A healthy, plant-based diet is proven to help reverse chronic illnesses like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension—but why is it so hard to get your doctor on board?

As a young family physician, Dr. Michael Klaper dreaded seeing patients with cardiovascular disease and other chronic ailments, knowing that all he could offer was medication to slow down the inevitable worsening of their symptoms. Like many modern doctors, he had an unintended blindspot over the nutrition factor: Food is woven through every part of health, and common problems like high blood pressure, clogged arteries, and obesity can be reversed through an optimal plant-based diet.

After adopting a comprehensive approach to his practice, he’s calling on other medical professionals to do the same—and empowering individuals to make the best choices for their own health. Combining Dr. Klaper’s in-depth research and firsthand experience, Moving Medicine Forward explains:

• How nutritional guidance has helped his own patients cease taking medications for common “lifetime” conditions
• What the latest science tells us about the devastating impact that eating animal products has on the human body
• Why well-meaning physicians are pushed to prioritize pharmaceutical treatments over more effective, long-term solutions for healing
• Strategies for preventing (and in some cases, reversing) common conditions including cardiovascular disease, liver disease, Alzheimer’s, ALS, and more
• How to create a doctor-patient relationship that prioritizes clear communication, evidence-based medicine, and patient autonomy

For both patients seeking a straightforward, nutrition-based path to health and doctors who want to do their best by their patients, this book remedies the gap in knowledge between diet and metabolic disease, while empowering readers with the tools they need to heal and live well. The health care “status quo” is failing all of us. It’s time to move medicine forward.