Lightning Round: Getting Personal with Dr. Lilli Link, Board-Certified Internist and Functional Medicine Practitioner at Parsley Health in New York City

My name is:

Lilli Link

I’m a:

Holistic Physician

My non-negotiable wellness habits are:

Following a vegan diet, drinking green vegetable juice in the morning, and moving.

My morning routine goes something like this:

I walk my dog and get my kids off to school. Then I exercise for 10-30 minutes, depending on how early I start working. If time is short, I do the 7-min workout, which is, in reality, 10 minutes long. If I have time, I do a 30-min version of Bikram yoga using a YouTube video. On weekends, I take a long walk in Central Park with my dog.

While working in the morning, I drink herbal tea, followed by the green drink, which is a combination of cucumber, celery, lemon, herbs (mint and cilantro are my favorites), veggie leftovers (e.g., stem from cauliflower or broccoli, or ribs from collard or kale).

Coffee or Tea?

Herb tea only. I don’t drink caffeinated drinks (except kombucha).

My diet is primarily:

Vegan, gluten-free, very low sugar.

In my fridge, I always have:

• The makings for a veggie juice: Lemons, cucumbers, celery

• The makings for a salad: lettuce, cabbage, peppers, tomatoes

• Nut butter

• Tofu (an easy source of plant-based protein for dinner)

In my pantry, you’ll always find:

Most of the food I eat is fresh, so there isn’t a lot that I stock in the pantry:

• Vegetable broth

• Olive oil

• Almonds and walnuts (though I  usually keep them in the freezer).

Go-to breakfast:

I usually just drink herb tea and the green drink, but if I am on the go and am hungry, I’ll make a chocolate pea protein smoothie with pumpkin seeds and almond butter.

Lunch is usually:

A salad with a plant protein ( e.g., chickpeas, sunflower seeds, tempeh) or leftovers from the previous night’s dinner.

Favorite snacks:

• A square of very dark chocolate

• Some nuts with a little maple syrup

Dinner is often:

Salad and a plant-based main dish:

• Zucchini lasagna

• Tacos w/ black beans

• A vegetarian stew - often Italian or with Indian spices

My favorite way to get my sweat on is:

Bikram yoga and walking are my favorite exercises, but with COVID, I haven’t been in an exercise studio, so the only time I really sweat now is in the summer.

For me, self-care means:

The usual…

• Eating well

• Eating mindfully

• Exercising

• Taking time to do something I enjoy, whether it’s having a meal with friends or family or spending quality time with Netflix!

Supplements I can’t live without:

B12 and occasionally iron - I’m vegan and don’t get enough through my diet.

On a Friday night, you can find me:

After a busy week, I love a relaxing dinner and am thrilled to sit on my couch with my husband and watch TV!

Words to live by/life philosophy:

We’re all doing the best we can.  Well, maybe not all of us, but certainly most of us.

If I had known then what I know now, I would tell my younger self: 

Don’t work so hard.

Where can readers find you? 

You can find me here at Parsley! If you’d like to join, use the code LINK200 and get $200 off your first year of membership.

About Lili:

Dr. Lilli Link is a board-certified internist practicing functional medicine since 2006. She completed her training in internal medicine in 1997 at New York-Presbyterian Medical Center and then studied lifestyle change and cancer at Weill Cornell Medical College. She also completed a fellowship in Cancer Epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, where she continued her research on diet and cancer. She currently practices functional/lifestyle medicine at Parsley Health in New York City and resides in New York City with her husband, three children, and beloved rescue dog.

Thank you, Lili, for giving us a sneak peak into your wellness routine.