There is nobody better placed to understand the impact that different foods can have on our body than medical professionals. Their job is to treat disease, which begs the question, when there is a huge amount of research available that suggests that plant-based diets can reduce our risk of and even reverse most chronic diseases, why are more doctors not advocating veganism as part of their treatment plans?
The reality is that most doctors receive very little training in nutrition and they are taught to treat with drugs and surgery, but not so much to prevent. These things combined mean that very many conditions that could be prevented quite simply are not. However, there is a growing number of plant-based doctors who have done independent research and recognize the power of plants. They have concluded that a whole-food plant-based diet is the best way we can reduce our risk of many diseases, and there are some incredible doctors who are making this their life work.
Whether you are already vegan, or thinking of going plant-based for your health, the work of these ten vegan doctors (and there are many more), should be on your reading list!
1. Dr. Kim Williams
Kicking it off with one of our long-time supporters, Dr. Williams is the chairman of medicine at Rush University, an institution renowned for successfully treating heart disease patients with a combination of surgical interventions and a whole food plant-based diet.
He is one of the most influential and most respected cardiologists in the world, responsible for passing on knowledge of whole food plant-based eating to hundreds of other health professionals. He has also chosen to position his practice in a predominantly African American area to try and reach those at the highest risk of cardiovascular disease in the US.
There are many reasons we admire Kim Williams, but perhaps the most incredible thing about him is he takes his practice into the community, attending local church meetings to talk about cardiovascular risks with local people. He even convinced 50 people from his local church community to give up animal products for Lent and their cardiovascular risk went down 19% in just five weeks.
Finally, Dr. Williams is responsible for one of the best vegan quotes we have ever seen:
“There are two kinds of cardiologists, vegans and those who haven’t read the data.”
2. Dr. Gemma Newman
Dr. Gemma Newman, aka “The Plant Powered Doctor” is a pioneer of UK plant-based medicine. In her work as a general practitioner, she has transformed countless lives using a holistic approach to treatment, combining her extensive medical knowledge with a deep understanding of the emotional aspects of health.
Her series of books and podcasts also empower individuals to take control of their health, through simple, accessible, and sustainable lifestyle interventions. Her appearances on UK television and radio, and in magazines has also allowed her plant-based message to reach millions of people. It’s safe to assume she has contributed to improving thousands of lives in the UK and beyond.
We are proud to have personally worked with Dr. Newman at conferences and events and can confirm she is an incredible person, doctor, and vegan!
3. Dr. Columbus Batiste
Dr. Columbus Batiste, often referred to as “The Healthy Heart Doc,” is an interventional cardiologist who uses the power of plants to prevent and reverse heart disease. With cardiovascular disease being the leading cause of death in the US, Dr. Batiste’s work is critically important and his mission, much like Dr. Kim Williams’, is to tackle preventable heart disease once and for all. He educates his patients and the wider public on how a plant-based diet can drastically reduce the risk of chronic disease. His advocacy is not just about treating illness but about fostering long-term health through lifestyle changes that include a plant-centered diet.
Drawing upon his father’s experience of diabetes and his own response to it, Dr. Batiste talks eloquently on the danger of thinking that moderation is always the goal with diet. After all, his own father would be described as a moderate man, but his diet still had a drastic impact on his health and eventual death.
Dr. Batiste’s story is an inspiring and emotional one which is well worth discovering.
4. Dr. Alan Desmond
A UK-based consultant gastroenterologist with over 20 years of experience, Dr. Alan Desmond is a passionate advocate for the benefits of a plant-based diet for improving gut health.
Alan often describes the gut as one of the most misunderstood indicators of health and wellbeing in the human body, and believes that if we treat our gut well, we give ourselves the best chance of good health outcomes and longevity. His work focuses on how plant-based nutrition can treat and prevent common gastrointestinal disorders, such as IBS and Crohn’s disease, as well as more generally keeping our guts in good health to lower our risk of disease.
His message is clear: “We can transform our health and revolutionize our quality of life by simply eating more plants!”
You can follow Dr. Desmond on Instagram here. You (and your gut) won’t regret it!
5. Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzai
Statistically-speaking, almost all of us will come into contact with Alzheimer’s one way or another. It is one of the most common, yet devastating diseases humans face and its emotional effect is huge for those who experience it directly and also for their loved ones.
Luckily for us all, Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzai are working tirelessly on our behalf, to better understand Alzheimer’s and discover how we can all make our best efforts to reduce its risk. The couple are both neurologists and their research has shown that a plant-based diet, combined with other positive lifestyle factors, can significantly reduce our risk of cognitive decline. Their book, The Alzheimer’s Solution, outlines their holistic approach to brain health, emphasizing the role of nutrition, exercise, stress management, and social engagement.
While there is a long way to go, the Sherzais have shown us an alternative way of thinking about aging and brain health, and have demonstrated that we all have the power to better protect our brains, through the simple choices we make every day.
