Chris Manderino is founder of, a whole-foods plant-based company that helps people achieve optimal health. LYFE FUEL produces simple, functional products from trustworthy and sustainable sources.   Chris is a former NCAA and NFL player, who pursued an opportunity to live abroad while playing football in Italy post his NFL career. While in Italy, he was struck by the vast cultural chasm between the Italian approach to food and the American approach. Italians, even with all the pizza, pasta, downtime and copious desserts, seemed a much healthier population than the US.   Chris boiled it down to this striking difference: in Italy, food was simpler. The Italians used higher quality, mostly plant-based ingredients and had smaller portion sizes. His revelation inspired a career change, and ended up taking a job in the nutraceutical industry.   Later on, Chris decided to study dietary and training theories, and while most nutritionists and food experts disagreed on just about everything else, there was one thing everyone seemed to agree on: eating a plant-based diet is the most important thing you can do for your health.   Using this knowledge, Chris co-founded LYFE Fuel, which every aspect of the company is backed by science, right down to the amounts of each ingredient. Instead of simply throwing healthy ingredients together, LYFE’s products are engineered with the specific purpose of aiding absorption to make sure the body receives the full benefits of each and every life-sustaining nutrient.   In this episode, we talked with Chris about the main differences between plant and whey based proteins, how a vegan diet can change your body, the benefits of cutting out meat completely or even just reducing it, the impact the current food manufacturing processes have on our environment, and more.   Enjoy! - Ryan and Yaya ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Show notes: http://www.shruggedcollective.com/rc_manderino ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please Support our Sponsor Use code  REALCHALK for 20% off at organifishop.com   ► Subscribe to Shrugged Collective's Channel Here http://bit.ly/BarbellShruggedSubscribe ? ? Listen to the audio version on the Apple Podcast App or Stitcher for Android Here- http://bit.ly/BarbellShruggedApple http://bit.ly/BarbellShruggedStitcher Shrugged Collective is a network of fitness, health and performance shows that help people achieve their physical and mental health goals.  Usually in the gym, but outside as well. In 2012 they posted their first Barbell Shrugged podcast and have been putting out weekly free videos and podcasts ever since. Along the way we've created successful online coaching programs including The Shrugged Strength Challenge, The Muscle Gain Challenge, FLIGHT, Barbell Shredded, and Barbell Bikini. We're also dedicated to helping affiliate gym owners grow their businesses and better serve their members by providing owners tools and resources like the Barbell Business Podcast. Find Shrugged Collective and their flagship show Barbell Shrugged here: SUBSCRIBE ON ITUNES ► http://bit.ly/ShruggedCollectiveiTunes WEBSITE ► https://www.ShruggedCollective.com INSTAGRAM ► https://instagram.com/shruggedcollective FACEBOOK ► https://facebook.com/ barbellshruggedpodcast TWITTER ► http://twitter.com/barbellshrugged