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🎧 Trigger warning: This episode contains descriptions of childbirth and medical emergencies.

In this deeply personal episode of the Greenletes Podcast, host and plant-based sports dietitian Natalie Rizzo opens up about her unexpected health journey following the birth of her second child. Despite a healthy pregnancy and active lifestyle, Natalie experienced a series of complications after a planned C-section, including a severe uterine hemorrhage and a life-threatening pulmonary embolism (PE).

In honor of World Thrombosis Day (October 13), Natalie shares the full story of what happened, from the warning signs she missed to the lifesaving medical care she received. She discusses her emotional recovery, how she managed treatment while caring for a newborn, and what it took to return to running and regain confidence in her body.

This episode is a reminder that even the healthiest among us can face unexpected medical emergencies and that recovery, both physical and mental, is possible with time, support, and awareness.

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The Greenletes Podcast is back! Host and plant-based sports dietitian Natalie Rizzo shares what she’s been up to, her latest projects, and how she helps runners and athletes fuel better with plants. Get a preview of exciting new guests and topics coming your way.

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Natalie speaks with Registered Dietitian and Diabetes expert Erin Palinski-Wade to get to the bottom of blood sugar for athletes. They discuss:

• Why athletes are wearing continuous glucose monitors and whether or not they are recommended for all athletes
• Do spikes in blood glucose do any long-term damage to the body?
• Is your insulin sensitivity heightened during the anabolic window, and does this help with muscle building?
• What is the glycemic index and why do people talk about it so much?
• If someone doesn’t have Diabetes, should they care about the glycemic index?

Follow Erin @erinpalinskiwade

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McKale Montgomery is an Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University, as well as a nutritional science researcher. She specializes in iron, specifically how changes in cellular iron affect disease progression. She's also a competitive marathon runner. In this episode, we chat about:

• How she started running and her journey to the Olympic Trials
• How she balances mom-ing (yes, it’s a verb), work, and competitive running
• Why iron is her favorite nutrient
• Do runners lose more iron than everyday people? How common is foot strike hemolysis?
• What about plant-based athletes— is it inevitable that they will be iron deficient?
• Has research found a link between iron and cognitive decline?
• The relevance of iron in cancer and chemotherapy

Read the Runner's World article about McKale here! And follow her on Twitter

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Dr. Kensa Gunter is a clinical and sport psychologist based in Atlanta, GA where she provides individual counseling, mental skills training, and consultation services to athletes and organizations. In this episode, we discuss:

• how psychological factors play into sport
• whether or not athletes are open to mental health discussions
• how to manage pre-competition anxiety
• How the idea of perfectionism play into an athlete’s mental health
• How athlete’s can balance the idea of wanting to win/be the best and also not beat themselves up if they don’t win.
• the definition of mental toughness and how can athlete’s harness it

Connect with Dr. Gunter or visit her website.

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Natalie chats with Vic Johnson, a nutrition coach for outdoor athletes and an outdoor endurance athlete, who has competed in trail and ultra running, triathlons, and cycling.

They discuss:

• What are some special nutrition considerations for mountain sports?
• Should you just rely on carbohydrates for fuel? Should you add in other nutrients besides carbs?
• What nutrients the body relies on for lower intensity exercise.
• How to you carry fuel and hydration with you during long outdoor events
• How the elements, like extreme heat or cold, factor into nutrition

Follow Vic or check out his website.

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In this episode, Sports RD Natalie Rizzo answers your burning questions. She chats about:

• whether or not vegans need to supplement with Vitamin B12 and how much to take
• how to fuel two-a-days
• why you may be hungry at night on a plant-based diet
• do men have a faster metabolism than women?

Submit your questions for a future Q&A here!

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In this episode, Natalie chats with Sun Sachs, the CEO & Co-founder of Rewire Fitness, the first mental fitness platform that helps athletes reach their full potential and avoid burnout by providing tools that improve mindset, readiness and resilience. They discuss:

• Sun's journey as a plant-based athlete and how he recognized he was underfueling for sport.
• What is Rewire Fitness and what’s the mission of the company?
• What is mental fitness and why is it important?
• His personal stories about mental conditioning for sport.
• Tools athletes can use to prevent burnout?
• Sun's favorite training & recovery recipes

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