The Exam Room by the Physicians Committee

Why do chronic diseases remain so common when we have more medicine and medical technology than ever before?
Chuck Carroll is joined by two leading physicians for a powerful live conversation about what truly creates health.
Dr. Columbus Batiste is a board-certified interventional cardiologist and passionate advocate for protecting the heart through lifestyle. Dr. Joel Fuhrman is a board-certified family physician, nutritional researcher, and seven-time New York Times bestselling author. Learn about Dr. Batiste and Dr. Fuhrman.
Recorded at the National Health Association Conference, this conversation explores:
Why medicine alone may not be enough to create lasting health
How food and daily habits influence chronic disease
The effects of stress on the heart and body
Why people sabotage their health despite knowing what to do
How movement, sleep, gratitude, and community support longevity
What doctors can do to better connect with and motivate patients
How to turn health information into sustainable change
Exam Roomies of the Week
Chuck's mom, Ann Carroll
Daria Dreher
Sheral Lee Schowe
Make a gift to support The Exam Room Podcast and the life-changing work of the Physicians Committee.
🙏 Support The Exam Room Podcast & PCRM
👉 https://bit.ly/SupportExamRoom
 
🍽️ Food For Life Instructor Applications
 
👉 https://bit.ly/food-for-life-instructor
 
 
🩺 Dr. Joel Fuhrman
👉 https://www.drfuhrman.com
 
🩺 Dr. Columbus Batiste
👉 https://drbatiste.com
 
🎉 ICNM - Washington DC - 8/13-15
👉 https://www.pcrm.org/icnm
 
This episode is not medical advice. Always speak with your doctor about any changes to your diet or lifestyle.
 
- About Us -
The Physicians Committee is dedicated to saving lives through plant-based diets and ethical and effective scientific research. We combine the clout and expertise of more than 17,000 physicians with the dedicated actions of more than 175,000 members across the United States and around the world.

Erling Haaland eats six meals and roughly 6,000 calories every day to fuel his extraordinary performance on the soccer field. But should anyone else be eating like him?
 
Haaland's highly publicized routine includes raw milk, beef liver, cow heart, steak, eggs, fish, pasta, vegetables, and honey. In this episode of The Exam Room Podcast, Dr. Neal Barnard joins "The Weight Loss Champion" Chuck Carroll to examine whether the foods powering one of the world's greatest athletes could create serious health risks for the average person.
 
Dr. Barnard explores the immediate food-safety concerns surrounding raw milk and the potential problems associated with regularly consuming organ meats. Could highly concentrated amounts of dietary cholesterol, heme iron, vitamin A, and copper become too much of a good thing?
 
🧠 You will also learn:
Why an elite athlete may require thousands more calories than the average person
Whether eating six meals a day provides a metabolic advantage
The difference between short-term athletic performance and long-term health
Why looking lean and powerful does not necessarily reveal what is happening inside the body
Healthier ways to fuel exercise, recovery, strength, and endurance
 
This is not about criticizing Haaland's talent or discipline. It is about understanding why a diet created for an extraordinary athlete should not automatically become a nutrition plan for everyone else.
 
Exam Roomies of the Week
Roy Wessbecher
LuAnne Siwiec
Isabel Fernandes, PhD
 
Make a gift to support The Exam Room Podcast and the life-changing work of the Physicians Committee.
 
🙏 Support The Exam Room Podcast & PCRM
👉 https://bit.ly/SupportExamRoom
 
This episode is sponsored by The Gregory J. Reiter Memorial Fund, which supports organizations like the Physicians Committee that carry on Greg's passion and love for animals through rescue efforts, veganism, and wildlife conservation.
 
🌱 Gregory J. Reiter Memorial Fund
👉 https://gregoryreiterfund.org
 
🎉 ICNM - Washington DC - 8/13-15
👉 https://www.pcrm.org/icnm
EXAMROOM100 to save $100 on tickets!
 
This episode is not medical advice. Always speak with your doctor about any changes to your diet or lifestyle.
 
- About Us -
The Physicians Committee is dedicated to saving lives through plant-based diets and ethical and effective scientific research. We combine the clout and expertise of more than 17,000 physicians with the dedicated actions of more than 175,000 members across the United States and around the world.

Krista Ryan survived the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas. Years later, she faced another life-altering challenge when she was diagnosed with stage 3 rectal cancer.
 
Four surgeries, chemotherapy, an ileostomy, and a difficult recovery followed.
 
But Krista kept going.
 
She joins Chuck Carroll to share the resilience philosophy she calls KFG: Know, Focus, Go. The initials also carry another, considerably more forceful meaning that captures the determination required to move forward when life becomes unimaginably difficult.
 
Krista explains why true resilience does not mean hiding fear or pretending that everything is fine. She shares how allowing herself to feel anger, grief, and vulnerability ultimately gave her more strength.
 
You will also hear how a brief conversation with another cancer survivor prompted Krista to seek testing, what it was like to tell her children about the diagnosis, how humor helped her through treatment, and why even the smallest action can be a meaningful act of perseverance.
 
This episode is for anyone living with illness, recovering from trauma, supporting someone they love, or searching for the courage to write the next chapter of their story.
 
