The Proof with Simon Hill

Six years on from our first conversation, global meat consumption is at a record high, and the harms of industrial animal agriculture have only deepened. Bruce Friedrich, founder of the Good Food Institute, is back on the podcast to argue that the answer is not asking people to eat less, but rebuilding meat itself from the ground up.

Bruce is the author of the new book Meat: How the Next Agricultural Revolution Will Transform Humanity's Favorite Food and Our Future, and one of the most thoughtful voices working on alternative proteins anywhere in the world.

What we cover:

Why public health messaging on meat has not changed consumption since the 1960s

The four harms of industrial animal agriculture

An honest post-mortem on Beyond Meat and the plant-based industry

Where cultivated meat actually sits in 2026

Why this transition needs governments, not only venture capital

The ultra-processed food backlash and what the science really shows

To connect with Bruce Friedrich, you can find his book at meatbook.org, learn more about the Good Food Institute at gfi.org, follow him on X at x.com/BruceGFriedrich, or connect with him on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/brucegfriedrich.

Support the work of the Good Food Institute. Listener donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $30,000: gfidonorportal.donorsupport.co

Intro (00:00)

Why Feeding Crops to Animals Is Destroying the Planet (02:02)

Is Everything Getting Worse? A 6-Year Update (07:33)

Plant-Based Meat: Honest Assessment of What Went Wrong (13:42)

Did These Products Come to Market Too Early? (19:42)

What US Government Support for Alt Proteins Should Look Like (25:56)

35 Governments Are Now Funding This Research (33:12)

Why Conservative States Banned Cultured Meat (36:42)

Are Traditional Meat Companies Actually on Board? (40:07)

Why Meat Consumption Will Keep Rising Until 2050 (47:06)

Is Innovation Actually Stalling? The Real Picture (52:10)

Why Cultivated Meat May Beat Plant-Based to the Finish Line (56:47)

The Science of Plant Fats vs. Animal Fats Explained (01:00:22)

The Biggest Blind Spot in Plant-Based Meat Today (01:07:35)

Cultivated Meat Regulatory Milestones: From Zero to 5 Countries (01:14:13)

The Only Engineering Challenge That Could Doom Cultured Meat (01:18:05)

FDA Approval, Chicken with Cancer, and Why Cultured Meat Is Safer (01:20:30)

Cultured Meat Prices Dropped 100,000x in 12 Years (01:25:21)

Vow Foods' SpaceX-Inspired Bioreactor Breakthrough (01:30:42)

How GFI Raises Money And a $30K Donation Match (01:34:55)

The Protein Myth: Why Impossible Burgers Beat Beef on Nutrition (01:39:31)

This episode is brought to you by:

38TERA

Consider 38TERA's DMN prebiotic supplement a daily multivitamin for your gut. Formulated by yours truly and gastroenterologist Dr Will Bulsiewicz. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout.

38Tera ships to the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

IM8

With 92 nutrients, including Vitamin B12, Iodine, Selenium and Vitamin D, in highly absorbable forms, IM8 Daily Essentials is the perfect all-in-one daily multi-vitamin to ensure you meet your daily micronutrient needs. IM8 is offering an exclusive 10% off your first order with a free welcome kit when you enter the promo code SIMON at checkout on im8health.com.

IM8 ships to 27 countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and many regions across Europe, Asia, and South America.

ProLon

ProLon’s 5-Day Fasting Mimicking Diet is a science-backed, plant-based program designed to support metabolic health while keeping your body in a fasting-like state. Get 15% off sitewide plus a $40 bonus gift at ProLonLife.com/THEPROOF.

ProLon ships within the United States.

Function Health

Take charge of your health with advanced blood testing and personalised insights. Function Health offers a practical way to track key health markers such as cholesterol, blood sugar, and more. Learn more and join at functionhealth.com/simonhill for a $25 credit toward your membership. Only available to those living in the United States.

Function Health ships to 48 U.S. states, excluding Rhode Island, Hawai‘i, and Puerto Rico.

Cozy Earth

This spring, give yourself the kind of comfort that lives with you all day - not just the moment you get home. Head to cozyearth.com and use my code THEPROOF for an exclusive 20% off.

