How A Plant Based Diet Can Change Your Life with Dr. William Bruno

DR. MIKE MORENO: Welcome to Wellness, Inc. I’m Dr. Mike Moreno, taking a deep dive into the big business of wellness. After more than 20 years of practicing traditional medicine, I’m fascinated with the booming wellness industry. I explore apps, gadgets and discover everything new to help us all get and stay well.

So today, my guest is Dr. Bill Bruno. Now, Dr. Bruno is a well-known cosmetic plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills. Everyone’s thinking, okay, another plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, but when we talk today, you’re going to understand why this guy is a totally different and very unique individual, despite being an amazing surgeon. He’s the author of the book The Modern Woman’s Guide to Choosing a Plastic Surgeon, Breast, Body and Buttocks.

And even though Dr. Bruno, like I said, is well known for surgical skills, we’re not going to talk about tummy tucks and breast augmentation today. We want to learn about Bill’s experience with the healing powers of a plant-based diet.

Yes, you heard that right. This is a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who is all about a plant-based diet. We’re going to dive into this later. He’s been eating only plant-based foods or as he talks about it, whole food, plant-based diet, not vegan and we’re going to talk a little bit about that. And now he recommends this diet to all of his patients. And he says that not only will the patients look better, but you’re going to have a better outcome surgically.

You’re going to heal better. You’re going to have less infection. So enough of me talking, let’s welcome Dr. Bill Bruno.

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: Thanks for having me.

DR. MIKE MORENO: Listen, I’m excited. Full transparency. Now, I’ve known Dr. Bruno for a long time alright. We were fortunate, I was fortunate enough to go to medical school with him. I didn’t train with him, but I did go to medical school with him. Amazing surgeon. His accolades speak, I mean, volumes. This guy is a product of Stanford and Duke plastic surgery. So, I’m going to let him talk a little bit about his formative years as I like to use the term and we’ll go from there. So, Dr. Bruno, tell us a little bit about your background.

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: Well, I grew up on the East Coast and went to medical school in Philadelphia and then did my training in general surgery. I started at Stanford. I finished my general surgery in St. Louis. And then I did my formal plastic surgery training at Duke before moving out to Southern California about 16 years ago. So, I’ve been out in private practice here for 16 years, mostly doing outpatient plastic surgery, like cosmetic procedures like breast augmentation, liposuction, and tummy tucks. That’s kind of been my professional journey up to this point and then as far as the plant based that happened a couple of years ago.

DR. MIKE MORENO: There are so many surgical specialties. What made you go with the plastics direction? What’s your drive?

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: Well, you know, my training in general surgery, we operated on a lot of different body parts and men, women, young and old, I always sort of was fascinated that the plastic surgeons would come in and assist with some of our surgeries and they would offer a lot of creativity and a lot of different options for the same problem, like how to solve a problem, I was drawn to that. After general surgery, I decided I didn’t want to do just general surgery, like removing gallbladders and colon cancer so went on and did additional training in plastics, which I love.

Now I do mostly cosmetic surgery but in the training we did everything. We did hand surgery, microsurgery, we did facial trauma and all of that. Now my practice has kind of evolved into mostly cosmetic, which I enjoy a lot, and I enjoy the lifestyle of it. I mean, the hours. I don’t have to take as many calls as I did in my younger days, but I just love the creativity of, you know, plastic surgery where the science and the art sort of intersect.

DR. MIKE MORENO: Yeah, I know I’ve heard Dr. Bruno thousands of times say, “changing lives” and it’s so true because it’s not just about the physicality right? And we all know that when you talk about the outcomes in some of these things, especially in most social media these days, when people have a certain look or some aspect of their body that affects them, it’s not just the physicality of it. It’s the person. It’s their confidence. It’s their ability to do what it is they want to do. So, I know you’ve said that over and over, and I know that’s a big thing for you. It’s not just about the creativity and the brilliant surgery that you do, but you truly do change lives.

