on to prevent them from being over-medicated. Yeah. Yeah.

Julieanna Hever Risse (06:43.212)

It's amazing. Yeah, it's amazing.

Niki Davis, MD (06:46.29)

Yeah. do you have any, I mean, gosh, you've worked with so many people over the years. Do you have any stories of successes that you've seen?

Julieanna Hever Risse (06:56.022)

Thousands. I don't even know where to begin. I really don't there's been I mean I've had people like lifelong medicine people that have been on medications for 30 years with you know, high blood pressure high cholesterol and within days Get off them like they never thought they would be able to and then I do a lot of weight loss transformations And this is before all the medications that are out there So this is like we get the same results without having to be on a medication by switching to plant-based eating and people I've helped people

lose 100, 150 pounds, that's really easy. And my clients could literally lose 0.4 to 0.8 pounds a day on this plan. It's so amazing. I see that all the time, so I don't even know what's amazing anymore because it's just like, this is just what happens. I'm glad you say results are typical too, because I just think it's, know, when you hear these medication ads, it's like, results are not typical. Well, they are when you eat like this.

Niki Davis, MD (07:47.198)

Yeah, and I mean, even not just the medication ads, but the diet ads, right? We know these, these big companies that sell these diet programs and they still have to say that results are not typical, right? Because people aren't very successful when they try to follow a diet. And that's where this is so great because we're really showing people a new way of living and teaching them how to make this way of eating sustainable for the longterm.

Julieanna Hever Risse (08:14.716)

That's the word. It's sustainable. it's like, you know, people come to me with, I have someone that reached out this week. She's like, I don't like vegetables. I'm like, okay. And she wants to lose weight. I'm like, well, you could lose weight a million ways, but you could also get healthy and change your palette. And that's the thing I see repeatedly also is that if you give it just a little bit of time and you love, have to love your food, that's key. You have to love your food, find your new favorite foods, and then your, your taste buds and palette will completely shift. And it's a, you

of your food, like everything becomes more more delicious. The more natural becomes the more and more delicious and it's like shocking that you didn't even realize. Like I just had sweet potatoes for part of my lunch and it was like heavenly candy. It was like so good and without anything on it, you know? So it's like amazing how your taste buds can shift and I've witnessed thousands of those transformations as well.

Niki Davis, MD (09:03.569)

It's so, so true. mean, I went through the same thing personally where, and just like you, I had sweet potatoes for lunch yesterday with nothing on them and they're amazing, right? Just, and actually cold out of the fridge, just peel them out. You know, I've obviously cooked them, baked them, and then I just throw them in the fridge and leave them in a bowl in there. And then I just pull them out when I'm ready to use them. And you can heat them up, but they're so good cold too. You know, they really are.

Julieanna Hever Risse (09:26.38)

They're the perfect go-food. I take those on planes. take them when I, always, always, my favorite go-to.

Niki Davis, MD (09:32.295)

Yeah. Yeah. In fact, that was a, that was a staple for me when I was interviewing for residencies and traveling all over the country was to bring potatoes and sweet potatoes so that I always knew I could have something that would be filling. Yeah. Yeah. So I love it. Well, and it's just so, it's so nice to hear how passionate you are about this, even though you've been doing this for a really long time. Like I can hear it in your voice. It's, it's just really great.

Julieanna Hever Risse (09:46.408)

Exactly. Yeah, you're my people.

Niki Davis, MD (10:00.616)

to meet someone else who feels passionate about this too.

Julieanna Hever Risse (10:04.372)

Likewise, and thank you. And it's like, how could you not be when you've experienced it yourself and then you've witnessed other people and you know how powerful it is, like how diet is absolutely your medicine. It's absolutely the most powerful tool we have in our armamentarium to heal.

Niki Davis, MD (10:19.623)

Yeah. So tell me a little bit about more what you do and you know, what kind of services you provide.

Julieanna Hever Risse (10:27.596)

So my favorite part of my work is my one-on-ones. I do one-on-one counseling. And I like this, on Zoom, and we're just getting so intimate. my signature new, because I've honed this, because I've worked for myself mostly most of my life. Most of my career has been, I guess, entrepreneurial. But I like to work on myself and have my own rules and my own kind of setup and timing. And I just recently got married. And so now I'm like,

Niki Davis, MD (10:52.744)

Congratulations.

