15 Podcasts To Listen To For Tips On Healthy Eating
Podcasts have exploded in popularity over the past decade, quickly becoming a go-to source of not only entertainment, but also education for people of all ages and backgrounds. Podcasts are how we learn more about the topics that matter most to us — and people are listening to them on their phones while they drive, cook dinner, workout, do chores, or just relax on the sofa. And if you're somebody who wants to learn more about healthy eating, you're in luck. There are plenty of podcasts to choose from.
One of the reasons this variety and selection is so great is because healthy eating looks a little different to everyone. Having so many different podcasts means you can find one that's specifically tailored to your goals and your needs, whether you're trying to lose weight, train for athletic competition, raise a child with good food habits, or recover from disordered eating.
We've rounded up 15 of our favorite podcasts with varied approaches to healthy eating. One thing they all have in common, though? They're all reliable sources of information.
How to choose a nutrition podcast
Here's the tough thing about picking a nutrition podcast: How do you choose? After all, even if one of the podcasts on this list appeals to you, there are still hundreds of others out there. (And who actually listens to just one podcast?) So what is it that actually distinguishes a nutrition podcast as being worth a listen? And if you're looking for other options beyond this list, what should you be considering?
Livestrong encourages you to start by always checking the credentials of the podcast's host. Are they actually qualified to be talking about nutrition? If they simply call themselves a "nutritionist," that doesn't really count for anything — a nutritionist isn't a formal title, so pretty much anybody can claim it. Instead, you want to be looking for somebody who is a Registered Dietitian, indicated by the RD credentials after their name. Being an RD means this person has achieved a four-year degree in dietetics and maintains continuing education credits.
You also want to make sure the host of the podcast is backing up everything they say with evidence and research.
The Nutrition Show
When it comes to understanding nutrition, there's a lot to consider — and it can get pretty complicated. One of the reasons that The Nutrition Show (previously known as Mary's Nutrition Show) stands out is the approach its host takes to the subject matter: Mary Purdy, MS, RDN, strives to simplify healthy eating and cover trending topics in a way that's approachable and understandable, and she does it all with a sense of humor. With 14 years of experience in clinical nutrition, Purdy knows her stuff, and her philosophy is that food has the ability to improve people's lives because it helps them have more energy and fend off sickness.
The other aspect of The Nutrition Show that makes it unique is that it isn't just about people's health. It's also about the planet's health. As a climate activist, Purdy knows that the foods we eat have an effect on the environment around us, so she encourages eco-friendly diet choices and emphasizes sustainability in our diets.
Food Psych
Ever notice that you think about food a lot? You're not alone. Most of us like to consider what tastes good and what's healthy for us when we're making our dietary choices. The thing is, thinking about food should be a positive experience. But when people's approach to food and eating starts to have a negative effect on their lives, it's a problem. That's why Food Psych, hosted by Christy Harrison, MPH, RD, CEDS — a registered dietitian as well as an intuitive eating counselor — runs a podcast to help people heal their relationship with food.
Harrison's approach to nutrition is one that's against diet culture and the idea that restrictive food choices equate to health. Instead, she and her wide variety of guests focus on body positivity and moving away from disordered eating habits. They point out trendy concepts and behaviors that are often considered healthy but are actually restrictive and mentally harmful, all so that listeners get a better understanding of what it means to have a beneficial relationship with what they eat.
Food Heaven
When you think of good health, do you have a specific image of a person that comes to mind? Well, maybe it's time to rethink that. On the podcast Food Heaven, hosts Wendy Lopez and Jessica Jones — both registered dietitian nutritionists — talk to experts about what it means to actually be healthy, and how the concept of being healthy is inclusive of all people, regardless of their size or other outside factors.
In addition to being inclusive, their concept of good health is one that's sustainable: Good nutrition isn't about adopting certain eating habits for a short period of time to achieve a specific goal; instead, it's about what works for you in your everyday life for the long term. As part of the podcast, Lopez and Jones interview health experts who connect nutrition to things like mental health and social culture.
In short, Food Heaven is all about the big picture of how our food choices affect all aspects of our life — and how those food choices should be affecting us for the better.
Maintenance Phase
Maybe you've heard the term "maintenance phase" in regard to not necessarily trying to gain weight or lose weight — you're just trying to stay right where you are for the foreseeable future. And that's the idea behind the Maintenance Phase podcast, hosted by Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes: It's about maintaining a healthy lifestyle for the long term instead of focusing on the trends or the fads. Take, for example, keto or Weight Watchers. Although these diets are extremely popular, they aren't supported by actual health science and can be harmful to those who follow them.
Although neither host is a dietitian — Gordon is an author and body positivity activist, and Hobbes is a journalist — they back up their discussion with reliably sourced information as they discuss harmful fad diets (not just keto and Weight Watchers, but many others as well) and the way weight stigma permeates pop culture. Gordon and Hobbes also explore why some of the thinking behind trendy fad diets is unreliable and problematic.
