In today’s HGK podcast, I interview my good friend, the popular plant-based diet blogger from Happy, Healthy, Long Life and “Facebooker,” Debby Kastner, aka “The Healthy Librarian.” Debby has been on a continuous and open journey to find what works for her, and she doesn’t get caught up in dogma, so if you are still here reading HGK after all of these years, I consider Debby to be one of our true soul mates!
Debby has been in the medical library “business” for 45 years, and she’s been a medical librarian at the Cleveland Clinic for 28 years. Since she got her first library card & could walk to the library herself, she’s been hooked on the medical/health/self-improvement book shelves. Seriously! She was a weird kid. She’s always skeptical – yet open-minded.
At 8 years old Debby was telling her parents that it was important for her to get to sleep by 8:00 pm, and they better start giving her a multi-vitamin because she probably wasn’t getting everything she needed from what she was eating. Since Debby couldn’t swallow a pill at that age, & there weren’t chewables back then, she hid it in some cereal & bit right into it. Yuck. Debby also told her parents that it was important for her to have chores, be grounded if she did something wrong, & have a curfew in high school, but hey refused to give in to her!
Years later, at 67, Debby’s still “test driving” everything new that comes along in the health & fitness field that seems sensible to her, all in the name of a HAPPY HEALTHY LONG LIFE.—and definitely sticking with her tried & true discoveries: a mostly plant-based diet; strenuous fun exercise; a good night’s sleep & plenty of time for fun. She’s like a kid in a candy store working and doing research in one of the best medical libraries around. She has access to over 30,000 electronic journals, and so much more!
Debby has learned a lot along the way that she freely shares with anyone who cares to listen. Starting a blog back in 2008, that’s morphed into a public Facebook page, is her way to just keep track of all the great information that comes her way and to write about what the researchers are really reporting in medical journals, not the spin the public reads in the “press releases”. But, most importantly, Debby gets a chance to report on “her adventures in evidence-based living”—along with anything that deeply touches her heart, or gets her riled up—-including books, film, theater or politics.
Debby has been married for 45 years to the funniest, most organized & disciplined guy she knows, who’s her recipe taste-tester & hiking partner, and known to blog & Facebook readers as, the “The Lab Rat”. She has two super-fit, plant-loving grown sons—in spite of feeding them frozen waffles, hot dogs, eggs, homemade chocolate chip cookies & chicken nuggets when they were growing up. So, there IS HOPE—if you mess up. One still plays club soccer twice a week, & the other bikes & runs trails. And Debby is very lucky to also have a super-fit food conscious daughter-in-law who loves to exercise & take long walks with, & two of the cutest grandchildren EVER, who mostly eat plants—-but also love eggs, organic white cheddar cheese, Mitchell’s ice cream, French toast & pizza. Veggie Grill is their favorite restaurant!
Debby is totally addicted to NPR, the New York Times, coffee in the morning, live theater, watching indie or foreign films in a movie theater, mah jongg & dancing.
You can listen to the episode right here, or click over to this place to listen.
Going to look into testing my blood sugar level to learn more. Another great podcast Wendy!
Great podcast! Thanks, I learn so much from both of you.
Thank you Wendy!! There was so much good information.
You’re welcome Lindy! You are also one of those women role models who is defying age in the biggest way!!! xoxoxo