359 - Can Plants Actually Reverse Heart Disease? Simon Hill Breaks It Down - Switch4Good | Lyssna här

Physiotherapist, nutritionist, and The Proof is in the Plants author Simon Hill joins Dotsie and Alexandra to trace how a single terrifying moment reshaped his entire career, and what the evidence really says about eating for a long, healthy life. When Simon was 15, he watched his father, just 41 years old with no prior health issues, suffer a heart attack right in front of him on a remote Sunday afternoon. That day, combined with a growing frustration over the "bro science" he was fed while working with elite AFL and VFL athletes, sent him back to school for a master's in nutrition science and set him on a lifelong, evidence-based mission.

In this conversation, Simon explains why our genes load the gun but our lifestyle pulls the trigger when it comes to chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and dementia. He unpacks the gut microbiome and why anyone coming off a low-fiber Western diet should ramp up plants gradually, treating fiber like a gym program rather than going gung-ho overnight. Dotsie and Simon trade practical, failure-proof tips for making beans and legumes easier to digest, and Simon delivers a masterclass in "lectinology," dismantling the fear-based claims of The Plant Paradox with a clear look at what the science actually shows.

What we discuss:

Why heart disease runs in families, and how much of it is actually within your control
How your daily choices determine whether disease-linked genes get expressed
Why a disrupted microbiome makes healthy foods feel uncomfortable at first
The step-by-step way to add fiber without the bloat and gas
Simple tricks for prepping beans and legumes so they're easier on your gut
Why the lectin scare is a case study in cherry-picked science
What the world's longest-living people eat every single day