Exam Roomies of the Week
Jennifer Rogers
Danica Brooks
X-tine Goodreau
Make a gift to support The Exam Room Podcast and the life-changing work of the Physicians Committee.
 
🙏 Support The Exam Room Podcast & PCRM

👉 https://bit.ly/SupportExamRoom
 
📕 KFG Book

👉 https://amzn.to/4f0RiOL
 
💪 Krista Ryan 

👉 https://www.kristaryan.com
 
PCRM Cancer Resources
👉 https://www.pcrm.org/health-topics/cancer
 
This episode is not medical advice. Always speak with your doctor about any changes to your diet or lifestyle.
 
- About Us -

The Physicians Committee is dedicated to saving lives through plant-based diets and ethical and effective scientific research. We combine the clout and expertise of more than 17,000 physicians with the dedicated actions of more than 175,000 members across the United States and around the world.

A leading gastroenterologist reveals that many doctors are never taught about food, nutrition, and the diseases that can been prevented with diet education.
 
Dr. Alan Desmond joins Chuck Carroll on The Exam Room Podcast to discuss his new book, What Your Doctor Isn't Telling You About Food, and the conversations he believes every doctor should be having with patients.
 
Why do so many doctors avoid talking about nutrition? Are carbs really bad for you? Should healthy people worry about glucose spikes? Do GLP-1 medications fix the root problem? And what does the gut microbiome have to do with heart disease, diabetes, obesity, inflammation, and long-term health?
 
🧠 You will learn:
The food conversations doctors and patients should be having
Why nutrition training is still limited in medical school
How food became a major driver of chronic disease
The truth about carbs and blood sugar spikes
What GLP-1 medications can and cannot do
Why "30 plants a week" is helpful but not magic
The role of fiber, legumes, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables
How diet can work alongside modern medicine
Why gut health remains central to overall health
Dr. Desmond also discusses the science behind plant-based nutrition, the power of simple dietary changes, and why building a healthier food environment may be one of the most important steps anyone can take.
 
Exam Roomies of the Week
Eric Knepper
Christina Clifford
Make a gift to support The Exam Room Podcast and the life-changing work of the Physicians Committee.
 
🙏 Support The Exam Room Podcast & PCRM
👉 https://bit.ly/SupportExamRoom
 
📕 What Your Doctor Isn't Telling You About Food
👉 https://amzn.to/4vSO460
 
🩺 Dr. Alan Desmond
👉 https://www.alandesmond.com
 
🎉 ICNM - Washington DC - 8/13-15
👉 https://www.pcrm.org/icnm
 
This episode is not medical advice. Always speak with your doctor about any changes to your diet or lifestyle.
 
- About Us -
The Physicians Committee is dedicated to saving lives through plant-based diets and ethical and effective scientific research. We combine the clout and expertise of more than 17,000 physicians with the dedicated actions of more than 175,000 members across the United States and around the world.

The president of the American Medical Association became the patient after being diagnosed with a large brain tumor.
Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, immediate past president of the AMA, joins Chuck Carroll on The Exam Room Podcast for a powerful and deeply personal conversation about how his diagnosis changed the way he sees health care, medicine, prevention, access, and the patient experience.
Dr. Mukkamala opens up about being diagnosed with a grade 2 astrocytoma, the shock of seeing an eight-centimeter brain tumor on his scan, and what it felt like to suddenly experience the health care system from the other side of the exam room. He also reflects on the extraordinary care he received at Mayo Clinic and the difficult reality that most people do not have access to that same level of care.
The conversation also explores the crushing cost of medication, including a new treatment that can cost nearly $900 per day, and why medical bills remain such a devastating burden for so many families.
Chuck and Dr. Mukkamala also discuss lifestyle medicine, plant-based nutrition, the future of health care, dietary guidelines, health equity, and why progress can still be powerful even when perfection is not realistic.
This interview was recorded at the Lotus Health Foundation Symposium in Rochester, Minnesota, just days before Chuck's major surgery at Mayo Clinic. At the time of the conversation, Dr. Mukkamala was still serving as president of the American Medical Association.
Topics discussed include:
What happens when a doctor becomes the patient
Brain tumor diagnosis and recovery
The emotional impact of serious illness
Health care access and inequality
The high cost of prescription medication
Mayo Clinic and world-class care
Lifestyle medicine and disease prevention
Plant-based nutrition and health
The role of doctors in improving public health
Why progress over perfection matters
Exam Roomies of the Week
Carol Kimsey
MJ Donahue
Tomi Gail Lemmen
Make a gift to support The Exam Room Podcast and the life-changing work of the Physicians Committee: PCRM.org/SupportExamRoom
🙏 Support The Exam Room Podcast & PCRM
👉 https://bit.ly/SupportExamRoom
 
🎉 ICNM - Washington DC - 8/13-15
👉 https://www.pcrm.org/icnm
 
🌱 Lotus Health Foundation
👉 https://lotushealthfoundation.org
 
This episode is not medical advice. Always speak with your doctor about any changes to your diet or lifestyle.
 
- About Us -

The Physicians Committee is dedicated to saving lives through plant-based diets and ethical and effective scientific research. We combine the clout and expertise of more than 17,000 physicians with the dedicated actions of more than 175,000 members across the United States and around the world.