Julieanna Hever Risse (10:54.57)

Thank you. And my husband works from home too. So it's like so nice to have that freedom to be able to work on my laptop no matter where we are. And so I do these one-on-ones. And so my signature program has become, is honed into what I call Dietitian in Your Pocket. And the reason I call it that is the accountability is so precious. Nowadays you could put into your, the AI and say, I want a whole food plant based meal plan, seven days, three meals a day, no oil, no sugar. And it will...

Generate a really great thing which is great because I hate I always refused to do meal plans with my clients I'm like I I want to co-create what's gonna work for you What's gonna be sustainable and yummy and work for your schedule and your lifestyle? So I love that I don't have to think about that anymore But what I really love is the connection that I have with my clients and the accountability being there for them So now I have this program where it's like we it's a monthly program. We meet every week They send me their food journal the day before we meet I'm tracking usually I do a lot of weight loss most

mostly weight loss, but of course weight loss comes packaged with healing and getting off medications from all the chronic conditions that we all see all the time. So I'm tracking the weight loss and then we check in and of course I've got nine books of recipes, so I'm like, here, try this recipe, try that recipe, these recipes really work for this and this and this. So I'm kind of co-creating meal plans and lifestyle changes and I've realized that it's so intimate. I call it Dietitian in Your Pocket.

because I my clients have me on speed. I don't take on a lot of clients at once. So they could text me and say, okay, I'm at this restaurant, what should I order? Or my friend said such and such and what should I say? know, those like just have this like support.

Niki Davis, MD (12:29.926)

Wow.

Julieanna Hever Risse (12:30.922)

Because the hardest part is the psychosocial environment. when you realize how good it is and how great you feel and how you learn how to cook new and you like you have your lifestyle, but then you go out into the world and everyone eats and everyone has an opinion about what you should eat. So I think navigating that stuff is where I love, love my work the most. And it all comes together. Like here's the food, that's fine. That's a simple part. And then we co-create. And so that's my favorite part of my work. But I also do groups. I usually do a January group. In fact, I'm just setting up for my next January group.

online virtual we're gonna do an in-person and virtual mind-body thing now because I'm dealing with my my best friend is a therapist and she's really good so we're gonna talk we're gonna do like an emotional eating nourishing from within type of a group so I like to do groups but I really love the one-on-ones and I love writing I'm writing and I'm working on my next book and that's my day to day

Niki Davis, MD (13:21.348)

Yeah, don't you have a lot of books? Haven't you written a ton of books? my goodness!

Julieanna Hever Risse (13:23.85)

I do, I have nine and I wanna have 10, because it has to be like 10 is a nice, because I've had this one idea percolating in my head and it's starting to just come to fruition, so it's getting me excited.

Niki Davis, MD (13:35.329)

that is so exciting. Well, I'm with you. I love the one on ones as well. You know, that's a lot of what I do is one on one appointments with patients. And, you know, I love the I love the idea of having you in someone's pocket because I really do think that that is key. Where I find that people really struggle is when they don't have any outside support, right? They don't have people supportive in the home. They don't have a friend who's doing this.

and they're kind of on their own, but they're really committed. They really want to make this work. But you and I both know that there's more to it than that. Just wanting it really badly is not what helps you be successful. You really need to figure out all the different components. And a big part of that is that support. So to have someone where that's just incredible to be able to message you and say, hey, I'm at this restaurant. What should I order? then that right there, that's got to be worth it.

Julieanna Hever Risse (14:34.86)

think it's really neat because it is really hard to navigate. I always say we live in this modern day trifecta of overabundance and we're biologically primed to eat as much calorie as we possibly can to survive, but then everything around us, the second component to that is that there's food and food messaging everywhere. It's fun because now they have that term, food noise, and I think that's what happened with these.

Niki Davis, MD (14:55.897)

Yeah.

Julieanna Hever Risse (14:56.852)

GLP-1 medications that are really helping a lot of people, but I think that concept of food noise is what I'm navigating with people because it's everywhere. And then it's internal dialogue, and then wherever you go, it's just like, you're weird if you say no to something. I went to a concert, I saw Billie Eilish last night, that was really fun.

Niki Davis, MD (15:15.462)

how is he?

Julieanna Hever Risse (15:18.348)

He was actually really good. can't hear. I might be even yelling right now because my hearing was so loud and there's my dog. yeah, so I met this concert, this big concert venue in LA, downtown Los Angeles. And all the people I was with, they're eating, it was like hot dog or pizza or, and then everyone's eating and I'm just like, nope, know, I already ate. But so it's like, you're constantly surrounded by this messaging.

