Dr. Miriam Maisel, a pioneer in plant-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine, is this week’s featured expert on the Health Science Podcast with host Dr. Frank Sabatino. Dr. Maisel shared her personal journey and professional experiences, as well as her work in stress management and palliative medicine.

Growing up, Dr. Maisel was inspired to become a vegetarian, driven by her love for yoga and environmental concerns. While in medical school, she had to hide her vegetarianism due to stigma.

Her exposure to the internet led her to explore medical fasting and plant-based nutrition. As a result, Dr. Maisel visited True North Health in California and began reading works by renowned experts like Colin Campbell, John McDougall, and Dean Ornish.

During her younger years, Dr. Maisel lived in a community in Israel that was among the first to practice organic farming.

She also became interested in meditation and Tai Chi, which eventually led her to Japan for three years. Her experience there inspired her to return to conventional medicine, seeking an evidence-based approach.

In Israel, she has observed a strong focus on tertiary care and hospital medicine. While there is some emphasis on prevention, diet is often overlooked. However, she emphasizes that there is a growing interest in plant-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine.

Throughout her career, Dr. Maisel has been drawn to palliative and hospice medicine, working in various hospice departments in the UK.

In recent years, she has also focused on stress management, earning a qualification from the Benson Henry Institute at Harvard. The program, called Smart Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART), teaches individuals to recognize and manage stress.

Dr. Maisel believes that teaching stress management to doctors can help them better understand their patients and provide more effective care. She has taught several groups of doctors in the UK, offering continuing education credits for her course.

In her practice, Dr. Maisel takes a compassionate approach, offering extended consultations and making her services accessible to those with limited resources. As a semi-retired physician, she feels privileged to practice medicine in a way that aligns with her values and beliefs.

Episode Highlights

[02:00]             Dr. Maisel’s journey began at a young age

[04:00]             Dr. T. Colin Campbell is a catalyst                  

[06:30]             Moshav life with organic farming is on the fringe

[11:30]             Lifestyle medicine in Israel

[16:00]             Diseases of self-destruction

[21:00]             Addressing stress management for mind and body

[27:00]             Passing on the formula one doctor at a time

[29:30]             Physician heal thyself

About Dr. Miriam Maisel  

Dr. Miriam Maisel is a Family Practitioner with further training in Lifestyle Medicine – an international qualification that emphasizes the changes patients can make to their habits to enhance health, reduce mortality and disability, and even reverse existing disease processes.

She recently retired from the UK National Health Service where she has served since 1997 and now focuses on her Lifestyle Medicine clinic in Tel Aviv.

Apart from clinical practice, Dr. Maisel authored a chapter in the textbook “Nutrition and Integrative Medicine: A Primer for Clinicians” and lectures on the Plant-Based Nutrition Course at Winchester University. She teaches stress management to doctors using the Harvard-based Stress Management and Resiliency Training – an 8-week course approved for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) by the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine.

Dr. Maisel also has experience with medically based water fasting, gained through her time spent at True North Health. She has been following a whole food plant-based diet for about 12 years, having become a vegetarian at age 14.

She has been working in the NHS since 1997. She also teaches a stress management course, approved for CPD by the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine.

Dr. Miriam Maisel is an accomplished practitioner who has made valuable contributions to the field of Lifestyle Medicine. Her work is based on the belief that patients can take control of their health and live happier, healthier lives by making the right lifestyle changes.

About Dr. Frank Sabatino

As a recognized authority on the benefits of a plant-based lifestyle, Dr. Frank Sabatino has cared for and inspired thousands of people for over 40 years. Dr. Sabatino has a PhD in cell biology and neuroendocrinology and has done extensive landmark research on calorie restriction, stress, and aging. He currently is on staff at the TrueNorth Health Foundation in Santa Rosa, CA, and serves as the Director of Health Education at the NHA.

Dr. Sabatino’s passion and life’s work include raising awareness about the benefits of whole-food, plant-exclusive nutrition (without added salt, oil, or sugar), health rejuvenation, stress

About NHA

The National Health Association (NHA), founded in 1948, is a nonprofit organization that promotes the benefits of a plant-based diet. The Association provides educational materials, educational events, and services to thousands of people around the world.

The mission of the National Health Association is to educate and empower individuals to understand that health results from healthful living. The NHA recognizes the integration of all aspects of health: personal, environmental, and social.

The NHA also provides travel experiences around the globe through the NHA Plant-Based Travel and cruise division.

More information: https://www.healthscience.org/

Conference (75^th Annual)

A one-of-a-kind experience, the annual NHA Conference features top leaders in the plant-based movement. Attendees of the in-person event enjoy 100% no SOS plant-exclusive meals.

To learn more and reserve your spot, visit  https://www.healthscience.org/2023-nha-conference/

Scholarships

A unique benefit of the NHA Conference is the selection of two medical students who receive a full scholarship to the conference.

Contact Wanda Huberman for more information on how to apply for the scholarship.  [email protected]

NHA membership

For a very nominal investment, you can enjoy incredible benefits of the NHA membership.

Members of the NHA enjoy a subscription to the award-winning quarterly health journal, Health Science, access to the “Members Only” section of the NHA Website (which contains all 43 years of back issues of the magazine),  the ability to download for free many classic out of print eBooks on the history of the Natural Hygiene Movement, including Fasting Can Save Your Life and The Greatest Health Discovery, discounts on books, and early notice of the NHA events.

Only $35 a year for basic membership within the United States.  https://www.healthscience.org/join-renew/