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: Yeah, you know, it’s a privilege I get to do that. In fact, just a day or two ago, I saw a patient who I did a tummy tuck on three months ago, and she’s a mom, had two or three kids and she looks great. I said, this is a nice result. Maybe next visit we’ll take pictures. She got somewhat emotional saying you know; this really changed my life. I did this for me. I didn’t do it for my husband. I didn’t do it for anyone else. You know I could see even through her mask. She was very, you know, thankful and emotional and I realized that you know, a tummy tuck to me might just be another surgery, but to a lot of patients, it erases a lot of the scars if you will from there, from pregnancy and what’s left behind and tries to restore them back to being a whole person again. You’re not curing cancer, but you are changing people’s lives with these surgeries, which I’m fortunate that I get to do that.

DR. MIKE MORENO: We got to get into this plant-based thing, because this is to me and I think this is what makes Dr. Bruno unique in this way. Obviously, he’s a very skilled surgeon. He’s trained at the best places in the country, some of the best places in the world. And he now has this practice, very successful and competitive practice, in Beverly Hills.

You can’t ask for a more competitive resume than that, but here’s the deal. Dr. Bruno is all about plant-based. It’s come over the last few years, I’ve heard him talk about it over and over. I thought that this was to me, it’s such a big part of your life. So, I want to like, let’s just go to what brought you down this. Like I know you’ve been talking about for a while now. Let’s let the listeners kind of hear a little bit about how you went this direction and then we’re going to really dive into this.

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: Well, a couple of years ago, I think it was about three years ago, I got a blood test back and found that I had very elevated cholesterol and especially my LDL cholesterol, which is the bad cholesterol. So, I went to see a cardiologist and got some tests done. I got what they call a calcium score, a calcium scan. They do a CAT scan of your heart, and they look for calcification and the normal score is zero. And my score was quite high. It was, I think, over four hundred, which is a sign that you have calcified, hardened vessels, which led me to another test, which is called the CP angiogram, to look at the vessels a little more closely, at least an image of the vessels and I had like 25% blockage of the three main coronary vessels. This was very, at the time, I was 49 I think, and this was frightening to me. And the cardiologist at the time recommended the Mediterranean diet, Lipitor, and baby aspirin. I tried to think of other options because I actually can’t swallow pills as odd as that sounds. I didn’t want to take Lipitor for the rest of my life. The baby aspirin was okay.

DR. MIKE MORENO: Let me affirm to you. Yes, that is the 52-year-old man will not swallow pills and that’s the actually very accurate statement. He can chew a baby aspirin that I can see him do. Well, the other thing is this Bill, like you’ve had heart disease in your family. So, you’re yet an example of tens of thousands, millions of Americans who you can do everything right, but if you have those bad genetics, you know what do you do? I know when your father passed away and I know with other family members you have that sort of genetic kind of strike against you, right?

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: Yeah. You know, I think a lot of people have heart disease running in the family and then the more I sort of learned about it and the more research I did on it, I realized that you can to some extent overcome some of those genetic predispositions when I think what really runs on a lot of our families is poor diet. I think that’s a common thread. Whether you’re Italian-American, like my family, or African American, Mexican American, Asian-American, I think a lot of ethnic foods have, you know, low nutritional content, I guess, for lack of a better phrase.

So, I try to look into what I could do? And instead of doing the Mediterranean diet and Lipitor, which is recommended to me, I opted for a whole foods plant-based diet. I did some research on my own and I realized that we are not necessarily victims of our genetics and if some disease took down the lives of one of our family members that doesn’t necessarily have to happen to us.

I realized through audio books and webinars and online self-education that you know; you can change your destiny with nutrition, and you can change it specifically with a Whole Foods plant-based diet. You can not only halt, if heart disease or diabetes or even some cancers, you can reverse heart disease. This was known decades ago but I think there’s this lack of education and medical school, lack of education and residencies and training.

So, I think a lot of people like us, like doctors, just didn’t know the power of nutrition. I finally, two or three years ago, woke up to that and that’s what really got me motivated to eat better, to, by the way, to get my cholesterol down to a level where they wanted it with Lipitor.