Niki Davis, MD (15:20.109)

Really?

Niki Davis, MD (15:25.177)

No, it's okay.

Niki Davis, MD (15:44.132)

Yeah. Yeah. So how do you, you know, talk to your clients about that? I mean, what are some of your, I would say, you know, basic tips and tricks for navigating social situations?

Julieanna Hever Risse (15:57.808)

So such a good question and such an important question. So first, you know, I do a lot of empowerment work about like standing in your truth because it's especially women. I'm a mom. I'm a woman. It's like you're always trying to please everyone, take care of everyone. You know, it's kind of like our social, what we're socialized to do. So it's even harder to say no and to stand up for yourself in a lot of these situations. So I really do a lot of empowerment with my clients, especially my mostly female clients. I work with both, but I really do spend a lot of time with women.

Niki Davis, MD (16:00.278)

Yeah.

Julieanna Hever Risse (16:27.682)

like perimenopausal, postmenopausal women, moms and grandmas, and just dealing with those situations. So I think that just learning to be like, you know what? That was the title of my last book was Choose You Now, the Choose You Now Diet. And it's about when you're in an airplane and you put on the airplane mask on you first because you have to survive to be able to help everyone else. So I think of it like, how do we empower you to feel like I have to take care of myself and I'm making these choices so that I could be a

mother so I could be a better physician or dietitian or whatever like and you're just better to people around you when you feel good and you're at your best so it's a lot of empowerment but then that like there's logistics so like if you're going to a Billy Idol concert you know you eat before you know what you plan ahead planning is

so important, so helpful, is just knowing what the situation's gonna be. If you're going somewhere, know, people are going for holidays or whatever, bring stuff that you can eat. And then I always, I think there's a lot of times where, you know, someone's like, I made this for you, it's vegan, and you're like, no, no, no, no, because you know, that could be all sorts of things. So I'm always like.

Niki Davis, MD (17:35.235)

yeah.

Julieanna Hever Risse (17:35.786)

Yeah, I'm always encouraging my clients to say, you know what, don't worry, thank you so much, I got it. I'm gonna bring food for everyone, you know, so that you have full control of what's over there. And you know, teaching people how to cook easily, I'm not a chef at all. And when I was asked to write my first book, that complete 80s guide, I had two toddlers. I was a full-time mom, I had no help. And I had six weeks to write an entire first book. And then my agent threw in, she's like, yeah, and 50 recipes. I'm like, recipes? Like, I don't know how to...

Niki Davis, MD (18:02.456)

GASP

Julieanna Hever Risse (18:05.16)

let alone write a recipe. Like I'm a dietitian, know physiology and I know behavior. So I had to teach myself how to cook and so my recipes are so simple, you know? And yeah, so I try to make it simple for people so that it's accessible and delicious and those are the kind of little strategies that we kind of just work on day to day.

Niki Davis, MD (18:12.984)

Wow.

Niki Davis, MD (18:25.453)

Yeah, I just love that. And it's, it is actually a little bit hilarious that you mentioned putting on your mask first, because I did a talk last night and I had a question from someone where they were asking, you know, what do you do when life throws everything at you and, you know, something horrible happens in your life and all you're trying to do is survive and you have so much stress and that stress now is causing you to want to kind of go back to your old ways or.

You start having cravings or you start seeking those comfort foods. And that's the analogy that I talked about in those situations is you can't control all the things that are happening outside of you, but you can control what you're eating. You can control that. No one is going to force you to put something in your mouth. I would hope not. No one is going to force you to eat a certain thing. And so you do have the choice to...

eat what it is that you want to eat that's healthy. And the best way that you can take care of loved ones and you know, whatever is happening around you at that time that's very stressful is to put on that mask first, right? Take care of yourself because you can control that part. anyway, it's just it's just amazing that you happen to bring that up.

Julieanna Hever Risse (19:42.496)

I say that all the time too, I'm glad you're saying that too, is that you can't control anything in your life. That's the only thing you can control is the food. It's literally the most powerful control you have over your entire life.

Niki Davis, MD (19:56.663)

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And so I'm curious, know, with, mean, boy, all the books that you've written, all the people that you've worked with and interviewed and all of the people that you've helped, who would you say have been some of your main influences in this plant-based world?

