How much nutrition training do doctors actually receive?

It’s a question that surprises a lot of people, especially when we realise that many of the chronic diseases doctors treat every day are heavily influenced by diet and lifestyle.

In this episode of the Plant Fuelled Podcast, I sit down with physician and long-time plant-based advocate Dr Michael Klaper to explore one of the biggest gaps in modern healthcare: the disconnect between medicine and nutrition.

Dr Klaper has spent decades working to shift medicine toward a model that prioritises prevention, lifestyle change, and evidence-based nutrition, rather than simply managing disease once it appears.

Together we unpack the newly proposed American dietary guidelines and food pyramid, the political and cultural forces shaping them, and why dietary advice can sometimes reflect industry influence as much as scientific consensus.

We also dig into some of the most persistent nutrition debates from the controversy surrounding soy, to the cultural attachment to dairy, and how decades of research are often overshadowed by misinformation.

Along the way, Dr Klaper shares insights from his own upbringing and medical training in the United States, where nutrition education within medical school was surprisingly limited, a reality that still shapes how healthcare is practiced today.

This conversation looks at the bigger picture: how healthcare systems evolve, why prevention struggles to compete with treatment, and what it might take to move medicine in a direction that truly supports long-term health.

If you’ve ever wondered why nutrition often sits on the sidelines of modern medicine, this episode offers a thoughtful and honest look at the challenges and the opportunities ahead.

🧠 In This Episode We Cover

• The new American food pyramid and the controversy surrounding modern dietary guidelines

• Why nutrition education in medical school is often limited

• The role of prevention in modern healthcare systems

• Soy, dairy and the nutrition debates that refuse to disappear

• How misinformation around food spreads faster than science

• Dr Klaper’s upbringing and journey into medicine

• The cultural and political influences behind dietary advice

• The gap between lifestyle medicine and traditional healthcare

• Why chronic disease continues to rise despite advances in medicine

• What moving medicine forward could actually look like

At 78 years old, Jane Thurnell-Read is deadlifting, strength training, and redefining what ageing looks like.In this episode of the Plant Fuelled Podcast,

we talk strength training over 70, plant-based ageing, and why it’s never too late to start.

What if ageing didn’t mean slowing down…

What if strength had no expiry date?

In this episode of the Plant Fuelled Podcast, I’m joined by Jane Thurnell-Read, author, strength trainee, and at 78 years old, someone who’s redefining what ageing actually looks like.

After a short break heading into 2026, this conversation felt essential especially if your New Year motivation is already fading or you’ve caught yourself thinking “it’s too late for me now.”

Jane proves calmly, confidently, and without hype that it isn’t.

We dive into ageing, strength training, mindset, independence, and why building muscle later in life isn’t about aesthetics it’s about protecting your future self. We talk longevity, resilience, and what it really means to age well, not just longer.

And yes we explore all of this through the lens of a plant-based lifestyle, without protein panic, fear-mongering, or outdated assumptions about what older bodies are “allowed” to do.

This isn’t motivation porn.

🧠 In This Episode, We Cover:

• Why it’s never too late to start strength training — at any age

• Ageing vs decline: why the two are not the same thing

• The role of resistance training in bone health, balance, confidence & independence

• Why strength matters more than aesthetics as we get older

• How mindset shapes physical capability later in life

• The quiet danger of being told to “take it easy” as you age

• Training for life — not just the gym

• Building strength, resilience, and longevity on a plant-based diet

• Challenging the low expectations society places on ageing bodies (especially women)

• What Jane wants people to understand about getting older — before it’s too late

As we wrap up 2025, I wanted to do something a little different.

No nutrition deep dives.

No studies.

No “top 5 habits to optimise your life”.

Just a real end-of-year Ask Me Anything, answering the questions that came up again and again, the ones that weren’t about macros or protein powders, but about life, growth, mistakes, relationships, and everything that actually shapes who we are behind the scenes.

This episode is a reflection. On what this year taught me. What surprised me. What I’d do differently if I could rewind. And what I’m genuinely grateful for including the people, guests, and moments that shaped not just the podcast, but me as a person.

We talk love life (yes, really), purpose, burnout, confidence, doubt, and the reality of building something meaningful while figuring yourself out in public.

No filters. No branding. Just honesty.

✨ In This Episode We Cover:

• 🧠 The biggest lessons 2025 taught me (some uncomfortable ones included)

• 🔄 Would I change anything if I could go back?

• ❤️ My love life, what I’ve learnt, what I’ve unlearnt, and what I’m still figuring out

• 🎙 Favourite podcast guests and why certain conversations stayed with me

• 🌱 The people who genuinely helped shape my vegan journey

• 🧍‍♂️ Confidence, insecurity & doing things before you feel “ready”

• 🔥 Burnout, pressure & expectations, internal and external

• 🧭 How my perspective on success has shifted this year

• 🤝 Gratitude for community, connection & difficult conversations

• 📆 What I’m carrying into 2026 and what I’m deliberately leaving behind
  

This episode isn’t about having it all figured out.

It’s about being honest about where I’m at and trusting that growth doesn’t need to be polished to be valuable.