Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Niki Davis.
Hi Dr. Davis, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Around age 13, I decided to stop eating meat. I had a suspicion that it wasn’t healthy for me. I noticed that I felt really good not eating meat and I had always been an animal lover. Over the years, I removed more and more animal products from my diet until my 20’s when I went completely vegan. During that same time, I learned more and more about the benefits of a vegan diet for the earth, for the animals, and for human health. I was also working as a mechanical engineer on the space shuttle program at that time. I began transitioning to a whole food plant-based diet (got rid of the vegan junk food!). I was so happy with my health successes (I lost about 35 lbs) that I looked for a way to help spread the message to the world. My husband told me I would make a great doctor. I had never planned on going back to college (I had both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering) but as I thought more about it, I knew it was the path for me. I left my 7-year career as a “rocket scientist” to start medical school. I went to the University of Utah School of Medicine and then completed a family medicine residency in Montana. During my training I interned with Dr. John McDougall who has been practicing lifestyle medicine for decades. He has been successful at helping his patients prevent, treat, and even reverse chronic disease by transitioning them to a starch-based whole food plant-based diet. I saw people reversing high blood pressure, getting off insulin for diabetes, and feeling better than they had in years. I knew immediately that this was what I wanted to do with my life. While in residency, in addition to serving as Wellness Chief, I helped form Plant Based Montana, an advocacy group with the mission to educate healthcare providers and the general public about the health benefits of a plant-based diet.
Shortly after residency graduation, I joined Plant Based TeleHealth where I practice lifestyle medicine via telehealth. I get to live my dream, helping people get well from chronic diseases every day.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I had a 6-month-old son when I started medical school. I had to go from a great well-paid career back to a starving student again. Lifestyle medicine isn’t a great paid job currently, there isn’t much money in getting people well and off meds! It’s an uphill battle against conventional medicine, even though the data is there that supports it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Dr Niki Davis Wellness Center?
Lifestyle Medicine TeleHealth appointments (through Plant-Based TeleHealth): I can see people located in AL, AZ, CA, CO, FL, LA, MT, ND, OR, SD, TX, WA, UT.
Soon-to-be in-person Lifestyle Medicine appointments (in downtown SLC).
Soon-to-be in-person plant-based retreats around the world.
I practice lifestyle medicine which has six pillars:
– a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern
– physical activity
– restorative sleep
– stress management
– avoidance of risky substances
– positive social connections
Not only do I help people transition to a plant-based diet, I also work with them on the other pillars of lifestyle medicine. Sometimes my patients are healthy but looking for a supportive plant-based provider.
I work a lot with people who have chronic diseases they would like to treat and reverse such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, obesity/overweight, inflammatory arthritis, thyroid issues, and auto-immune conditions.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Telehealth is now a more accepted form of healthcare. The comorbidities associated with increased risk for severe covid infection are the very ones I treat every day in my clinic: diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. I have several patients who transitioned to plant-based diets out of fear of getting ill/dying from covid related to their chronic diseases.
Contact Info:
- Website: Https://www.DrNikiDavis.com
- Instagram: Https://www.instagram.com/nikidavismd
- Facebook: Https://www.facebook.com/nikidavismd
- Youtube: Https://www.YouTube.com/nikidavismd
- Other: Https://www.plantbasedtelehealth.com
