Food, Connection & Climate: A Doctor’s Wake-Up Call
In this episode of the Fieldnotes podcast, Dr. Rob Downey speaks with Dr. Colin Zhu—a family and lifestyle medicine physician, chef, and health coach—about the powerful role food plays in shaping personal well-being, community connection, and planetary sustainability. Drawing from his upbringing under a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner and his diverse medical background, Dr. Zhu explains how disconnection from our food sources has widespread health and ecological consequences. He emphasizes that food is more than nourishment—it’s a love language, a tool for healing, and a reflection of our relationship with ourselves and the planet. Together, they discuss how mindfulness, meaningful relationships, and small daily choices can catalyze major transformations in individual and collective health.
(00:55) Food connects us across all levels
(04:30) Food is emotional and political
(07:04) DOs embrace holistic mind-body healing
(10:32) Livestock drives rainforest destruction
(17:23) Relationships predict health and longevity
Colin Zhu
DO, DipABLM, CHC, Chef
Dr. Colin Zhu is double Board-Certified in Family Practice and Lifestyle Medicine. Driven by his passion for the intersection of medicine, food, and nutrition, he trained as a plant-based chef and health coach at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health & Culinary Arts and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition respectively. Having worked in general practice, he quickly observed the inefficiencies of the modern healthcare system. Therefore, in 2017, he launched TheChefDoc, an online wellness and lifestyle education platform that has now been featured in several publications to impact the general public more broadly and deeply.
Dr. Colin Zhu is double Board-Certified in Family Practice and Lifestyle Medicine. Driven by his passion for the intersection of medicine, food, and nutrition, he trained as a plant-based chef and health coach at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health & Culinary Arts and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition respectively. Having worked in general practice, he quickly observed the inefficiencies of the modern healthcare system. Therefore, in 2017, he launched TheChefDoc, an online wellness and lifestyle education platform that has now been featured in several publications to impact the general public more broadly and deeply.
Dr. Zhu is an international speaker, the author of “Thrive Medicine: How To Cultivate Your Desires and Elevate Your Life,” and the host of the Thrive Bites Podcast in which he interviews health and wellness experts on living a plant-powered lifestyle, enhancing emotional wellness, and creating a thriving mindset. He also created The THR5 Formula™ during the pandemic, a self-educational masterclass series that combines inspiration, education, and practical tools on how to thrive, with its 5 To THR5™ Pillars: Food As Medicine, Functional Fitness, Relationships, Community, & Emotional Resilience.
He is currently on the Board of Directors of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM), a professional organization galvanized to make Lifestyle Medicine the foundation of all health care. He is also the current Chair of the Food As Medicine/Culinary Medicine Member Interest Group at ACLM. Dr. Zhu’s main mission is to help connect the dots between individual, community, and planetary health and how our life choices create a dynamic ripple effect. Currently based in Southern California, Dr. Zhu can be available to consult and speak worldwide.
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