DR. MIKE MORENO: Yeah. Or actually even better, I think you were able to get it down to even a lower value. So, you bring up a lot of great points. And I think that we live this fast-paced life. I mean, life now in 2020 compared to how it was 30 years ago, we have all of these things, fast food, all of this stuff. We work 150 hours a week. We work 12, 14, 15 hours a day. We eat this, we eat on the run, so it’s hard to make this transition. And I know that you read Dr. Gregor’s book, How Not to Die. So, like, you know, for a listener who’s out there saying okay, I’m buying this, I’m into this, how do I get started?

Like, how did you get started? Tell us, like, that initial thing, you wake up, you’re told you have these heart diseases, you got the family genetics working against you, where does someone begin this?

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: Well, for me, you know, my first thought is, well, okay, now I can’t eat red meat. Then I just did more research and I realized, well, it’s not just red meat. It’s, you know, all the actual animal products, but I forget exactly how I got in touch with Dr. Gregor’s book. I think even before that, I listened to the China study, which is sort of a landmark study.

DR. MIKE MORENO: That’s a huge study.

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: You know, the study that spanned several decades, essentially saying that people eating plant-based diets in rural parts of China weren’t having the same diseases as people eating animal-based diets in urban parts of China and they looked at that and the correlations to certain populations in America. I started really just an online search of what can I do to not take Lipitor? What can I do to reverse or stop this heart disease? And what can I do to change my destiny? And I did come across some of the leaders. I think Dean Ornish is one of the leaders in the field. I think Dr. Gregory certainly now, with How Not to Die, which is an audio book I came across a couple of years ago.

But nonetheless, I did a lot of, you know, online education and then my cardiologist, his answer was the Mediterranean diet, which isn’t a bad diet. However, it’s not quite as good compared to completely a whole foods plant-based diet and I realize there’s tons of literature out there. There’s tons of evidence, but we’re not always told this. We’re not always told this by our physicians. We’re not always, it’s not something we in the 90’s in medical school learned and to my knowledge, they’re still not learning it in 2020 in medical school.

DR. MIKE MORENO: Yeah, no, I think it’s gotten better, but you’re right, med school is still 4 years long. You cram in all the basics, but I’m with you. I think you look at disease and prevention. We all know it’s a lot easier, for me as a family physician, I can tell you firsthand it’s a lot easier to take care of a person who’s healthy than to take care of a person who’s sick. And to take care of a healthy person it starts with education and prevention and clearly you figure that out.

So, what happens? So, you switch to this diet, your cholesterol plummets. What about your body, your physique? You lose weight? You gain weight? And I think this is maybe an important time to distinguish because you hear people throw this term vegan and that’s deceptive. I think it is a much more collective way to say whole food plant-based diet, because vegan can be painted potato chips, cookies, things like that, so that’s an important distinction I think.

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: Yeah, definitely. I think vegan essentially is one who avoids all animal products and as you mentioned, you can eat potato chips, french fries, ultra-processed vegan foods, which aren’t that great compared to the whole foods plant-based diet, which is essentially eating the food that has not been processed or minimally processed. Like eating an apple instead of apple juice or eating a banana instead of banana bread or things like that. Trying to eat foods in their purest form. You could still cook foods, but not, you know, extracting them and whittling them down and adding oils, fat, salt, and sugar to them where I think that happens a lot with vegans and a lot of the so-called junk food vegans, where eating meat substitutes, which I think have their place if you’re out to dinner somewhere. I mean, I would choose an impossible burger over a beef burger, but I think it is an important distinction.

I think even a vegetarian, one who still eats eggs and dairy, is going to have, you know, still potentially suffer some of the same diseases as those who eat animal products. So, there’s a lot of science behind it. I think the whole foods plant-based diet is the ideal diet and not only just for weight maintenance, but to prevent, you know, chronic diseases, diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and cancers.

For me and my patients, it also happens to be the best diet for your skin and for your appearance. For not only controlling your weight but helping to have good clear skin, but that is the distinction.

