In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Minil Patel – a London-based vegan doctor specializing in general medicine with a passion for health and fitness. Minil has been vegan for over six years, has been lifting seriously for well over ten years, and is a strong believer in keeping the mind and body healthy through nutrition, fitness and science. We get into all the details about how and why Minil went vegan, his lifestyle and diet before and after, what drew him to the medical field, and his experiences in medical school and as a doctor.
We also get into the knitty gritty details on plant based protein sources and how they compare to animal based proteins, meat and masculinity and why men are less likely to go vegan than women, excelling in athletics on a plant based diet, pressure on vegans to be good examples and so much more.
Minil is extremely knowledgeable and I particularly loved hearing about his evidence based approach to plant based nutrition, his recommendations and how he applies it to his own life. I think you’ll get a lot of really interesting information from this episode in particular and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed our chat.
If you’re interested in connecting and following Minil on social media, he can be found mainly on Instagram at @DrIronJunkie . Thanks again to Dr. Minil and without further ado, on with the show!
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 – Intro to Podcast
00:45 – Intro to Dr. Minil Patel
2:00 – Podcast episode start
2:45 – Quick intro to Minil
4:10 – Does Minil incorporate a plant based diet into his practices as a doctor?
6:20 – Moving up through the medical field
9:30 – What made Minil want to specialize in general practice?
12:00 – Why are medical students drawn to pursuing specializing in surgery?
13:15 – Do medical students get nutrition training?
15:45 – Minil’s view on medications and changes in lifestyle
18:45 – How the general public interprets nutrition science
21:45 – Minil’s reasons for going vegan
26:00 – Why do people NOT go vegan?
31:00 – Minil’s experience switching to plant based diet while lifting
35:00 – Plant protein sources vs animal protein sources
44:00 – PDCAA (protein digestibility corrected amino acid) scores
46:45 – Leucine and muscle protein synthesis
48:15 – Study hierarchies and what studies are more applicable
49:45 – Differences in protein intake for various people, protein recommendations
55:00 – Meat and masculinity – why men are less likely to go vegan
1:03:00 – Examples of amazing vegan athletes
1:07:00 – Backlash against plant based diets
1:09:00 – Pressure on vegans to be good examples
1:13:45 – Stereotype of militant vegans, vegan activism
1:18:45 – Minil’s recommendations for transitioning to a plant based diet
1:23:45 – Minil closing statement
1:25:05 – Where can Minil be found on social media?
1:26:15 – Episode outro
