June 23, 2025

From Pills to Plants: Dr. Regina Ragasa's Prescription for Weight Loss and Lasting Health

What happens when a physician realizes that medications aren’t healing—but whole plants are?

In this compelling PLANTSTRONG Podcast episode, Rip Esselstyn sits down with Dr. Regina Ragasa, Chief of Obesity Medicine at Kaiser Permanente and a triple board-certified physician in family, lifestyle, and obesity medicine. Dr. Ragasa opens up about the turning point in her career when she realized her prescriptions weren’t reversing disease—only masking it.

After witnessing a single patient reverse type 2 diabetes, shed insulin, and lose 30 pounds through diet alone, Dr. Ragasa made it her mission to champion plant-based nutrition as the most powerful tool in medicine.

🔑 Key Takeaways

1. “Patient Zero” Proved Food Could Reverse Diabetes

“Within one week of going plant-based, she stopped all of her insulin.”
– Dr. Regina Ragasa

Dr. Ragasa’s pivotal moment came when a patient refused to increase her insulin dosage and asked for another option. Reluctantly, Dr. Ragasa suggested trying a whole food, plant-based diet—replacing animal protein with beans and choosing fruit or nuts over dairy as snacks. Within a week, the patient was off insulin completely due to frequent blood sugar lows. A month later, her A1C had dropped a full point, and soon after, she was medication-free. This “Patient Zero” story ignited Dr. Ragasa’s transformation and began her journey into lifestyle medicine.

2. The 3 Rules for Sustainable Weight Loss

Dr. Ragasa simplifies her obesity treatment into three highly effective nutrition rules:

No Animal Products:
Animal proteins are calorie-dense, high in fat, and contain zero fiber. Even lean meats like chicken and fish are about 19% fat. Beans, on the other hand, are just 3% fat and packed with fiber, which improves digestion, lowers inflammation, and enhances satiety. She calls beans a “high-quality protein” that check the two boxes she cares about most: low-fat and high-fiber.
No Ultra-Processed Foods:
Dr. Ragasa encourages patients to ask, “Could I find this food in nature?” While technically plant-based, foods like protein shakes and Oreos are far from whole. Her rule of thumb: if it didn’t grow from the ground or come from a tree, think twice.
No Cooking with Oil:
Oil is the most calorie-dense food on the planet at 4,000 calories per pound—and most Americans unknowingly consume 3–4 tablespoons a day. By eliminating oil, one of her patients lost 20 pounds in just 6 weeks. Dr. Ragasa even calls oil “empty calories with no flavor,” and she encourages steam-sautéing and oil-free dressings for easy swaps.

“Nobody buys a bottle of olive oil and pours themselves a glass.”
– Dr. Regina Ragasa

3. GLP-1s Work—But Food Is the Real Maintenance Dose

“GLP-1s are a natural hormone your body produces. The real maintenance dose? A high-fiber, low-fat diet.”
– Dr. Regina Ragasa

While she doesn’t dismiss the use of GLP-1 weight loss drugs (like Ozempic or Wegovy), Dr. Ragasa emphasizes that the root solution lies in your daily diet. GLP-1s work by suppressing appetite, but your body can naturally produce these hormones with a fiber-rich, low-fat lifestyle. She teaches patients that food—not pharmaceuticals—can reset the body’s natural hunger signals and support long-term health without side effects or a $1,500/month price tag.

4. Progress Over Perfection: 80–90% Plant-Based Can Be Enough

“You don’t have to be 100%. I can choose that for myself, but many succeed at 80 or 90%.”
– Dr. Regina Ragasa

Dr. Ragasa shares a story of a patient who lost nearly 100 pounds by being 90% plant-based. That flexibility helped her stick with the plan long term—and enjoy meals with family without guilt. Dr. Ragasa says that perfection isn’t required to see success. For most of her patients, 80–90% consistency delivers noticeable results. The key is honesty and self-awareness—knowing your own limits, triggers, and motivations.

5. Culture Matters—And Plant-Based Isn’t “Foreign” to Our Roots

As a Filipino-Thai American, Dr. Ragasa understands the powerful connection between food and identity. She works with patients to explore their ancestral diets—before meat became a status symbol. From rice and beans to lentils and fresh vegetables, she helps patients rediscover their roots and make healthy eating feel familiar, not restrictive.

“Your great-grandmother didn’t eat meat every day—she lived to 95 without medications.”

She also shares how her own mother has embraced the shift—cooking traditional dishes like Filipino peanut stew using tofu and seitan, fooling even the most skeptical party guests.

6. Why This Work Is So Personally Fulfilling

“I used to feel like a drug dealer. Now, I feel like a healer. And the prescription is plants.”
– Dr. Regina Ragasa

Helping patients get off insulin, shed 30+ pounds, and feel empowered in their health has given Dr. Ragasa a renewed sense of purpose. She believes that the U.S. healthcare system is failing patients by ignoring nutrition—and she’s determined to lead change from within.