Julieanna Hever Risse (20:17.962)

Well, I'm so devastated that we lost John Robbins this year because he was my hero. I still can't even talk about it without, my God, he just made me want to be a better person and inspired me to see, you know, he's the first book about the connection between diet and health and the planet and the animals and that's what changed my entire.

I read that when I was a teenager and it just that was everything when I met him. my god What a beautiful beautiful man. So John Robbins number one and I also really was grateful because when I read the China study and again, this is like the beginning of computers and like it was just so new all the internet was even happening the blogging was so and I reached out to dr. Campbell and like

He was such a great mentor to me and I got to teach for his plant-based course when it first started and I did a lot with him actually. And I was actually involved when Forks Over Knives came out. I was traveling around like doing all these panels and we're talking to people like about this crazy plant-based thing. But that gave me an opportunity to kind of meet a lot of people and watch this kind of like bloom. It was like kind of a magical thing to be a part of. But those two are incredible to me and my journey. I'm to think of.

Those are the two most that they stand out. Even Brenda Davis, I always call her my soul mama. She's the dietitian, like the OG vegan dietitian, and she just has literally taken me under her wing. And every time I had a question when I was writing on my book, she was always there for me, and I love her so much as a human. So those are the three top influences, I would say.

Niki Davis, MD (21:37.419)

Hahaha.

Niki Davis, MD (21:53.891)

Well, you've been so lucky to be able to have those people be your mentors and the ability to learn from. And I'm sure people tell you this all the time, but you do not look old enough to have had all that experience and to work with all of these people. I'm assuming that it's plants that makes you look so youthful.

Julieanna Hever Risse (22:10.748)

Thank you. I credit the plants. I know I turned 50 this year and it was a real, it's a real zinger because you're like, wow, like that's at least half my life. And how did that happen so fast? I mean, I know everyone goes through that, but it's kind of like I'm having an existential crisis. And it's kind of cool because I got married this year, literally we're about to celebrate one year and my kids, I just took my

My youngest to college so it's like the kids are out. It's like crazy You know how did that and then I decided to go back to grad school and get another master's degree in psychology So I started doing that but now I think I'm realizing that I just really wanted I love what I'm doing I was gonna I was gonna integrate it But I think yeah, so I'm just I just I can't believe how fast How much happens and how fast and my gosh, it's just it's mind-blowing

Niki Davis, MD (22:57.909)

Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, throughout your years of doing all of this, is there anything that you've found to be difficult or surprising? Loaded question, right? Loaded question.

Julieanna Hever Risse (23:08.44)

where to begin on that? Wow, no one's ever asked me that. It's a loaded question, but no one's ever asked me that. Gosh, that's a really interesting question. You know, I recently rebranded for this reason. So I went from plant-based dietician for 20 years and I just changed like my website. It's the same website, but now it's the healthspan dietician. Why? Because when we were starting with plant-based, I went from vegan. I didn't want to be

titled a vegan dietitian, want to be a plant-based dietitian, because that's changed so much and I don't like the direction it went in. And I saw this coming 10 years ago and I was lecturing and warning people like these products that are coming out there, this is not going to give you the same results. And lo and behold, someone reached out to me the other day, she gained 70 pounds when she went vegan because she was eating all that stuff. So I was, really concerned about that. I was concerned it's now it's just into fruition now. So I rebranded one of my books was Healthspan Solutions. So I just really

in like what is a health span promoting diet? It's the same, it's eat plants. It's just a different, it's just a different version of it because I think the words matter a lot and that's been a big, big interesting thing for me. And the social media I would have never predicted. I don't know who could have.

Everyone's getting their nutrition advice from like TikTok and Instagram. And most of that information is completely false. And it's taken over dietetics a lot, you know? That and the GLP-1s, it's like there's not that big of a role anymore. AI, GLP-1s, and social media. it's, where do you get your information from? We went from like hard to get information to too much information, and a lot of it is nonsense and dangerous. And I see a lot of horrible outcomes from that.

