This is a hard email to write. It’s a story that my wife was very hesitant for me to share publicly. But it’s a scary wake-up call that we need to share as people who care deeply about the plant-based movement and getting people healthy with whole-foods nutrition. Because if it can happen to me (someone who thinks about plant-based nutrition, literally, every single day) then it can happen to anyone. Here’s the story: We recently (secretly) launched a new platform for checking your micronutrients and other biomarkers using a third-party, CLIA-certified lab. It’s pretty cool. So obviously ..read more

Longevity, disease prevention, energy, immunity… Every health buzzword comes back to one thing: Your gut. Well, technically the trillions of microbes processing the nutrients from the foods you eat. And when it comes to gut health, the plant-based diet is a superstar promoter. Simply by consuming a variety of fruits, vegetables, greens, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, spices, and herbs every day, you’re pumping your body with a mega-dose of fiber, macronutrients and micronutrients that play a significant role in a healthy flowing and balanced gut microbiome. But if gut health is as easy as eating ..read more

I’ve recently come back to running, after going through a long period with almost no interest in it. But this time, it’s different from before. Before, when I was “a runner,” I was doing it for races and for fun. For its own sake. This time, it’s entirely about fitness and longevity. And as such, I want to do it right. Kettlebell training has taught me to pay careful attention to the way I move — out of necessity while performing swings and get-ups and moving around heavy kettlebells in general — which has carried over into greater focus on how I move throughout life. And in my return to ..read more

Last month, my family moved into a brand new house we had designed and built.  I never thought we’d build a house, and we didn’t set out to do so with this move.  But after a particularly frustrating first week of house-hunting, when we were nearing hopelessness, a light went on for us:  The things that are most important to us aren’t huge amounts of space or fancy upgrades. Instead, they’re the factors that we know lead to health and happiness, like proximity to the outdoors, interactions with other people, and the activities we love.    In other words, the environmen ..read more

A few years ago, at the start of 2019, I set a huge goal: to get into the best shape of my life by the end of the year. I had in mind a total fitness overhaul: strength, endurance, mobility, and the best diet I could eat. How cool would it be to have it all at once? I spent a long time thinking about how to quantify “best shape of my life.” And I made a lot of plans on how I was going to do it. And by the time 2019 was in the books… I hadn’t done a damn thing. The pandemic in 2020 only made matters worse for my fitness (hello, fresh pasta), and by the end of the year, just before my 40th birth ..read more

Just about everyone needs to eat more greens. Even you, healthy eater. Because according to Dr. Michael Greger, only 1 in 25 Americans eats 12 servings of greens per month.  Which at first sounds kind of good, to think you’re that one person in 25 who gets a gold star. But get this. Twelve servings per month is only a quarter of the amount Dr. Greger says we should be eating for optimal health. He recommends that many servings per week — an amount that very, very few people actually get. Greens are packed with nutrients, and low in calories. So on the ANDI scale, which measures nutrients ..read more

 The best part of The Plant-Based Athlete, in my opinion and many others’, is the “Day in the Life” section — the exact daily diet and workout routines of 25 plant-based athletes, many of them world-class. Of course, I also slipped my own Day in the Life in there, for a decidedly non-world-class, but nonetheless well thought-out and effective, example.  But in the past six months since we submitted the final manuscript, a lot has changed for me personally. Having turned 40 around that same time, I’ve enjoyed a rush of motivation, and built workout and diet habits that I’m not just proud ..read more

As I boarded the plane from Charlotte to Los Angeles, I still couldn’t shake the nervousness that I had felt all week. The Rich Roll Podcast!? I had been a guest back in 2013 when my first book came out, Episode 54. But this — Episode Six-hundred-something, of a podcast that even my neighbors now know about — was different. I mean, before Matthew Walker (the sleep guru) was on a few weeks ago, the last “Matt” to be a guest on the show was freaking Matthew McConaughey! To try to relax and prepare, I pulled out my uncorrected proof copy of our new book, The Plant-Based Athlete; it and its to ..read more

An athlete, as I define it, is anyone who participates in an athletic endeavor — running, cycling, climbing, soccer, you name it — regardless of ability.  And vegan athletes, or really anyone trying to get most of their calories from plants, come into their athletic goals at a distinct disadvantage.  No, not because of the food…  But because of the narrative they’ve been told their whole life: Meat = strength = athlete  Growing up and seeing that messaging in commercials, cartoons, and even hearing it from their parents means that no matter how many times they watch The Gam ..read more

Few people have had a more profound impact on modern-day football than Tom Brady. While he may stir up a lot of emotion from football fans, there’s no denying Tom is one of the best quarterbacks of all time. He’s 43, has played in nine Super Bowls (leading his team to victory in six), and has been named league MVP three separate years. And this Sunday, he heads to his tenth Super Bowl championship. So it begs the question: what makes Tom Brady great? Genetics, work ethic, and skill all play a major role, I’m sure, but Tom has been equally focused on nutrition to help him sustain peak performan ..read more