Introduction

Before we begin exploring The Plastic Age, I want to tell you a little about who I am, what has shaped the way I see the world, and why I created Beyond Plastic.

I’m Dr. Elie Haddad—a cardiologist, husband, father, author, and lifelong seeker whose curiosity has taken me far beyond the traditional boundaries of medicine. Over the years, I’ve become increasingly interested not only in how we treat disease, but in the larger questions of how we live: what creates true health, what gives our lives meaning, and what science, ancient wisdom, and our own human experience can teach us about living more consciously.

In this short introduction, I share the vision behind Beyond Plastic and the journey I hope we’ll take together, from medicine and longevity to environmental health, consciousness, resilience, purpose, and the deeper dimensions of being human.

And then, we begin with our first series: The Plastic Age.

Transcript

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Welcome. I'm truly grateful you're here. My name is Dr. Eli Haddad. I'm a cardiologist, a husband, a father, an author, but perhaps above all, I'm someone who has never stopped asking questions. For over 20 years, I've had the privilege of caring for thousands of patients. Medicine has given me an extraordinary window into the human condition. Every day I witness courage, I witness suffering, hope, resilience, and sometimes miracles. It has taught me that every symptom has a story behind it and every disease has a context. Every person is far more than just a diagnosis. But my curiosity has always extended beyond the walls of the hospital. I've always been fascinated by the bigger questions. What creates health? Not just the absence of disease. Why do we suffer? How much of our destiny is written by our genes? And how much by the world we create around us? What can science teach us about living longer? And what can wisdom teach us about living better? Over the years, that search has led me far beyond cardiology, into nutrition, longevity, environmental health and human biology, psychology and resilience, and into ancient traditions, modern science, spirituality, and consciousness. The more I learned, the more I realized something remarkable. Everything is connected. Our bodies cannot be separated from our environment. Our physical health cannot be separated from our emotional well-being. And neither can be separated from the way we live, the way we think, or the way we care for one another. That's why I created this podcast. Not to tell you what to believe, but to explore, to ask better questions, to challenge assumptions and to separate evidence from opinion. But also to bring together science, curiosity, and consciousness in a way that is practical, hopeful, and deeply human. Some conversations will challenge what you think you know about health. Others may invite you to look at your own life from a different perspective. If from time to time they inspire you to make one small change that helps you live with greater awareness, greater vitality, or greater compassion, then this podcast will have fulfilled its purpose. We will explore many subjects together in the months to years ahead. But every journey needs a beginning, and there is no better place to begin than with one of the greatest invisible challenges of our generation. This first series is called The Plastic Age. Together we will uncover the extraordinary story of how a material that transformed modern civilization has quietly become part of our own biology, what the science is revealing, and how each of us can become part of the solution. So, thank you for joining me, and let's begin this journey.