Balancing your hormones with Dr. Neal Barnard

Our guest today is truly a force for the plant-based community: Dr. Neal Barnard. He is the founder of Barnard Medical Center, an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine, a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, and the president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. PCRM is a nonprofit organization that advocates for preventative medicine and higher ethical standards in research and medical training. Dr. Barnard has revolutionized the nutritional treatment approach to type 2 diabetes with his federally funded diabetes research and he has authored more than 90 scientific publications and 19 books. 

In this episode we cover: 

• How he discovered diet plays a role in hormonal health 
• Why medications should not always be first line therapy 
• How diet can be used to treat insulin resistance 
• The role of diet in type 1 diabetes 
• Why erectile dysfunction is known as the “canary in the coal mine” and how diet can help 
• Food, mood, and depression 
• How doctors can support a patient’s ability to make nutrition changes 
• Thyroid disease and diet 
• Soy’s effect on breast cancer 
• Which types of cancer are influenced by diet 
• How hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms can be improved 
• What you can do to avoid developing a hormone related condition 

Connect with Dr. Barnard on Instagram: @drnealbarnard, Twitter: @DrNealBarnard and Facebook: @NealBarnardMD 

Be sure to check out the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine at: pcrm.org and on Instagram: @physicianscommittee 

PCRM’s Nutrition Guide for Clinicians is available online, here: https://nutritionguide.pcrm.org/nutritionguide 

Episode Resources: 

• Dr. Barnard’s latest book: Your Body in Balance 
• Am J Clin Nutr. 2009: A low-fat vegan diet and a conventional diabetes diet in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: a randomized, controlled 74-week clinical trial 
• Am J Health Promot. 2015: A multicenter randomized controlled trial of a nutrition intervention program in a multiethnic adult population in the corporate setting reduces depression and anxiety and improves quality of life: the GEICO study 

Thank you for tuning in! Make sure to subscribe to The Plant Prescription Podcast so you get notified when new episodes are published. If you enjoy our material and are listening through Apple Podcasts, please leave us a review as this will help more people discover this podcast. We would love to hear from you guys on what you thought of the episode and what you'd like to hear in the future so please connect with us on Instagram. 

IG: Muzammil: @dr.plantbased, Cass: @plant_fueled. 

Facebook: @theplantprescription. 

Music credit: Scott Holmes.

*Please appreciate that this information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, always seek the opinion of a physician or qualified healthcare provider!*