Cozy Earth ships worldwide.

WHOOP

Whoop, the most advanced fitness and health wearable available. Your personalised fitness and health coach to recover faster, sleep better, and train smarter. Claim your first month free on join.whoop.com/simon.

Whoop ships to 56+ international markets, including the US, Canada, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Singapore, and parts of Asia.

Cardiovascular disease is the world's leading killer, and yet the prevention conversation has become noisier and more confused than ever. In this Masterclass I bring together the evidence-first material I think is most useful for understanding cholesterol, blood pressure, and long-term heart health.

You will hear from Dr Walter Willett at Harvard, cardiology dietitian Michelle Routhenstein, and nephrologist Dr Raymond Townsend, alongside my own deep dives on plaque regression, the Portfolio Diet, and six landmark trials.

What we cover:

Legumes as the most underrated longevity food

The Portfolio Diet and a 30% LDL reduction without statins

What six trials tell us about diet, plaque progression, and regression

Dr Walter Willett on saturated fat, seed oils, and dairy

Sodium, potassium, and the DASH diet for blood pressure

Why diet, exercise, and medications work best together

The earlier you start, the more leverage you have. This Masterclass is meant to give you a clearer map of what actually works.

If this episode was useful, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple or Spotify. It helps more than you might think.

Most Underrated Foods for Long-Term Health (00:00)

Can You Actually Reverse Artery Plaque? (03:07)

How to Lower ApoB Without Statins (07:19)

The Portfolio Diet: Cut LDL by 30% (09:11)

6 Trials That Changed Heart Disease Science (16:30)

Michelle Routhenstein: Why Doctors Skip ApoB Testing (20:07)

Best Food Swaps to Lower ApoB (27:04)

RFK Jr, Seed Oils, and the Saturated Fat Debate (35:48)

Full-Fat vs. Low-Fat Dairy and Your Heart (38:27)

Blood Pressure: Why the Sodium-Potassium Ratio Matters (43:08)

Walter Willett: The True Mediterranean Diet (45:19)

Are Seed Oils Inflammatory? The Science (50:50)

Should You Cook with Olive Oil or Not (57:44)

Full-Fat vs. Low-Fat Dairy: 2025 Research (01:03:00)

Dairy vs. Soy Milk: Health and Planet (01:09:32)

Plant Protein vs. Animal Protein: The Data (01:14:52)

Raymond Townsend: Top Levers for Lowering Blood Pressure (01:16:38)

Best Exercise Type for Blood Pressure (01:20:13)

How Sodium Raises Blood Pressure Over Time (01:24:48)

Potassium vs. Sodium: Why the Ratio Is Everything (01:30:40)

Should You Watch Salt with Normal Blood Pressure (01:43:51)

Why the DASH Diet Works as Well as a Drug (01:48:31)

Want to support the show?

The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends. You can also support the show by leaving a review on the Apple Podcast app and sharing your favourite episodes with friends and family.

This episode is brought to you by:

38TERA

Consider 38TERA's DMN prebiotic supplement a daily multivitamin for your gut. Formulated by yours truly and gastroenterologist Dr Will Bulsiewicz. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout. 38Tera ships to the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Eight Sleep

Upgrade your sleep with the Pod 5 Ultra by Eight Sleep. Clinically validated to deliver up to 1 extra hour of quality sleep per night through temperature control and biometric tracking. Use code THEPROOF for $350 off at eightsleep.com/theproof. Try it risk-free for 30 days, with worldwide shipping.

Eight Sleep ships to the U.S. (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and territories), Canada, Mexico, most of the EU, the U.K., Australia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland.

Momentous

My go-to supplement brand for protein and creatine is Momentous. Use code THEPROOF for up to 35% off your first order at livemomentous.com.

Momentous ships to many countries worldwide depending on local import regulations.

SwimClub

SwimClub is a science-backed supplement designed to support male fertility, sperm health, and reproductive wellness. Head to swimclub.co to get 25% off your first order with code THEPROOF.

HomeServe

Help protect your home systems – and your wallet – with HomeServe against covered repairs. Plans start at just $4.99 a month. Go to HomeServe.com to find the plan that’s right for you.

