Foodie Pharmacology Podcast

Oca! A Delightful Tuber with Dr. Eve Emshwiller

This week, we get to the root of things! Literally! I speak with Dr. Eve Emshwiller, ethnobotanist and expert on the Andean tuber crop “Oca” in the genus Oxalis. We dig into the fascinating genetics, chemistry, and morphology of this staple food source. We also discuss how research on crop wild relatives can contribute to food security for the future.

#oca #Andes #crops #eveemshwiller

Pink Peppercorn Beer with a Hallucinogenic Twist with Dr. Matthew Biwer

I speak with archeologist and paleobotanist, Dr. Matthew Biwer, about some exciting new research on ancient beer brewing practices in the pre-Columbian Andes. We discuss evidence that Peruvian peppertree (molle, the source of pink peppercorns) was used as a beer ingredient along with a DMT-containing plant (a bean tree locally known as vilca). While vilca was used as a hallucinogenic snuff by other groups, archeological evidence at Quilcapampa indicates that it may have also been used in molle brews. From entheogens to beer and ancient feasting practices, there are a lot of fun concepts to unpack in this episode.

#beer #Wari #hallucinogen #pinkpeppercorn

Medicinal Plants & Integrative Medicine with Dr. Stephen Dahmer

At Foodie Pharmacology, we’re not only fascinated with the incredible pharmacological potential of medicinal plants, but are also eager to learn more about how this translates into integrative medicine. We have a wonderful guest today to discuss this topic: Dr. Stephen Dahmer. Dr. Dahmer is a board-certified family physician whose passion for health and healing has taken him around the globe. A fellow of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, for over two decades he has studied the relationships between plants and people, working closely with diverse cultures and documenting their uses of plants and other integrative therapies. You can learn more about Dr. Dahmer’s work supporting clinical trials on Cannabis at https://vireohealth.com/ and follow him on social media on Twitter @DrStephenDahmer and Instagram @stephendahmermd .

#cannabis #ClinicalTrials #IntegrativeMedicine

Eating to Extinction with Dan Saladino

It’s an incredible thing to learn how humans have sorted through nearly 400,000 species of plants over the centuries and have determined which plants are useful as foods, medicines, tools and more. Yet when it comes to food, despite access to what feels like every type of cuisine globally, our modern diets are less varied than ever. Of the more than 6,000 species of plants once consumed by humans, only nine remain staples today. And of those—rice, wheat, and corn—now make up half of our calories. The world is currently at a crisis point, with one million plant and animal species threatened with extinction. But there are those who are fighting to save these species, dedicating their lives to not only capturing this traditional food knowledge, but also preserving the species and their flavors that could greatly enhance the human diet. My guest today is the award-winning food journalist, Dan Saladino. He is author of the new book “Eating to extinction: The world’s rarest foods and why we need to save them”. You can also follow Dan’s work on Twitter @DanSaladinoUK and Instagram @dan.saladino .

#biodiversity #foodsystems #crops

Wild Waters with Susanne Masters

Have you spent much time exploring the water? Whether by swimming, kayaking, or hiking along the edges of aquatic habitats—there is always something interesting to see… and sometimes even tasty to eat! On this episode I speak with Susanne Masters, author of the new book Wild Waters: A wildlife and water lover’s companion to the aquatic world. We discuss curious creatures like eels, anemones, kelp and watermint and explore their history and present roll in the culinary traditions of Britain and Ireland.

#kelp #eels #watermint #WildWaters

Wild Food & Migration with Prof. Andrea Pieroni

This week on the show, we’re going to get a little wild, exploring the wild food traditions across geographic borders in the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, Balkans and Middle East! I’m joined by Professor Andrea Pieroni, a leading ethnobiologist who studies the food traditions of diaspora and minority populations. We discuss the ties between traditional knowledge and community resilience, and celebrate some of the incredible foods found in some of the most remote regions of the world.

#ethnobiology #WildFood #migrant #SlowFood

Hooked with Michael Moss

We’ve talked a lot about the topics of food security and food choice on the show, and I think most of you will agree that it can be hard to keep a healthy diet. But, have you ever considered if some of our food decisions are beyond our control? Are certain foods engineered to be addictive, like drugs or alcohol? An how complicit is the food industry in creating and marketing such foods? We’ll cover these topics and more today with our special guest, Pulitzer prize winning and best selling author, Michael Moss. He’ll share insights from his latest book, Hooked: Food, Free Will and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions. Find out more at his website, https://www.mossbooks.us/ or follow him on Instagram @michaelcmoss .

#FoodIndustry #Addiction #SaltSugarFat #Hooked

Fresh Banana Leaves with Dr. Jessica Hernandez

Human health and the sustainability of our global food systems are both intimately linked to the health of planet Earth. But, with the rise of climate change, our world is less healthy than ever before. Despite the undeniable fact that Indigenous communities are among the most affected by climate devastation, Indigenous science is nowhere to be found in mainstream environmental policy or discourse. We have so much to learn from Indigenous holistic land, water and forest management. This week, we’re joined by Indigenous environmental scientist, Dr. Jessica Hernandez, who breaks down why Western conservationism isn’t working and offers Indigenous perspectives on this critical issue. Jessica is author of a new book, Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous Science. Read more about her work at https://www.jessicabhernandez.com/ or follow her on Twitter @doctora_nature 

#IndigenousScience #Science #ClimateChange

How We Eat with Paco Underhill

Modern supermarkets bombard shoppers with colorful displays and marketing featuring terms like “healthy” and “all natural”… but what do those marketing titles really mean? Paco Underhill, founder of the behavioral research and consulting firm Envirosell Global LLC, and bestselling author of books like Why we Buy: The Science of Shopping joins us on the show. We chat about his new book, How We Eat: The Brave New World of Food and Beverages, and the evolution of the modern supermarket.

#supermarket #groceries #FoodIndustry #HowWeEat #WhyWeBuy #ScienceOfShopping

Probiotics, Gut Health, and the Microbiome with Dr. Rheinallt Jones

The science behind how the gut microbiome affects our health rapidly evolving with new tools that enable scientists to not only sequence the complex mixtures of microbes in the gut, but also with new laboratory models that enable the study of single microbes in otherwise sterile systems. This week, I welcome an expert in the field of gut microbiome studies, Dr. Rheinallt Jones, to the show. He’s an Associate Professor at the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition of the Department of Pediatrics and founder and director of the Emory Gnotobiotic Core. If you’ve had deep questions about the science of how probiotics and the gut microbiome influences human health, this is the episode for you! 

#probiotics #microbiome #GutHealth #PlantHunter #ThePlantHunter