DR. MIKE MORENO: What was the transition for you? So, you go from being basically as you put it, the unhealthy American diet. You say okay I’m going to make this change. I’m going this whole food plant-based route. I mean, now and we’re going to get to this, now you feel like a different person. But was there an apprehension? Was it a sense of urgency? Obviously, you’re in a cardiologist lab. He’s telling you got this disease and you’re doing your best.

But a lot of people are out there thinking, I can’t do it. Impossible and I don’t think it’s impossible. I think I always tell my patients, you know, the ultimate panacea, if I may, is to become whole food plant based only. But I tell my patients and I use this term a lot “plant forward” and in other words, head that direction and more of the good and less of the bad is what we all want to do. So, what was your transition like when you started doing this diet? I mean, how did you feel? What was your energy? What was that like?

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: Yeah well, you know, first cut out red meat which I would have several times a week. Then after a few weeks of that and learning more and doing more research I realized, well, I think I need to also cut out the chicken and the turkey, which are probably the other meats I was eating the most. I didn’t eat much pork. Then the more I learned I’m like, well I should also cut out eggs, cheese, and dairy, which was probably the last things to go but that was the transition, and it was hard and even things like sweets because I still like sweets, but the sweets and the saturated fat and the sugar are just as bad for your heart as red meat is.

So, yeah it definitely didn’t happen overnight, and I don’t think most people, most patients, can do it in a day or a week. I think it takes weeks. It takes months to transition over. Some people may never, but as you say if you can at least make changes. Some people do meatless Monday. Some people try to go one meal without meat or a couple meals a week.

Anything you do is going to help your health, but I think sometimes when you see a medical test or a bad test result, people get scared, and it usually takes a scare whether it’s yourself or a family member. That’s what happened to me. Then at first I didn’t know what to eat. To be honest I tried several mail deliveries services, vegan plant ones. It took me a while to find one that I like, but yeah, I lost a lot of weight at first. I lost 15 or 16 pounds.

DR. MIKE MORENO: What was your energy level like? What was that like?

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: You know the energy level definitely improved when I started eating the right foods and eating less of the so-called standard American diet… “SAD” as they call it, where I was eating a lot of processed foods on meats, very little and whole vegetables and fruits, beans, nuts, things like that. My energy improved. My sleep improved somewhat. I started working out more and I had the energy to do so.

And I think that’s another big misconception. People think you need to have meat, you need to be eating lots of meat to build muscle and you know that’s actually not the case. You can do that with plant-based foods, plant-based protein powders and things of that nature, but it definitely takes a while. If you’re sort of motivated enough or you have something in your family that’s motivated I think you can do it, but it’s definitely not something that isn’t going to happen overnight.

Once you learn it and once you know the information, like as a doctor, I can’t ignore it now. So, I’m very passionate about it. I do share a lot with my patients now, who honestly aren’t necessarily coming to me for that. But they’re sort of getting that as an aside, as yeah I can do a tummy tuck, but you need to maintain it. This is what you should do before and after, you know, think about changing your diet.

DR. MIKE MORENO: The entire body is constantly being exposed to inflammation. When you look at cancers, heart disease, lung disease, liver disease, fatty liver, cirrhosis, you name it. Typically, our bodies are constantly in this sort of flux of inflammation. And part of it is just the environment we live in right? You breathe certain air. Your lungs are exposed to inflammation, but a lot of it is stuff we do to ourselves. If you smoke, if you eat poorly you know, all of these things. I think a lot of people have this idea that you know well, I could exercise. I can out exercise a bad diet. Absolutely zero wrong.

I tell my patients, when you’re talking about, you know, a lot of things besides just weight, but when I’m talking to my patients about losing weight, you could exercise five hours a day. But if you have a bad diet, it’s not going to help you. You’re not, it’s all about the food. It’s what you put into your body, which is most critical. And so, you take this information for yourself. Now you’re benefiting. You feel better. You’ve lost weight, you’ve gained muscle mass, I’m sure. You’re healthier all around. You’ve lowered your cholesterol. Now you’re saying to yourself okay now how can I translate this into what I do every day, which is plastic surgery?

