A love for animals isn’t the only reason to adopt a plant-based diet; the health benefits are phenomenal, too! But despite this, it isn’t easy to find a vegan doctor. Roughly 80% of healthcare dollars are spent on preventable conditions, most of which can be greatly reduced or even avoided by changing one’s dietary habits. Heart disease, America’s number one killer, is one of them, as is obesity, another growing threat that is plaguing more and more children.
Where Are Those Vegan Doctors?
Fortunately, for those of us eager to accept a nutritional prescription before accepting a pharmaceutical one, things just got easier. Plantrician Project recently launched their website known as Plant-Based Docs, a “searchable, global directory of physicians, clinicians and allied health professionals who understand that a pill for every ill is not the answer.” That’s right, a database to help you find a vegan doctor, or at least one that understands the power the whole-foods, rainbow-colored, plant-based diet that we embrace.
The site launched just two weeks ago with some 300 physicians and Susan Benigas, founder of Plantrician Project, told Vegaprocity that the number has been increasing every day since.
Documentaries ≠ Doctors
Educational documentaries like Forks Over Knives and Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead have become available to mainstream audiences via Netflix, and the word is spreading fast. And yet, finding a doctor that encourages natural, dietary alternatives to pharmaceuticals is difficult. Why is it that so many doctors are so eager to perform extreme surgeries and write scripts after scripts instead of promoting a whole-foods plant-based diet and bypassing the drugs altogether? Well, one thing we know is that the pharmaceutical industry is incredible powerful and influential.
Who Studies Nutrition Anymore?
Another important factor is that medical schools devote a minuscule number of hours to nutritional education. Over the past three decades, many professionals and scientific studies have criticized this educational gap, calling for more hours of nutritional study for medical practitioners. Unfortunately, the number of hours dedicated to nutrition may actually be decreasing. In one study, only one-quarter of medical schools taught the recommended number of hours of nutritional education. The vast majority are lacking.
The disconnect between nutritional education and practicing medicine is acknowledged even by doctors themselves. “There’s tremendous ignorance about nutrition among physicians,” said Dr. William Davis, a preventive cardiologist in Milwaukee in an 2013 Chicago Tribute article. “It has never been part of the culture,” Davis added. In a 2010 New York Times article, Pauline W. Chen, M.D., admitted, “I wasn’t sure I knew that much more after medical school than I did before.”
A Transformative Approach to Medicine
“The number one cause of virtually all of our chronic disease, and the number one cause of so many of our most pressing global sustainability issues is one and the same: our industrialized Western diet. The foods we should be eating to protect our health and prevent disease are the exact same choices we need to make in relation to the big picture of preserving our natural resources and feeding what soon will be nine billion people on the face of the earth.”
So go ahead, check out Plant-Based Docs to find a vegan doctor near you (or a vegan-friendly one, at least). If none are listed yet, use the resources provided by Plantrician Project to talk with your current physician and encourage him or her to participate in continuing education provided by Plantrician Project. You will not only be helping animals and your doctor, but also many generations of patients to come.
Disclaimer: Plant-Based Docs allows physicians to self-register on the site, therefore Plantrician Project does not vet the individual practitioners. Rather, physicians have “self-declared as medical or wellness professionals, pledging, through their registration for this site, that they have expertise in using whole food, plant-based nutrition as a therapeutic intervention for the prevention, treatment and, when appropriate, even reversal of disease.”