The Nourished Child
Every parent wants to raise a healthy kid, but there's so much to consider: No two children are the same, and some have more adventurous approaches to food than others. Making the struggle even more complicated is the fact that kids are unpredictable at certain ages. They might like a food one day and then hate it the next, without any discernable reason for their preferences or aversions. It's enough to drive a parent crazy.
That's why there's The Nourished Child, hosted by registered dietitian and pediatric nutritionist Jill Castle, who also happens to be a mom herself (so she knows what parents are going through). On each episode of the podcast, Castle looks at how to approach child nutrition and providing growing bodies with the nutritious foods they need. She addresses every age of development and all the frustrations that come along with each, from picky toddlers who will hardly eat anything to teen athletes who seemingly need all the calories in the world to fuel themselves at practice.
In addition to providing nutritional knowledge, Castle creates an inclusive space for all parents of all children, promoting a philosophy of respect for different body shapes, sizes, colors, weight and abilities, as well as making sure healthy eating is adaptable to things like medical status, culture, and finances.
RD Real Talk
Sometimes, it feels as if all discussion of diet and nutrition is about is stilted or (if you'll pardon the metaphor in the context of nutritive health) sugar-coated. That's why there's the RD Real Talk podcast to change all of that. It's hosted by Heather Caplan, RD, and like many other dietitians of the 21st century, her goal is to dispel the misconception that healthy eating is all about restriction or categorizing foods as "good" and "bad."
Instead, she delves into conversations with her fellow dietitians so they can talk about the important topics regarding food and nutrition. They tackle subjects such as intuitive eating, weight-inclusive health care, nutrition for sports training, redefining the world "healthy," and how a healthy body image can help people (finally) achieve a healthy eating pattern that doesn't feel like dieting (because it isn't dieting). Throughout all the talking, Caplan and her guests strive to keep it real with their listeners, creating an environment where good nutrition feels accessible and understandable — and where people of all sizes are empowered to be healthy.
Drama-Free Healthy Living with Jess Cording
Being healthy shouldn't be stressful. But if you're following all the trends and subscribing to all of the hype, the concept of health suddenly takes on a lot of drama. That's not the way it should be, according to registered dietitian and health coach Jess Cording, host of the podcast Drama-Free Healthy Living with Jess Cording. On her podcast, Cording takes the approach that you can achieve good health and wellness without the overwhelm, instead taking small steps to change slowly and deliberating, replacing bad habits with good ones and creating a healthy life that feels comfortable.
Cording offers personal insight as somebody who struggled with an eating disorder and the need to always be busy. As she puts out, drinking too much green juice and doing every type of workout leads to burnout instead of fulfillment. Her approach as a dietitian and an integrative nutrition health coach is one that prioritizes the trifecta of mind-body-spirit. She still shows you how to do important things like balance your blood sugar or improve your gut health, but never in a way that feels stressful or overwhelming.
Sigma Nutrition
For those who take satisfaction in a deep understanding of science, Sigma Nutrition is sure to be the podcast of choice. It's hosted by Danny Lennon, who interviews highly qualified experts who know nutrition science and want to educate others about it. They actually take in-depth looks at everything you need to know about food and how it affects your body — and how you can improve your body's performance by fueling it the right way.
Additionally, Lennon and his guests will explain how everyday people can identify unreliable or harmful pseudoscience when it comes to nutrition and feel confident that they understand all the nuances of food as fuel. Everything discussed on Sigma Nutrition is backed by reliable evidence, with all the details broken down in insightful conversation and approached critically.
One thing worth noting about Sigma Force is that it isn't light listening: Even though the podcast is conversation based, everyone who is talking doesn't hold back on the details or abridge anything. It's a thorough, educational approach to dietetics and health that can leave you feeling empowered and hungry for more knowledge.
Plant Yourself
When you're adopting a plant-based lifestyle for your health (or for the health of the planet), it might be a little confusing as to where you can go for reliable information. After all, how do you separate the facts from all of the hype? On the podcast Plant Yourself, host Howard Jacobson, Ph.D., makes it easy and approachable. He strives to provide all the information and inspiration you need to live a plant-based lifestyle that is rewarding, not stressful.
Jacobson approaches his subject matter as somebody who previously lived an unhealthy life — one where he was stressed, inactive, overweight, and often struggling with pain. That's why he is able to provide such an empowering path forward for people who want to overhaul their lives and get healthy. Now the author of two books, "Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition" and "Proteinaholic," Jacobsen has a lot to say on the subject. While he himself is not a dietitian (his specialty is stress management), he brings on a wide variety of qualified guests to help him explore health topics.
