Skip to main content
Doctors Bring Plant-Based Nutrition Tour to 11 Medical Schools in India
Indian Actress Mallika Sherawat Supports Tour with ‘Go Vegan’ Billboard
WASHINGTON—Doctors from the Barnard Medical Center and Physicians Committee—a U.S. nonprofit with 12,000 doctor members—will visit 11 medical schools across India in July and August to teach students how to use the power of a plant-based diet to help patients fight obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
“Plant-based nutrition should be the frontline defense against India’s diabetes and heart disease epidemics,” says Barnard Medical Center medical director James Loomis, M.D., M.B.A. “It’s critical that we train the next generation of physicians in India and around the world to share this lifesaving message with their patients.”
The program includes information on the Physicians Committee’s new Nutrition Guide for Clinicians app; evidence-based lectures from Barnard Medical Center medical director James Loomis, M.D., M.B.A., and Physicians Committee Kickstart India specialist Zeeshan Ali, Ph.D.; and plant-based meals and resource packets for students.
More than 72 million people in India have diabetes and another 42 million have undiagnosed diabetes, according to the International Diabetes Federation. By 2045, those numbers are expected to reach 134 million and 77 million, respectively. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in India. In 2016, there were an estimated 62.5 million years of life lost prematurely due to cardiovascular disease.
Researchers with the Physicians Committee recently published a review that found that plant-based diets can reduce heart disease risk by 40 percent. Physicians Committee research also shows that a vegan diet can help prevent type 2 diabetes.
Indian actress Mallika Sherawat is supporting the tour with billboards in Mumbai that have two messages: “Eat Plants. End Diabetes. Go Vegan with Mallika Sherawat!” and “Mumbai: Eat More Fruits and Vegetables. Cut the Meat and Dairy!” Both billboards direct viewers to 21DayKickStartIndia.org.
“A plant-based diet is the prescription for building a healthy India,” says Physicians Committee Kickstart India specialist Zeeshan Ali, Ph.D. “The good news is that hundreds of medical students across the country are now ready to prescribe it.”
MEDICAL SCHOOL TOUR SCHEDULE
BHOPAL
July 26, 9 -11 a.m.: Chirayu Medical College Auditorium Bhainsakhedi, Near Bairagarh, Bhopal-Indore Highway
July 26, 12-2 p.m.: Gandhi Medical College Auditorium, Sultania Road, Royal Market
Chandigarh
July 27, 3-5 p.m.: Government Medical College, Lecture Theatre 1, Block E GMCH-32
NEW DELHI
July 30, 9-11 a.m.: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr. Ramalingaswami Board Room (Near Director’s Office)
July 30, 3-5 p.m.: Maulana Azad Medical College, New Lecture Theatre (Ground Floor), Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
Hyderabad
Aug. 1, 3-4:30 p.m.: Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Lecture Hall Complex, Jubilee Hills
Pune
Aug. 2, 3- 4:30 p.m.: Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical College, Pune-Satara Road
Aug. 3, 3:30-5:30 p.m.: B. J. Medical College, Mahatma Gandhi Auditorium, Agarkar Nagar
Mumbai
Aug. 6, 1:30-3:30 p.m.: Dr. DY Patil Medical College, Lecture Theatre 5th floor, Navi Mumbai
Bangalore
Aug. 7, 3-4 p.m.: Bangalore Medical College, Fort K.R. Road
Chennai
Aug. 8, 3-4 p.m.: Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Seminar Hall, Second Floor, College Building
CONTACT: Please contact Zeeshan Ali at zali [at] pcrm.org (zali[at]pcrm[dot]org) for questions and interview requests.
Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit organization that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in education and research.