I’ll be honest with you I don’t know but I’m going to take a pretty educated guess that there aren’t a lot of plastic surgeons out there that are really pushing this plant-based sort of process, probably bad choice of word, process, this plant-based diet, or lifestyle. I think that’s the beauty of you.

Like I said, full disclosure. I’ve known Dr. Bruno for a long time. I’ve seen him and I’ve watched his career. I’ve seen him become one of the top surgeons in Beverly Hills, but I’m most impressed with the fact that he has now adopted this plant-based thing. So, you see the difference in your outcomes in infection. Talk a little bit about how that works and how you get your patients to follow this and the outcomes.

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: Well, you know, some patients will perform surgery, for example, they want some advice, like, you know, I want to lose 20 pounds before a tummy tuck and I’ll say, well, I have the answer. It’s a whole food plant-based diet. But it’s not just the way you’re going to lose weight, which you will, that’s the healthiest diet you should be on long term.

Honestly, I don’t think everyone takes the advice because it’s hard to change them that much in a short consultation, as you know. I may only have maybe only 15 or 20 minutes, but the ones that will come back and have a second consultation and they have lost weight in preparation for their surgery and they always ask afterwards, how do I maintain this? And say you have to maintain this with a healthy diet. And what would you recommend? I say, well it’s a whole food plant-based diet. I’m not a nutritionist. I’m not a chef and I don’t and can’t give out recipes to people, but I can give them the basic outline if you want to reduce inflammation, as you said. Especially in the post-surgery setting if they’re going to take protein powders, you know, make those plant based, make smart decisions in the recovery. Not only will they maintain the weight, which is why they came to me in the first place was to aesthetically look better, they’re going to be healthier and hopefully, especially like the moms that I operate on, can pass this on to the family because they’re usually kind of in charge of the shopping, the cooking, you know that sort of thing.

So, I do see people where it becomes a habit and becomes part of their life, but honestly some people come to me and like look I just want this two-hour surgery from you. Can you change my life?

DR. MIKE MORENO: But you plant the seed. You get them thinking about that and I mean, quite honestly, I’m sure they go to their regular doctor, their internist or family physician, whomever. You know, the whole world of medicine and practice, it’s different now than it was 30 years ago. These are not Marcus Welby days anymore. This is not how it works. It’s a different world. You’re stressed and you’re rushed and you’re doing this, you’re doing that. So many people you look at, I’ve done a lot of discussions and talks with people from the pharmaceutical industry. You look at all these medications, it’s kind of like that easy route.

But if you lay a foundation or at least plant the seed right, get them thinking that especially for what you do. I mean look, surgeons and I’ve worked with them for a long time, whether it’s plastics or orthopedics whatever they’re doing, they’re all about outcomes. Not only do they want what they do to come out good and look good and be functionally good, but you want it to last. You don’t want infections, post-operatively, either acutely or later down the road. You want a good statistic behind the work that you do, and I think it starts with all of the things that you’re saying.

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: Yeah, definitely. I think, you know patients you know, they have to do their part, whether it’s in primary care or plastic surgery or anything. I think nutrition is probably the most important element of everyone’s life that we have direct control over. Like you control three or four times a day. Those decisions are what you’re going to eat. Now most people make poor decisions each time, but if you’re going to have, let’s say, something like a tummy tuck, an expensive procedure, let’s at least try to have the best outcome, control everything before and after and hopefully maintain that result. I think it does get overlooked a lot.

I overlooked it myself for the first 49 years of my life, but it’s never too late to start eating better. I think to my patients, even if I gave them one tip or I tell them one good documentary to watch, it’s something. Some of them I could tell they’re interested in. Some of them write it into their phone and they get it, but it just takes, you know, it’s one patient at a time. I think some of the big leaders have bigger platforms and Dr. Gregor’s of the world with their books, I think they’re spreading the word and I think over time this is going to affect the masses.