6. Dr. Milton Mills
Dr. Milton Mills is one of our vegan heroes. You may have seen him featured in documentaries like What the Health and other videos, where he can be found speaking frankly about meat and dairy and their devastating impact on human health.
In his professional role, Dr. Mills is a critical care physician, as well as being a prominent advocate for plant-based nutrition, particularly in communities of color. He highlights that chronic diseases disproportionately affect communities of color in the US and passionately argues against racial biases in US dietary guidelines.
Dr. Mills is incredibly passionate about his work and his messaging is always powerful: plant-based nutrition is not only for personal health and well-being, but it is also a matter of social justice.
7. Dr. Garth Davis
We’ve included Garth Davis in this list, not only because he’s an incredible doctor, but also because he changed his position on protein, a major topic in nutrition, in the face of better evidence. In our eyes, this makes his position more compelling because it takes a brave person to change a position they once held strongly but also because he put thousands of hours of research into his new findings. It’s hard to argue with that!
Dr. Davis busts the myth that we need excessive amounts of animal protein to be healthy— because we don’t. He has shown through studying the research and observing his patients that excessive protein is actually contributing to higher risks of chronic disease, and that a whole food plant-based diet is by far the best way to treat and prevent disease.
8. Dr. Angie Sadhegi
It’s a testament to how important our gut is to our health, that we have two gastro-enterologists on this list!
Dr. Sadhegi is a board-certified gastroenterologist who combines her medical knowledge with her personal experience as a vegan to promote optimal health. When we spoke with Dr. Sadhegi, she highlighted dairy as one of the most inflammatory products for our gut (as well as our skin) and says that it is unacceptable for dairy to be promoted as a health food, when 70 percent of people globally are actually lactose intolerant!
She is a very active speaker and educator on all things gut-related and passionately advocates a plant-based diet as a path to overall wellness and disease prevention.
9. Dr. Allan Kornberg
This list would not be complete without a critically important medical role: a pediatrician. We all want the very best for our children and with well-funded industry marketing relentlessly pushing us to feed our kids meat and dairy, it’s sometimes difficult to know the best approach when it comes to diet.
Luckily, Dr. Kornberg is here to put our minds at ease. His work emphasizes the importance of educating both parents and healthcare providers about the benefits of plant-based nutrition for children. He told us that the majority of health issues he sees in his pediatric practice are diet-related. Frighteningly, these cases are only the ones that have presented early, and often, the real effects of a diet high in animal products at a young age, don’t show themselves until later in life.
Dr. Kornberg also makes a point of calling out the bogus information that has become part of our general understanding of nutrition. For example, the idea that if children (and adults) don’t drink three or more glasses of milk a day, their bones will fall apart! This ridiculous idea has come from dairy marketing, not science. He also points out that humans are the only species on the planet to feed their children the milk of another species, long after we have finished our natural breast-feeding period. It’s just plain bizarre and unnecessary!
Dr. Kornberg is a fountain of helpful information when it comes to raising vegan kids, don’t hesitate to check out his work!
10. Dr. Pamela Popper
Dr. Pamela Popper is a naturopathic doctor (ND) and has a PhD in nutrition. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of The Wellness Forum. Through her work, she advocates for evidence-based approaches to healthcare, particularly in promoting a whole food, plant-based diet as the foundation for disease prevention and overall wellness.
Dr. Popper’s work focuses on changing the current medical system from what she terms ‘sickcare’ to what it should be, which is ‘healthcare.’ The way we view health now is through the lens of treating sick people, rather than how we prevent people from getting sick in the first place! She also makes it her mission to expose the public health truths that national health organizations, government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, and agricultural organizations often withhold or ignore.
Dr. Popper’s work shows that by empowering individuals to take control of their health and make informed decisions, we can make a real difference in the number of sick people needing treatment every day. She also flies the flag for naturopathic medicine as an important, evidence-based practice that should be a much more influential part of the healthcare industry!
Honorable Mentions
Of course, there are many more names that we would like to have on this list, some of whom are world-famous for their life-changing work in medicine. If you want to know more about eating plant-based for health, it’s also worth checking out these vegan doctors, researchers, and healthcare practitioners.
- Neal Barnard
- Michael Greger
- Michael Klaper
- Brenda Davis
- Michelle McMacken
- Dean Ornish (we cannot recommend his 9-week lifestyle health program enough!)
- Caldwell Esselstyn
- Brooke Goldner
- T. Colin Campbell
- John A. McDougall
Conclusion
This list covers just some of the incredible vegan doctors who are leading the plant-based health revolution! Their collective work is transforming the way we understand nutrition and its role in preventing and treating disease. For us, these vegan doctors represent hope for a healthier, more compassionate future world—and we, alongside their patients, are eternally grateful for their work.
If you are thinking of going vegan for your health, any of the doctors we’ve listed here, and their resources, are a great place to start! You can also try our free 30-day or 7–day vegan challenges here!
