By Dr. Niki Davis
Hippocrates once said, “The greatest medicine of all is teaching people how not to need it.” If you are reading this, you know that most medical providers nowadays have lost sight of this. We are so fixated on treating an ailment with a pill or with surgery that we have lost the ability to help our patients prevent and reverse chronic diseases caused by poor lifestyle choices – such as obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. There is actually a good reason for this. Medical providers do not receive training on how to help patients improve their lifestyles. On average, we get about 14 hours of training in nutrition over 4 years of medical school1. The rest of our time is spent learning how to diagnose a medical condition and what the proper treatment should be. We write a scribble on a prescription pad and the patient takes the medication – so simple! Yet, the root cause of the disease is not being addressed. We are simply applying a bandaid (with side effects!). Our patients are not improving their health.
As a medical doctor, I was trained in this form of medicine, known as western (or conventional) medicine. I am well versed in all the best pills to treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and arthritis. But in order to learn more about the best foods to eat for health, I had to do my own research and seek out my own educational opportunities.
Maybe you are lucky! Maybe your doctor has mentioned that you should eat better or exercise more – but usually, the advice ends there (most don’t really know what “eat better” really means anyway). These days, most patients go home with a new prescription for pills rather than a prescription for a lifestyle change. And unless you have a doctor at PlantBased TeleHealth, your provider likely suffers from the same chronic diseases her patients do. Did you know? The number one killer of cardiologists is heart disease (as it is for every other adult in the United States)! How can you trust the advice of a doctor who hasn’t figured out how to escape the leading cause of death in this country? Especially a disease that can be arrested and reversed with a plant-based diet2. In my humble opinion, you should have a doctor whose health you aspire to have… but they haven’t always been easy to find.
When I initially became vegan in the ’90s, meeting another vegan was a rarity. And forget about trying to find a vegan medical provider, let alone one who didn’t lecture me about my need for meat! I was on my own and often ridiculed for my diet. I was constantly defending my choices even though my health was much better than the average adult American.
But times are changing. More and more people are moving toward a plant-based diet. More and more medical providers are going plant-based. And over the last several years, a new medical specialty has emerged called lifestyle medicine. Healthcare providers now finally have the opportunity to learn how to help their patients improve their lifestyles – most importantly by eating a whole food plant-based diet free of added oils. As a physician board certified in both family and lifestyle medicine, I am honored to have the opportunity to help my patients live their healthiest life. I don’t often rely on my prescription pad. Instead, we discuss whole plant foods, physical activity, sunshine, and social connections. We discuss the importance of stress management, staying away from harmful substances, and emotional well-being.
I must say, it feels like Christmas morning every time another patient gets off a blood pressure medication or reverses their diabetes. It turns out Hippocrates was right. When given the right tools, education, and encouragement — many people absolutely have the ability to live healthy, happy lives free from a drawer full of pills. If you are ready to make a change or just want a provider who understands your vegan diet, I hope you’ll consider making an appointment with me. And I truly hope that someday, you’ll no longer need me. I currently see patients located in California, Utah, and Florida.
References:
1. Adams KM, Butsch WS, Kohlmeier M. The State of Nutrition Education at US Medical Schools. J Biomed Educ. 2015;2015:1-7. doi:10.1155/2015/357627.
2. Esselstyn CB., Jr. Prevent, and Reverse Heart Disease. New York: Avery; 2007.
3. Esselstyn CB Jr. Ellis SG. Medendorp SV, Crowe TD. A strategy to arrest and reverse coronary artery disease: a 5-year longitudinal study of a single physician's practice. I Fain Proc 1995;41:560–568.