I just think it’s a more gradual shift, but I think more and more people are getting it. I, as a specialized plastic surgeon, try to do what I can. I’m not you know; I’m not getting to these people at the right point in my life that I’m getting to them at some point.

DR. MIKE MORENO: Yeah well and quite honestly, I don’t know. I think when you look at the world of plastic surgery and that sort of that vanity element or people wanting to look good and that maybe that is the motivating factor for them. I see patients all the time. I work with smokers trying to get them to quit smoking. You know it’s one cigarette less at a time. These people that can just wake up overnight throw their cigarettes away and say, I’m done after smoking for 40 years. There aren’t a lot of those people out there. I don’t know how some of those people are able to do that. I think when you look at what you’re doing and again we said this earlier. Listen, it’s heading that direction.

And the idea is if you eat meat seven days a week well guess what. If you eat it six days a week, that’s better than seven and five is better than six and so on. So, and I think to your point, to a lot of places, they’re adopting this. You know, if you were to go into a restaurant, you know, in a big city years ago and ask for, like the vegan menu or the plant-based menu, they’d probably throw you out of the restaurant. But yeah, nowadays they’re like of course, you know and it’s there. So, it’s available. Do you find that t it’s a lot easier to do now than imagine doing this, say, 10 or 15 years ago? I mean what do you think from a consumer standpoint?

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: I know, I definitely think it’s easier now. I mean you know, it’s definitely a luxury living in Southern California, specifically Los Angeles where there are tons of vegan options, plant-based restaurants and so forth. But as short as 15 years ago when I was in Durham, North Carolina in my plastic surgery residency, it’s unheard of. I still don’t know how many plant-based restaurants they have in that part of the country. I think that shift is probably getting even to places like the South and the Midwest, but now I think there’s more options. There’s more education with more mail delivery.

I think there’s more readily available plant-based options because you know the times have changed now. It’s not the 90s, it’s not the early 2000s. I think in this age where people do want results overnight and I think a lot of people expect change quickly, I will say this even in the span of a few weeks of switching to a whole food plant-based diet like people report subjectively feeling better, better sleep, better energy, and then objectively lower blood glucose, lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol. I’ve seen this in documentaries, and I’ve read it in various books and studies. So, you can have changes in weeks. I mean not minutes or days, but still you know if you choose the kale salad over the bacon double cheeseburger you made a good decision at the moment.

DR. MIKE MORENO: Well, I mean, here’s the thing. I know, you having been in this practice for a while now, you get people who come in and say I want to look like Jennifer Aniston. I want to look like… These people, the Jennifer Aniston’s of the world, you know whoever you want to use your sort of idea of “perfection” that’s personally my idea of “perfection.” But you know these people are not eating the “SAD” diet as you put it. What these people are living is more of a lifestyle like you are.

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: Yeah, they’re eating healthy foods. You can’t look like those people on, you know, bacon double cheeseburgers and the traditional American diet. Now, sure, they probably have access to great skin care and other things like that, but so it all starts with their nutrition.

If you want to look good in your 40s, 50s, and 60s, it really starts in nutrition. I think a lot of people, especially patients I see, they always may see that there’s some topical cream or serum or laser that’s going to bail them out. And those things work to a certain extent, but if you have a poor diet, you can’t overcome it with, you know, skin care and lasers. You have to also start from within and to slow the aging process and try to eat a better diet, cut down the sugar, try to exercise more, try to have mild to moderate caloric restriction because you can really at the molecular cellular level, really slow the aging and you know improve the quality of your skin.

These things don’t happen overnight, especially in a society where you go on Instagram and you see an ad on Facebook, and you see a cream and you think it’s going to change your face in two or three days. It just doesn’t work that way. It does take time for people to understand that. I think people are thinking this shift is happening. It’s just not as fast as we would hope.

DR. MIKE MORENO: The other part of this is the industry’s right when you look at the industry. I mean let’s just take smoking, for example, right? 30, 40 years ago, doctors were smoking at the nurses station. It was the glamorous thing you do. You’re battling with the tobacco industry. You’re battling with the meat industry and when you take a look at the water consumption and the environmental impact and all of these things.

