Health & Nutrition

Dr. Michael Klaper on Moving Medicine Forward

Physician Dr. Michael Klaper had his own plant-based epiphany nine years into practicing emergency and general medicine, dropping 20 pounds and normalizing his blood pressure and cholesterol within 12 weeks.

Vegans Explore Podcast

Episode 77 · Jan 16, 2026

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A Gap in Medical Education

For 35 years, Klaper has built his practice around whole-food, plant-based nutrition, watching patients reverse obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure within days of changing their diet. His frustration: medical schools still barely touch nutrition, leaving doctors to reach for a prescription pad instead of the produce aisle.

Twelve Master Classes and a Standing Lecture

Through his Moving Medicine Forward initiative, Klaper has lectured at medical schools including Yale, Pitt, UC San Diego, and University of Texas Houston, and has produced 12 master classes in plant-based nutrition for physicians, nurses, dietitians, and other health professionals. He argues the resistance boils down to three excuses, no training, no time, and no reimbursement, and offers a workaround for each, including referring patients to plant-based dietitians and citing emerging value-based insurance models that reward keeping patients healthy.

Klaper's own blood pressure and cholesterol normalized within 12 weeks of going whole-food plant-based
Moving Medicine Forward has produced 12 master classes in plant-based nutrition for health professionals
Free courses are available through pcrm.org and the University of Winchester's plant-based nutrition course

Klaper closes with practical basics for immune health during the pandemic: sleep, hydration, sunlight, movement, and a plate built around legumes, whole grains, and something fresh every day.