kate says
Hi,
i was hoping to ask you a few questions about being vegan and my current situation. I have been vegan for almost a year now for health and animal cruelty reasons. I am a 17 year old girl and I’m 5’5. I weigh around 110 pounds. I got food poisoning a couple months ago and couldn’t eat for a couple days so my stomach shrunk. Since then i only eat when i’m hungry which is typically from 4-9 pm. I also workout by doing kickboxing and running a couple times a week. For some reason I have noticed bloating in my stomach for about two weeks and I haven’t had my menstrual cycle in a couple months. I was reading up on why I might not have my menstrual cycle and came to the conclusion I might be calorie deficient or nutrient deficient ( i don’t take any supplements such as B12, multivitamin, etc… i prefer taking raw natural sources but i am starting to believe this is not enough ). (1)Could this be the reason I also am tremendously bloating or not losing weight?. I never believed in vitamins because I had a conspiracy that fresh raw food gives you nutrients. As I am clearly not getting enough. (2)Since I’m vegan what kind of supplements should i be taking? (3)Will taking supplements give me nutrients and help my bloating go away? . I think my calorie intake is under 1,300 because i eat extremely healthy and raw and only eat when i’m hungry. I typically will eat a salad some veggie soup and a baked potato or some fruit. I am a small person but for recently not been eating as much I should be losing weight or be un bloated. (4)If I start eating more calories will I gain weight or will it stop my bloating issue? Sorry for any inconvenience. I would greatly appreciate advice from a professional as what I see online I get different answers every website.
Thank you!
Marissa Weber says
Hi Kate, Thank you for reading the article and reaching out. I am not a medical professional so am not in a position to give advice. You definitely should speak with a doctor in your area. If you don’t have one already, try searching the doctors on the website in the article, or asking in a local Vegan/Vegetarian Facebook group for local recommendations of a doctor that is knowledgeable and understanding in regards to plant-based diets. Good luck! I am confident you will be able to improve your health without animal products, but only a doctor can help you get there.
shadow says
this doesn’t help me one bit. Im in the Uk and cannot find a plant based doctor. When I search in your database (and other ones) it is all in other countries. I am so depressed, I am vegan and need a diet doctor. Im prepared to work via skype if all is lost. Can you help please? Cost is important too as I am on a very low income.
shadow says
this doesn’t help me one bit. Im in the Uk and cannot find a plant based doctor. When I search in your database (and other ones) it is all in other countries. I am so depressed, I am vegan and need a diet doctor. Im prepared to work via skype if all is lost. Can you help please? Cost is important too as I am on a very low income.
Marissa Weber says
Hi Shadow,
I’m sorry you’re having trouble finding a vegan doctor in the UK. You should find a local doctor- regardless of whether they are vegan or not- as soon as possible in case you need urgent care. Then, I would suggest that you find local vegan/vegetarian groups (either in person or on social media) and ask them for suggestions for vegan-friendly doctors that you can seek out in the future. If you are not well or are feeling depressed, it is imperative you seek help immediately. It is more important that you get medical help than finding a doctor who aligns with your diet and/or ethics.
.
Here are some crisis support lines for the UK:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/mental-health-helplines.aspx
Be well,
Marissa
Susana Ramirez says
Hello,
I was wondering if you have more advice on how I could find a vegan doctor in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area. Unfortunately most of the doctors I have looked up through Plant-based Docs are not reachable. I am eager to find someone who would be able to provide a consultation for my cousin who has Parkinsons. The medicine his doctors prescribe are becoming less and less effective and after doing some research I found some online articles that speak of plant based diets helping calm the symptoms of Parkinsons.
Thank you,
Susi
Marissa Weber says
Hi Susi,
Try looking up the doctors who are part of the studies/articles you found; even if they are not local to your area, they can be a helpful starting point to recommend other doctors or perhaps even a Skype consult to discuss the situation.
Best of luck to your cousin and thanks for reading. I, too, have heard lots of positive reports of vegan plant-based diets improving or preventing symptoms of Parkinson’s and hope your cousin is able to as well.
Vivarto says
Is there a vegan doctor in Israel?
Does anyone have an idea how to find one?
Marissa Weber says
Hi Vivarto,
There are two doctors listed at Plant-Based Doctors:
https://www.plantbaseddoctors.org/alan-freishtat
https://www.plantbaseddoctors.org/miriam-maisel
If neither of these are local to you, you still might want to contact them. Perhaps they can point you in the direction or another vegan or vegan-friendly doctor in Israel. Best of luck and thanks for reading!