In this episode of The UpShift, Angel Howard speaks with Dr. Amanda Adkins, a board-certified internal medicine physician and certified lifestyle medicine specialist, about the power of plant-based nutrition and holistic health. Dr. Adkins shares her personal journey from being an overweight teenager in Indiana to becoming a physician focused on preventing and reversing chronic disease through lifestyle changes. The conversation explores the six pillars of lifestyle medicine, including nutrition, movement, stress reduction, restorative sleep, social connection, and reducing toxic substances. Dr. Adkins explains why nutrition is often overlooked in traditional medical training, discusses the role of inflammation in chronic illness, and offers practical advice for busy people trying to improve their health without extreme diets or perfection. The episode also covers weight loss medications, heart health, smoking cessation, and how small sustainable habits can create long-term change.

Takeaways

• Dr. Amanda Adkins became interested in health and nutrition through her own experience as an overweight teenager.
• She chose lifestyle medicine to help prevent and reverse chronic illnesses through sustainable habits.
• Traditional medical education often provides very little training in nutrition.
• One of the most important lessons she learned was that you cannot out exercise a bad diet.
• The six pillars of lifestyle medicine are plant-predominant nutrition, movement, stress reduction, restorative sleep, social connection, and reducing toxic substances.
• Social connection became even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic and plays a major role in overall health.
• Dr. Adkins encourages patients to make small changes first rather than trying to change everything at once.
• Adding more leafy greens and vegetables is one of the easiest ways to reduce inflammation and improve health.
• Weight loss medications can be useful tools, but they are not replacements for lifestyle changes.
• Sustainable health improvements come from consistent habits, not quick fixes or extreme restrictions.

Today's guest, Dr. Amanda Adkins , can be found at:

Website: https://www.dramandamd.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-amanda-adkins-28071a39/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj7HwQ88Xn1FhK5eKtoOIkw

Your host, Angel Howard, can be found online at:

Website: https://angelhoward.co/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/howard-angel/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@angelhowardissuescoach

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelhowardofficial/

Get Angel's book: https://amzn.to/4o4UcEi

Keywords

plant-based medicine, lifestyle medicine, nutrition, chronic illness, inflammation, leafy greens, holistic health, wellness, preventive medicine, diabetes, blood pressure, heart health, stress reduction, restorative sleep, social connection, exercise, movement, smoking cessation, whole foods, obesity, vegetarian, plant-predominant diet, healthy lifestyle, wellness journey, healthcare, internal medicine, lifestyle changes, chronic disease prevention, food as medicine, sustainable health, hormones, inflammation reduction, fiber, healthy eating, mindfulness, self-care, weight loss, bariatric surgery, blood sugar, functional medicine, integrative medicine