Let me make this clear, this is not about saying, okay, everybody just go to the refrigerator and throw away all the meat products. That’s not what we’re saying. We’re saying to start to head that direction, making a few better choices. You said this, you got to give yourself a chance. We live this fast-paced life. We just make decisions without even thinking about them. You don’t get in your car, just go blasting through red lights and stop signs or turn into traffic without stopping and looking and doing all these things. Why can’t people just start to do that for their health? Give yourself a chance.

I use a tool with my patients. I call it “M&M”. And it’s been really helpful and it’s about motivation and what is your motivation? The tool “M&M” is mindfulness and motivation. That basically means take about 5-10 seconds and be mindful of every decision you’re about to make and then what is your motivation? Why do I want to eat healthier? Why do I want to lose weight? Why do I want my skin to look good? Why do I want to look good or feel good? It’s about whether it’s for your kids or just for yourself or your grandkids or you’re going to retire, and you want to be healthy. Whatever it is, give yourself a chance to make those decisions.

What I love about you, Bill is that I know you’re talented and listen, there are a lot of plastic surgeons in this country. There’s a lot of them in California. There’s really a lot of them in Beverly Hills. But I think what the extra thing that you have to offer is what anybody is asking of their plastic surgeon. Make it look good and make it last. I want this to be something that I can convey, and I have this confidence, whatever it is. I think that’s a very unique quality about what you do. And I would be hard pressed to think what other colleagues and I don’t know what you think. What do you get a sense of going on in the plastic surgery community with something like this?

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: Well, thank you. We can’t lose sight of the fact that even as a plastic surgeon I am still a doctor, I’m still a physician, and you can’t ignore that part of it. Even when I look at the labs of the patients who come in just to have their elective surgery, I look at the cholesterol. I have to tell this person and mention that to them even though it doesn’t really matter what the cholesterol was for the surgery, but it kind of matters for their life. You can’t ignore that. So, I don’t know if a lot of plastic surgeons kind of emphasize or discuss this more, but I think all doctors should. I think, you know, internists. I think any other specialty surgeon you know whatever field I think if we didn’t learn this in 30 years or 25 years.

DR. MIKE MORENO: We definitely did not.

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: I wish that we had you know, I don’t think prevention is emphasized. I think, you know, it’s more about how to treat things once you have them. I think the fundamental problem is there is a food industry out there that is marketing food to us with no care in the world about how poorly it’s affecting our health. Then there’s a health industry that’s ignoring how good food can be for us and this is the problem. The government outlines a food pyramid, and it makes no sense. It tells you to eat meat twice today and dairy. I mean, and there’s no science behind that but it’s very profitable to the meat and dairy industry.

DR. MIKE MORENO: Right. I mean, we were talking about that. It’s the meat and the dairy industry. You look at smoking, big tobacco, all of these things. Big Pharma. You know listen, I’m sure the producers of anti-epidemic drugs aren’t super thrilled about people going into a plant-based diet. You know it cuts on their costs, but here’s the deal, people come in to see Dr. Bruno and yes, you’re going to get an amazing experience. You’re going to get amazing outcomes, but listen, how great is an outcome if you’re not healthy and well. Whether it’s a tummy tuck or lift or mommy makeover or breast augmentation or whatever it is people are doing. You want to look good, but you want to be able to show that, you know, it’s for our self and that self-esteem.

But I think listen, we all want to look good, and I think part of feeling good is looking good and that confidence level goes through, but if you’re not healthy how are you supposed to display this new you that you give them? As you say, you’re changing lives, but if people aren’t allowed to go out and really show their confidence level and whether it’s aesthetics or whatever it is, you know, without being healthy, it doesn’t really help you much. It really doesn’t.

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: No, I agree. I definitely think that you know, the diet and the nutrition is an extension of. Yeah, everyone wants to look good, and you can look good with the proper diet. I think it’s a decision we get to make all the time every day. We just don’t give much thought to it. I think we feel that we’re sort of destined to have a certain disease or destined to look a certain way, but that’s what’s so interesting about this is you, the person, the patient, you can control your destiny. You can change your future. You could change your outcome by changing the foods that you eat. It’s really as simple as that. But it’s hard to execute that and it’s hard to change 30, 40 years of poor decision making in fast foods.

