Eight out of the 10 leading causes of deaths in America are health-related diseases. According to Dr Michael Klaper, diet is the major determinant, even more so than genetics. With a few exceptions, a professor once told him at medical school, “People do not get diseases, they earn them!”.
Recently, the health expert toured Australia and New Zealand for a ‘Nutrition in Healthcare Symposium’, visiting a number of locations across both countries to speak on this topic.
The physician recently discussed the “worst-kept secret in medicine” with the Herald. “We’ve got to stop pretending food doesn’t matter”, he states.
“Obesity, clogged arteries, high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma. These aren’t mysterious illnesses. They are the result of running high-fat, overly processed, meat and dairy based foods through our bodies”.
The solution? Veganism.
“When we adopt the whole food, plant-based diet these diseases go away. The obesity melts away, the arteries open up, the insulin reception clears out and joints stop hurting”.
He discusses with the Herald how humans are evolved from the same ancestors as gorillas and bonobos. “We are herbivores by design”, he explains.
“When we eat the diet of lions, the flesh produces many imbalances in our body. It causes inflammation and sets us up for plaque formation”.
It has been suggested that the 8 diseases found in the top 10 leading causes of death, can be reversed or prevented with a vegan diet. However, Dr Klaper reveals that doctors are reluctant to suggest diets that they themselves aren’t following, so they instead prescribe drugs and medical procedures.
Thankfully, the public has shown an ever-growing interest in plant-based eating. Vegan items are appearing in supermarkets, on menus and in the media more than ever.
Dr Klaper has worked as a physician, author, nutrition advisor to NASA, medical director and educator for over 40 years. He has starred in award-winning documentaries What the Health and Cowspiracy.
Interestingly, he grew up on a dairy farm but has now been vegan for almost four decades. He was inspired to change his lifestyle after witnessing countless surgeries for what he believed were preventable illnesses.
Dr Klaper is now 70 years old. He runs 8km every day and takes no medication.
He says: “Health is having a body that moves without pain, breathes without distress and allows us to perform the activities of life with complete presence and focused energy.
Then, we can love fully and enjoy our lives to the fullest”.
Image Credit: Dr Michael Klaper
