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Dec 7, 2017

Whether you are thinking of improving your health by simply eating more vegetables or you are already eating and advocating a whole foods plant-based diet, there is much to gain from this interview with Dr Michael Klaper.

Dr Klaper is a leading general (family) practitioner, an internationally recognized educator, and a highly sought-after speaker on diet and health. For over 40 years he has helped thousands of people around the world to reclaim their health and to improve their well-being. He is the author of several books (including Vegan Nutrition: Pure and Simple and Pregnancy, Children, and the Vegan Diet) as well as numerous DVDs and Videos on Demand and a series of “Healthy YOU Webinars”.

Dr Klaper graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago in 1972. He served his medical internship at Vancouver General Hospital in British Columbia, Canada and undertook additional training in surgery, anaesthesia, orthopaedics and obstetrics at the University of California Hospitals in San Francisco. As his medical career progressed, he began to realize that many of the diseases his patients brought to his office - clogged arteries (atherosclerosis), high blood pressure (hypertension), obesity, adult onset (sugar) diabetes, and even some forms of arthritis and asthma - were made worse, or actually caused, by the high-fat, overly processed Standard American Diet (SAD). Which is not that different to the Standard Australian Diet!

Dr Klaper studied the link between diet and disease, eventually leading him to implement nutritionally based therapies in his practice with dramatic results. Many of his patients lost weight, had more energy and had lower blood pressure and cholesterol values. More importantly, many of their chronic diseases improved or resolved completely, often allowing his patients to reduce or discontinue their medication entirely.

He practiced in Maui, Hawaii from 1995-2006, then Whangarei, New Zealand from 2006-2009 before relocating to Santa Rosa, California where he is a medical consultant at the TrueNorth Health Center, a nutritionally-based medical clinic specializing in therapeutic fasting and health improvement through a whole-food, plant-based diet.

Whilst most of us may not have had the privilege of meeting Dr Klaper in person, you may know him through the films "Diet for a New America", "Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret" and "What The Health". Just like Claire and Andrew of the New Normal Project, Dr Klaper believes in plant-based nutrition, optimal sleep, frequent physical activity, and meaningful connections to work and other people.

In this conversation Dr Klaper talks about: 

  • His practice at TrueNorth with plant-based nutrition and water fasting
  • Some real-life patient examples of plant-based nutrition in action
  • How some cancers seem to respond to fasting followed by plant-based nutrition
  • How he began eating a plant-based diet himself
  • Some of the difficulties people face as they change to a plant-based diet and some tips to help them
  • His approach to eating out with family and friends
  • The risks of eating too much restaurant food (salt, sugar and oil)
  • His approach to eating chocolate
  • The benefits of exercise
  • The poisonous effects of drinking alcohol
  • How New Zealand and Australia are catching up to California as plant-based communities
  • How the environment and the planet need us to give up eating animal products
  • The benefits of even small steps in the direction of a whole foods plant-based diet
  • His enjoyment of and the importance of live events to advocate for better health
  • His excitement at the steady progression of plant-based eating over recent times
  • Some of the highlights of the Australian and New Zealand tour he just finished

 

Resources from people and things mentioned in this episode:

Michael Klaper website: https://doctorklaper.com/

Michael Klaper on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelklapermd/

TrueNorth Health Center: http://www.healthpromoting.com/

Movie “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret”: http://www.cowspiracy.com/

Movie “What The Health”: http://www.whatthehealthfilm.com/

Documentary “Serving Love” http://www.rawfoodforlife.org/

Plant Powered Brisbane: https://www.plantpurepods.com/podsdirect/brisbane-australia-group/

Raw Events Australia: http://www.raweventsaustralia.com/

Serotonin Eatery: www.serotonindealer.com

New Normal Project website: https://www.newnormalproject.com.au/

New Normal Project shop: https://www.newnormalproject.com.au/shop

New Normal Project instagram: @newnormalproject

New Normal Project twitter: @newnormalproj

New Normal Project facebook: "newnormalproject"