HomeServe is not available everywhere. Most plans range between $4.99 to $11.99 a month your first year. Terms apply on covered repairs.

WHOOP

Whoop, the most advanced fitness and health wearable available. Your personalised fitness and health coach to recover faster, sleep better, and train smarter. Claim your first month free on join.whoop.com/simon.

Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Creator of theproof.com

Host of The Proof with Simon Hill

Author of The Proof is in the Plants

Subscribe & Connect:

YouTube

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Instagram: @simonhill

Twitter: @theproof

Facebook: The Proof with Simon Hill

Nourish your gut with my Plant-Based Ferments Guide and download my Two-Week Meal Plan.

The peptide and GLP-1 conversation has reached a fever pitch. Growth-hormone-releasing peptides are being marketed as longevity tools, GLP-1s are being treated as a default rather than a last resort, and a wellness aesthetic of higher IGF-1, more muscle, and less fat is being sold as the route to a longer life. In this episode, I sit down with Dr Valter Longo, Professor of Gerontology at USC and Director of the USC Longevity Institute, to look at what the data actually says.

Valter developed the Fasting-Mimicking Diet, has led foundational work on the growth hormone, IGF-1, insulin, and TOR axis across yeast, mice, and humans, and runs non-profit longevity foundation clinics in Europe and the US. He calls himself the anti-biohacker and makes the case using the totality of evidence rather than the loudest claim.

What we cover:

The peptide boom and why every line of evidence cuts the other way

The body composition reality of GLP-1s after 3 to 4 years

The optimal IGF-1 range and how to land there with food and timing

The Fasting-Mimicking Diet across more than 47 clinical trials, including the biological-age reduction studies

The Harvard plant-versus-animal protein data, properly read

A grounded case against ketogenic patterns for longevity and what to eat instead

If this conversation lands, a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify makes a real difference.

To follow more of Dr Valter Longo's work, visit his website, find him on Instagram, and explore the work of the Create Cures Foundation, the Valter Longo Foundation, the Longevity Technology Institute, and the European Longevity Institute through his published research and his book The Longevity Diet.

Intro (00:00)

The Peptide Boom and What Is Actually Being Sold (00:01)

GLP-1s: 92 Per Cent Drop-Out and the Body Composition Math (00:02)

The Fasting-Mimicking Diet Reverses Western-Diet Damage (00:13)

Snell, Ames, and Laron Dwarf Mice (00:18)

The Laron Syndrome Cohort in Ecuador (00:24)

Acromegaly and the Cost of High Growth Hormone (00:28)

The Optimal IGF-1 Range: 120 to 160 ng/mL (00:50)

Plant vs Animal Protein, Properly Read (00:57)

The Anti-Keto Case from Okinawa to Loma Linda (01:08)

Stanford Crohn's, Miami UC, and Rome Kidney Disease (01:22)

Biological Age Reduction After Three FMD Cycles (01:25)

FMD Safety Across More Than a Million Users (01:31)

The Longevity Diet: Eat More, Eat Better (01:43)

This episode is brought to you by:

38TERA

Consider 38TERA's DMN prebiotic supplement a daily multivitamin for your gut. Formulated by yours truly and gastroenterologist Dr Will Bulsiewicz. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout.

38Tera ships to the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Pique

Pique’s Nandaka combines fermented Pu’er tea, full-spectrum Reishi, ceremonial cacao, and L-theanine for calm, sustained energy without the coffee crash. Unlock 20% off and establish your powerful foundation for sustained well-being at Piquelife.com/SIMON.

Pique ships within the U.S. and to Australia, Canada, and select EU countries.

Function Health

Take charge of your health with advanced blood testing and personalised insights. Function Health offers a practical way to track key health markers such as cholesterol, blood sugar, and more. Learn more and join at functionhealth.com/simonhill for a $25 credit toward your membership. Only available to those living in the United States.

Function Health ships to 48 U.S. states, excluding Rhode Island, Hawai‘i, and Puerto Rico.

Truemed

Truemed helps qualified customers use pre-tax HSA or FSA dollars on health-related products like fitness, recovery, and sleep tools, often saving around 30% on average. Visit Truemed.com to see what qualifies. This is hands down the best way to make the most of your health dollars.