Killer Food Allergies
Food allergies aren't something to mess around with. They're serious business — after all, those with a bad food allergy could end up seriously sick or even in a life-threatening situation. This can make it tough for somebody with a food allergy to navigate the already complicated work of nutrition and healthy eating. What are they supposed to do to ensure they are getting everything they need without eating (or encountering cross-contamination with) the foods that they shouldn't?
This is where the podcast Killer Food Allergies comes in. It's hosted by Holly Bayardo, who has experience trying to manage food allergies because of her two daughters. She knows food allergies can be complicated as well as controversial, as people get upset when you try to broach the topic. That's why Bayardo makes a point of combining her sharp sense of humor with emotional realness as she brings on qualified guests who can tell her, as the mom of children with allergies, the important information she needs to know to eat a healthy, safe, and fulfilling diet.
Rise Up Nutrition
If you've ever felt as if all the information out there on athlete nutrition focuses on boys and men instead of female athletes, then Rise Up Nutrition is the podcast you've been waiting for. The show's host, Lindsey Elizabeth Cortes, MS, RD, CSSD, is an accomplished athlete in addition to being a dietitian (she's served as a sports dietitian for the NCAA and many professional athletes), so she knows from personal experience the importance of fueling herself properly. She also knows that the female body isn't just a smaller version of the male body — it has specific needs that female athletes need to address.
In addition to giving female athletes the insight they need to fuel themselves for peak performance, Cortes addresses some of the things that her listeners should not be doing, namely subscribing to disordered eating ideology or thinking that there is a "right" look to a female athlete. Instead, she's focused on body acceptance and healthy eating that will help girls and women excel.
Diet Doctor Podcast
For some people, going low carb might be the way they want to go. For example, it might be how they have the easiest time managing their insulin levels or maintaining their ideal weight. But with so much unhealthy hype around low-carb diets, it's easy to start filling your diet with all the wrong foods.
On the Diet Doctor Podcast, host Dr. Bret Scher encourages people to look at science-based evidence instead of marketing ploys. Scher is a board-certified cardiologist and lipidologist who understands that it is possible to cut back on carbohydrates, thus getting more of your calories from fat and protein, without risking their health. Instead, Scher provides ways for people to go low-carb in a way that their health actually improves.
But don't think that the Diet Doctor Podcast is all complex medical advice. Even though it is hosted by a medical doctor, it's refreshingly understandable, with an emphasis on trustworthiness and simplicity.
Revolution Health Radio
Different podcasts exist for different health goals — but sometimes, your primary goal is just to sift through all of the nonsense to find the reliable information. That's the approach that host Chris Kresser, MS, LAc, takes on his podcast Revolution Health Radio, which explores good lifestyle practices like nutrition and how those practices are all connected — and once you improve the way you eat, it becomes much easier to manage other aspects of your health.
Kresser makes a point of debunking false information that permeates the nutrition and health industries, focusing instead on practical ways that people can not only ward off sickness and disease but even heal from it and achieve optimum health again. As the author of bestselling books "The Paleo Cure" and "Unconventional Medicine," as well as a clinician specializing in functional medicine, Kresser always makes sure that his approaches to his revolutionary health advice are backed by science and research.
The Doctor's Farmacy
As Mark Hyman, MD, host of the podcast The Doctor's Farmacy, tells people, "Food isn't like medicine. It is medicine. And it's our number-one tool for creating the vibrant health we deserve." This is the idea behind Hyman's approach to good health, and one he explores in each episode of his show.
He perceives the worsening of American health (and the widespread chronic disease among the American population) to be caused by agricultural, health, and food policies that keeps causing people to be sick. That's why Hyman explores the many changes that need to happen within American culture and politics if the population is going to achieve good health. Hyman encourages conversations that delve deep into the issues, and he approaches the political issues with the scientific, fact-based mindset of a doctor who wants to help people live better lives. Along the way, he shares plenty of wisdom for healthy practices that listeners can adopt until major change can be undertaken.
Dishing Up Nutrition
There's a lot to consider when it comes to good nutrition and healthy eating. Sometimes, you just need to take an in-depth look across the entire spectrum — and the podcast Dishing Up on Nutrition does just that. Each episode is hosted by a different one of the many dietitians working with Nutritional Weight and Wellness, a Minnesota-based education and counseling center that focuses on the relationship between the food you eat and the way your body functions.
Episodes of the podcast encourage realistic practices you can apply in everyday life, with a firm understanding that there are no "good" or "bad" foods. In other words, a balanced diet contains things like healthy fat and nutrient-dense carbohydrates, as well as protein from animal sources. These are the foods that will help you have more energy and stop feeling as if you're deprived, rundown, or imbalanced. As a bonus, the podcast is supplemented by blog posts and recipe ideas.