About PlantWise

About Our Plant-Based Diet Documentary

Six people, each with a debilitating health condition. The common thread? The standard American diet: high in fat, sugar and salt. PlantWise follows their inspiring journeys as they learn to reverse the course of their chronic conditions by embracing a whole-food, plant-based diet.

Follow their stories as they rediscover the energy and vitality they thought was lost forever. And hear from nationally recognized experts in lifestyle medicine who reveal the ways our everyday food choices determine the trajectory of our health. Be inspired by the intersection of personal experience and research-backed care.

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Many patients and physicians aren’t aware of the power that plants have to positively impact health and well-being. And even if they do, it can be hard to help people change lifelong dietary habits.

PlantWise was created because we wanted to give doctors a resource they could use to inspire their patients to make dramatic changes. And we wanted to give patients something they could watch with their families to motivate them to make changes together. PlantWise tells powerful stories and shares the evidence that proves plant-based diet benefits.

We hope PlantWise will inspire millions around the world to adopt a healthier lifestyle. To embrace whole-food, plant-based eating. And to experience the transformation of increased energy, healing and vitality that happens when you give your body the best fuel for its needs.

Listed in alphabetical order by last name.

Eric Adams

New York City mayoral candidate and diabetes patient
Karene Bejarano, RN

Nurse and Type 1 diabetes patient
Ashley Chapman, DO

Family medicine specialist and diabetes patient
Angela Hardin

Cholecystitis and arthritis patient
Marc Ramirez

President of Chickpea and Bean, Inc. and diabetes patient
Susan Weinick

Diabetes and hypertension patient

Listed in alphabetical order by last name.

Saadia Alvi, MD

Dr. Saadia Alvi is an endocrinologist and internal medicine doctor at the AdventHealth Diabetes Institute.
Maria Anderson, MD, FACC

Dr. Maria Anderson specializes in interventional cardiology, internal medicine and clinical cardiac electrophysiology.
Neal Barnard, MD, FACC

Dr. Neal Barnard is an adjunct associate professor of medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine. He’s also the president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and the author of Your Body in Balance, Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes and Power Foods.
Jarik Conrad, EdD, MBA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

Jarik Conrad is a human resources consultant and the senior director of human insights & HCM Evangelism Ultimate Software for Ultimate Kronos Group. He’s also the president and CEO of Sprouted Bean and the award-winning author of The Fragile Mind: How It Has Produced and Unwittingly Perpetuates America’s Tragic Disparities.
Luisa Oliver Cordero, RDN, LDN

Luisa Oliver Cordero is a registered dietitian nutritionist, a diabetes instructor and a noted plant-based speaker and teacher.
Ted Crawford, DO

A Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Ted Crawford specializes in family medicine, occupational medicine and public health and general preventive medicine.
Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., MD, FACS

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., specializes in general surgery and is the director of the Cardiovascular Prevention & Reversal Program at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. In addition to PlantWise, he appeared in Forks Over Knives and is the New York Times bestselling author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.
Angela Fals, MD, FAAP, CCMS

Dr. Angela Fals serves as the Medical Director of Pediatric Weight and Wellness at AdventHealth Medical Group. She specializes in pediatrics and obesity medicine and is a diplomate for the American Board of Obesity Medicine.
Michael Greger, MD, FACLM

An internationally recognized speaker on nutrition, food safety and public health issues, Dr. Michael Greger is the chief science officer and founder of NutritionFacts.org. He’s also the New York Times bestselling author of How Not to Die, How Not to Diet and The How Not to Die Cookbook.
George Guthrie, MD, MPH, CDE, FAAFP, FACLM

The author of Eat Plants, Feel Whole and the Eat Plants, Feel Whole Journal, Dr. George Guthrie is a family medicine physician at AdventHealth Medical Group and the past president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
Douglas J. Lisle, PhD

Dr. Douglas J. Lisle is the author of The Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force that Undermines Health & Happiness and is a clinical psychologist at the True North Healing Center in Santa Rosa, California.
John McDougall, MD

Founder of the McDougall Program and Dr. McDougall’s Right Foods, Inc., Dr. John McDougall is also the bestselling author of The Healthiest Diet on the Planet and The Starch Solution.
Amanda E. McKinney, MD, CPE, FACLM, FACOG

Amanda McKinney is the founder and executive director of the Institute for Human and Planetary Health at Doane University, where she’s also an assistant professor of health sciences and program director of the university’s Open Learning Academy.
Dean Ornish, MD

A New York Times bestselling author, Dr. Dean Ornish is the founder and president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute. He’s also a clinical professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco and UC San Diego. Dr. Ornish’s books include UnDo It! and Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease.
Wendy Perrott, MD, FACOG, DipABLM

Wendy Perrott is an OB/GYN and staff physician at AdventHealth Waterman. She’s certified in lifestyle medicine and culinary medicine.
Dustin Rudolph, PharmD, BCPS

Dustin Rudolph is a hospital-based clinical pharmacist and pharmacotherapy specialist, and author of The Empty Medicine Cabinet: The Pharmacist’s Guide to the Hidden Danger of Drugs and the Healing Powers of Food.
Dexter Shurney, MD, MBA, MPH, FACLM, DipABLM

Dr. Shurney specializes in general surgery, lifestyle medicine, preventive medicine and wellness, and is the President of the Blue Zones Well-Being Institute and Chief Medical Officer of the Adventist Health Well-Being Division. He’s also a past president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and the author of Integrating Wellness into Your Disease Management Program.
Scott Stoll, MD

Dr. Stoll specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation and is the co-founder of The Plantrician Project, The International Plant-Based Nutrition Conference and The International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention. Dr. Stoll is a member of the Google FoodLab and the Whole Foods Scientific and Medical Advisory Board.