IM8

With 92 nutrients, including Vitamin B12, Iodine, Selenium and Vitamin D, in highly absorbable forms, IM8 Daily Essentials is the perfect all-in-one daily multi-vitamin to ensure you meet your daily micronutrient needs. IM8 is offering an exclusive 10% off your first order with a free welcome kit when you enter the promo code SIMON at checkout on im8health.com.

IM8 ships to 27 countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and many regions across Europe, Asia, and South America.

WHOOP

WHOOP, the most advanced fitness and health wearable available. Your personalised fitness and health coach to recover faster, sleep better, and train smarter. Claim your first month free on join.whoop.com/simon.

WHOOP ships to 56+ international markets, including the US, Canada, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Singapore, and parts of Asia.

Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Creator of theproof.com

Host of The Proof with Simon Hill

Author of The Proof is in the Plants

Subscribe & Connect:

YouTube

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Instagram: @theproof

Twitter: @theproof

Facebook: The Proof with Simon Hill

Plant-based nutrition has rarely been more contested. Seed oils are vilified, butter is celebrated, protein is treated as a pure quantity question, and nutrition epidemiology is routinely dismissed by people who have never read one of its papers. In this episode, I sit down with Dr Andrea Glenn, an Assistant Professor at NYU and Visiting Scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, to look at what the strongest evidence actually shows.

We cover the recent plant-versus-animal protein data from the Nurses' Health Studies and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, the Portfolio Diet, the new CHEAP trial, the JAMA Internal Medicine butter and plant oil paper, and the new 2026 AHA dietary guidance.

What we cover:

The plant-to-animal protein ratio and its association with cardiovascular and coronary heart disease risk

The Portfolio Diet, what it contains, and how its LDL-lowering effects compare to a low-dose statin

Butter, beef tallow, tropical oils, and what the latest mortality data show

Why "low-carb" is not one diet, and why food sources matter as much as the macronutrient breakdown

A grounded defence of nutrition epidemiology and the role of food frequency questionnaires

Practical takeaways for how to eat in line with the new AHA guidance

This is the conversation I wanted to have for anyone tired of nutrition by hashtag. If it lands, a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify makes a real difference.

To follow more of Dr Andrea Glenn's work, find her on Instagram at instagram.com/andrea.glenn.rd, on X at x.com/andreaglennrd, and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/andrea-glennrd.

Intro (00:00)

Plant vs Animal Protein Ratio and Heart Disease (01:17)

Does Total Protein Amount Also Affect CVD Risk? (05:33)

Why Nutrition Epidemiology Critics Often Get It Wrong (11:00)

Where Epidemiology Fits in the Evidence Hierarchy (17:28)

Sensitivity Analyses: How Scientists Test Their Results (22:16)

What It's Like Doing Science at Harvard (28:55)

The Portfolio Diet: Origins and the Science Behind It (32:21)

The CHEAP Trial: Testing Portfolio Diet Long-Term (41:03)

Portfolio Diet in Cohort Studies: What the Data Shows (50:24)

Unsaturated Fats: Are They Inherently Heart-Protective? (56:16)

Phytosterol Supplements: LDL Benefits vs Safety Questions (01:00:06)

Butter vs Plant Oils: What Mortality Data Actually Shows (01:06:57)

Plant vs Animal MUFAs and Type 2 Diabetes Risk (01:12:11)

Low-Carb Diet Quality and Diabetes Risk: New Data (01:15:37)

2026 AHA Dietary Guidelines: Key Differences Explained (01:20:23)

Portfolio Diet's Potential to Reduce Disease Burden (01:26:35)

This episode is brought to you by:

38TERA

Consider 38TERA's DMN prebiotic supplement a daily multivitamin for your gut. Formulated by yours truly and gastroenterologist Dr Will Bulsiewicz. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout.

38Tera ships to the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

LMNT

Stay hydrated with LMNT. Get a free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular drink mix flavours with any purchase at DrinkLMNT.com/SIMON Find your favourite LMNT flavour, or share with a friend. And if you don’t like it? Full refund, no questions asked.

LMNT ships to the U.S. and Canada, with sparkling flavors available only in the contiguous U.S.

