Milton Mills, M.D.: Prescribing Change
 Whether
internist Milton Mills is practicing at Fairfax Hospital in Virginia or at
free clinics in Washington, D.C., his prescription for patients is likely to
include some dietary advice: go vegetarian.
“Medical
research shows conclusively that a plant-based diet reduces chronic disease
risk, so that’s something I absolutely encourage my patients to move
toward,” says Dr. Mills, a graduate of Stanford University School of
Medicine, who became interested in the connection between diet and health when
he went vegetarian as a teenager. “I find that when people are ill, they
are very open to adopting practices that will improve their health.”
Dr.
Mills doesn’t limit his message to his patients. He takes it to audiences
around the country as well, speaking at hospitals, churches, and community
centers. Sometimes he brings patients he’s helped—like Katheryn
Vess, who suffered from heart disease and poorly controlled diabetes before
changing her diet. “I was taking insulin twice a day and couldn’t
walk half a block because my arteries were so clogged. Then I met Dr. Mills
and he taught me how to eat,” Vess says. Now Vess is off insulin, no
longer takes blood pressure medicine, and can walk a mile. “Her diabetes
is, for all intents and purposes, cured,” Dr. Mills says.
Often active
in PCRM campaigns, Dr. Mills is the lead plaintiff in PCRM’s class action
lawsuit that asks for warning labels on milk. In the future, Dr. Mills hopes
to delve into a new area of interest where little research has been done but
the anecdotal evidence looks promising: diet and immunity. When Dr. Mills works
with HIV and AIDS patients at clinics, he’s noticed that those who go
vegetarian seem to improve, with increased energy and higher T-cell counts. “Medical
literature supports a plant-based diet as being better for overall immune system
function,” Dr. Mills says. “So its effect on patients with HIV
is something I’d very much like to examine in the future.”
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