Physician Profile: Stephen W. Stigers, M.D.

As a guest on Missouri television's Heartland Business Break, PCRM's Stephen Stigers, M.D., told viewers the difficult truth. "When it comes to health, Americans are doing very poorly," he said. "We eat a lot of meat and a lot of saturated fats in our processed foods."

Dr. Stigers was invited on the show to speak about Missouri's ranking as the state with the second greatest number of deaths from heart disease. However, the rest of the United States is not faring much better. "Compare our rates of heart disease to those of Asia, Africa, and South America. They have hardly any heart disease because they eat practically no meat." He explained how PCRM physicians prescribe a low-fat, vegan diet to prevent a number of chronic, diet-related illnesses. Heart disease remains the number one killer of people living in the United States, even though this diet could have saved nearly every one of them.

When Dr. Stigers isn't in the media spotlight, he is treating his patients in the pain clinic of St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. "My work in pain management affords me the opportunity to decrease suffering in a very tangible way," he notes. "Helping patients take responsibility for their own health with the right diet, exercise, and other lifestyle changes is a great feeling."