Shopify

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Momentous

My go-to supplement brand for protein and creatine is Momentous. Use code THEPROOF for up to 35% off your first order at livemomentous.com.

Momentous ships to many countries worldwide depending on local import regulations.

Eight Sleep

Upgrade your sleep with the Pod 5 Ultra by Eight Sleep. Clinically validated to deliver up to 1 extra hour of quality sleep per night through temperature control and biometric tracking. Use code THEPROOF for $350 off at eightsleep.com/theproof. Try it risk-free for 30 days, with worldwide shipping.

Eight Sleep ships to the U.S. (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and territories), Canada, Mexico, most of the EU, the U.K., Australia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland.

Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Creator of theproof.com

Host of The Proof with Simon Hill

Author of The Proof is in the Plants

Subscribe & Connect:

YouTube

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Instagram: @simonhill

Twitter: @theproof

Facebook: The Proof with Simon Hill

Ultra-processed foods are now the central nutrition conversation of the decade, but the gap between the marketing and the evidence has never been wider. In this episode, I sit down with registered nutritionist and Sunday Times bestselling author Rhiannon Lambert to bring some practical clarity to what the science actually says.

We get into how the NOVA system can be too blunt to be useful, why calorie counts on packets are often 30 to 40 per cent inaccurate, what the most recent UPF and cancer data actually shows, and how to spot the difference between sensible fortification and the additives that are genuinely worth questioning.

What we cover:

What ultra-processed foods really are, and why the NOVA category is so blunt

The food matrix and why calorie labels can be misleading

UPFs, cancer risk, and the UCL home-cooking study

The UK colourings linked to hyperactivity, MSG, and artificial sweeteners

How to read a label in under thirty seconds

Practical strategies for cooking more at home, even on a budget

This is a conversation about reclaiming the kitchen without falling into purism. If it lands, a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify makes a real difference.

To learn more from Rhiannon Lambert, visit her clinic at rhitrition.com, follow her on Instagram at instagram.com/rhitrition and TikTok at tiktok.com/@rhitrition, and pick up her books, The Unprocessed Plate **and The Fibre Formula. You can also find her co-hosting The Wellness Scoop podcast with Ella Mills.

This episode is brought to you by:

38TERA

Consider 38TERA's DMN prebiotic supplement a daily multivitamin for your gut. Formulated by yours truly and gastroenterologist Dr Will Bulsiewicz. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout. 38Tera ships to the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Momentous

My go-to supplement brand for protein and creatine is Momentous. Use code THEPROOF for up to 35% off your first order at livemomentous.com.

Momentous ships to many countries worldwide depending on local import regulations.

ProLon

ProLon’s 5-Day Fasting Mimicking Diet is a science-backed, plant-based program designed to support metabolic health while keeping your body in a fasting-like state. Get 15% off sitewide plus a $40 bonus gift at ProLonLife.com.

ProLon ships within the United States.

IM8

With 92 nutrients, including Vitamin B12, Iodine, Selenium and Vitamin D, in highly absorbable forms, IM8 Daily Essentials is the perfect all-in-one daily multi-vitamin to ensure you meet your daily micronutrient needs. IM8 is offering an exclusive 10% off your first order with a free welcome kit when you enter the promo code SIMON at checkout on im8health.com.

IM8 ships to 27 countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and many regions across Europe, Asia, and South America.

HomeServe

HomeServe helps protect your home from unexpected repair costs, covering things like plumbing, electrical, and HVAC issues that standard insurance often doesn’t include. With 24/7 support and access to local contractors, it takes the stress out of urgent repairs. Plans start from $4.99 a month at HomeServe.com.

WHOOP

WHOOP, the most advanced fitness and health wearable available. Your personalised fitness and health coach to recover faster, sleep better, and train smarter. Claim your first month free on join.whoop.com/simon. WHOOP ships to 56+ international markets, including the US, Canada, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Singapore, and parts of Asia.

Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Creator of theproof.com

Host of The Proof with Simon Hill

Author of The Proof is in the Plants

Subscribe & Connect:

YouTube

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Instagram: @simonhill

Twitter: @theproof

Facebook: The Proof with Simon Hill