DR. MIKE MORENO: But it’s doable.

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: It’s doable and whether you have to do it, whether you have to do it with the guidance of a doctor or a dietician or a friend or family member, it’s totally doable and it doesn’t take years to see signs. You can see changes in weeks to months. There’s a lot of data out there, but the data isn’t getting to the consumer or the patient. I think the other food industry has a really big, limitless budget and they’re very powerful.

DR. MIKE MORENO: They are. No, you’re right and it’s a thing. I don’t know, man. I just think a lot of people, you’re doing amazing surgery. I mean, your career speaks for you, but this is just another level that you’ve taken it and I think a lot of people can benefit. I know people come from all over the world to see you and again, this is just yet another example of why, unless you think that Dr. Bruno is not human, he does miss his sweets. I will be the first to tell you that he loves his sweets, but let me tell you there are other options, guys. So, I promise you there.

You know, Bill, I can’t thank you enough because I think you’re doing amazing work, but this is a whole other level. If you guys want great procedures and great outcomes and you want to look and feel good and another level to add the insurance of the outcome and long last and be able to just enjoy the new you go see Dr. Bruno. Bill, where can we find you? Share all of your social media information, everything so everybody knows where to find you in Beverly Hills.

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: Yeah, my website is www.WilliamBrunoMD.com and my social media like Instagram and Facebook is William Bruno MD, and you know, I’m just starting to put a little more content out there, especially on Instagram, like wellness tips because for a while I wasn’t sure if this is the right place for it. You know, I’m a plastic surgeon, but I can’t not share it with patients if they want it, you know, if they don’t want it, that’s fine, too. I think it’s important to at least let them know what I’m passionate about and we’ll let them know how this can help, you know, not only their esthetic outcome, but just their health and hopefully their family’s health. They can spread the word.

DR. MIKE MORENO: Well, you guys heard it. Bill, my friend, thank you for spending some time with us and getting the word out because it’s a step above what others are doing, I’m quite sure. So, thank you so much for spending some time.

DR. WILLIAM BRUNO: Well, thank you. Thanks. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me on the show and I look forward to talking to you soon.

DR. MIKE MORENO: Well, that’s it. Don’t forget to subscribe, download, and listen to Wellness, Inc. with me, Dr. Mike Moreno. My guests challenge us to learn more about the influence of wellness in all of our lives. Stay in the know. Don’t miss Wellness, Inc.

The Wellness, Inc. with Dr. Mike Moreno podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not intended as a replacement or substitution for any professional, medical, financial, legal, or other advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This podcast does not constitute the practice of medicine or any other professional service. The use of any information provided during this podcast is at the listeners own risk for medical or other advice appropriate to your specific situation, please consult a physician or other trained professional. Thank you.

About This Episode:

Now more than ever we all need to take responsibility for our lives, and that means making sure we are well. Our health has to be our top priority and it has to stay that way. Who better to shed light on personal wellness than a cosmetic surgeon?

My guest today, Dr. Bill Bruno, is a world renowned plastic surgeon who’s trained and worked at some of the finest medical facilities on Earth. After decades of rebuilding our bodies’ outsides, Dr. Bruno has become fascinated by rebuilding our bodies from the inside. He has been on a plant based diet for years now and he has some incredible insights to share with us- things he only tells his patients, friends and colleagues. His diet helps people heal faster and better and helps keep infections at bay. His unique life experiences give him a perspective on healing everyone needs to hear.

Connect with Dr. Bill Bruno:

https://www.facebook.com/WilliamBrunoMD/
https://twitter.com/BevHillsSurgeon
https://www.youtube.com/user/WilliamBrunoMD
https://www.instagram.com/williambrunomd/
https://www.realself.com/dr/william-bruno-west-hollywood-ca
https://www.williambrunomd.com/blog/