Niki Davis, MD (24:52.799)

Yeah. And so that's, I agree. And it's, so hard to navigate that, you know, you want people to be able to do their own research and, look things up, but there's just so much misinformation out there that it's, it's really difficult for people to navigate and people are so confused. I'm sure you see this too, that they honestly, they just try a million different things. Like I'll have people actually doing the carnivore diet who feel horrible. Their cholesterol skyrockets. And then they say, okay.

what else can I try? Right. And so then they're saying, I don't feel good. So what else can I try? Okay. Plant-based, know, going the total opposite direction. And so it's just, you know, used to be that a diet was okay. A balanced diet, make sure you get plenty of fruit and vegetables. I think most people, even when I was a kid, I knew that eating fruits and vegetables was healthy, but now we're getting to the point where people really do believe that plants are harmful and that they should really be only eating meat. mean,

That's something that definitely has been surprising to me is this role of social media and the harm that it's causing because of all that misinformation from people who just really shouldn't be talking about it.

Julieanna Hever Risse (26:02.948)

But anyone who has a phone can have a voice now and and it's like a popularity contest and I don't like that I it's really hard to witness because you worry. Yeah, you see you see the results I'm seeing it with people coming to me and then and then you're like, well, you know go plant-based like in that situation from carnivore and then they feel yucky because the fiber hurts because they haven't had fiber and then

Niki Davis, MD (26:23.68)

Right.

Julieanna Hever Risse (26:24.652)

and they're like, oh, plants are bad for me. I just saw an article, like a clickbait type of thing of like that doc that we all hear about saying, please don't eat blueberries because they're, whatever. It's like, oh my gosh, if anyone could say blueberries, if you look at every actual article on blueberries, it's like infinite research supporting their health efficacy. So yeah, it's a little scary.

Niki Davis, MD (26:46.708)

Yeah, never in a million years would I have thought that someone could convince people not to eat blueberries. Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, it's become a bit of an uphill battle. Do you have any recommendations on how we navigate that? I mean, that's a big question. I don't expect that you know the answer, but.

Julieanna Hever Risse (26:52.22)

Right? Crazy.

Julieanna Hever Risse (27:07.082)

I love that question and thank you for asking. We should talk about this because people like, we could connect and build on it. would love to, I'm really, I've always had a fantasy of having like a think tank type of situation because especially in a situation like in today's world where it's just, how do we navigate that? My first thing that I always want to say is, you know, you could be a lighthouse, not a tugboat.

You know, and I stopped trying to convince people of anything many many decades ago I realized that I was beating my head against the wall trying to say No, you have to go plant-based and no you have to eat this because look at this study and like I like just trying to convince people When I finally I was like, am I not being so effective? Why is not everyone having and then I realized you know what? No, I'm not gonna tell anyone what to do ever I will love you all the way into this journey if you want me to but you have to want it You have to want it. You can't convince anyone of anything if they don't want

it.

Niki Davis, MD (28:03.969)

that is so, so true. I love that. All right. Well, Juliana, do you have, any websites or, know, any place that people can find out more about you and what you do and maybe even sign up to work with you?

Julieanna Hever Risse (28:18.496)

Yes, of course, thank you. have healthspandietitian.com. If you go to plantbaseddietitian.com, it will take you there too, but it's healthspandietitian.com. And I too am on social media, but I'm not fighting for the eyeballs. I'm just there just to like still have a clear message and be there in case people want to reach out. So I'm on all the platforms too, as usually as Julianna. It's funny because I did want to change my name because I fell so in love with my husband. I just wanted to take his name. But now I don't know how to rename everything because everything is my original name. So that's tricky.

but my new last name is Rissy, but you'll find me as Juliana Haver on most of the platforms.

Niki Davis, MD (28:54.347)

and I apologize. I said that the wrong way. I said heaver instead of heaver. yep. All right.

Julieanna Hever Risse (28:58.4)

That's okay. And I thought I was dodging that bullet because everyone always said that, Heaver. And I fought that for 25 years and now my new name is Rissy and everyone's all rise. So it's not, it's challenging. well.

Niki Davis, MD (29:08.349)

Hahaha

I know, I have to say I'm very lucky with a very plain easy to say last name. All right, well thank you again so much for being with us today, Juliana. I so appreciate you. And for those of you who are listening, we would love for you to join our growing community at plantbasedsupport.org. We have virtual events and now in-person events as well. And if you love our show, please help us grow at plantbasedsupport.org. Every donation helps us.

Julieanna Hever Risse (29:14.57)

Yes, it is. It's really nice.

Niki Davis, MD (29:38.343)

to support more people like you on their journey to health. And in addition to plantbasedsupport.org, we are also on all the social media, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn. Again, thank you so much for your time today. And until next time, I'm Dr. Nikki Davis with the Plant Based Support Podcast.