In our endeavor to promote a shift in medicine, our job is to seek-out and promote people who have important and innovative scientific contributions to give. Encountering Gabriel Cousens, MD has opened the frontiers beyond those that we had previously set out for our investigations. The reason is that he not only offers a method to heal the body, but a complete system that deals with every aspect of life. Furthermore, Dr. Cousens message is that health and wellbeing go far beyond the body to include intellectual, social, environmental and spiritual aspects.

To learn more, FAIM traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to participate in a nutrition seminar offered by Dr. Gabriel Cousens himself.

Notwithstanding all the different circumstances and walks of life, all humans share one thing: the gift of life. Since time immemorial, the fundamental question of the meaning of life has driven human endeavor and aspirations. Dr. Cousens, who represents a long and specific tradition of Spiritual Teachers, puts this issue at the core of his message. The purpose of life is to experience the union with the Divine. His courses on human nutrition and health have a specific objective: to allow people to perform at their best to accomplish this manifest destiny. Although his nutritional recommendations might seem extreme, they are tailored to accomplish a spiritual objective: "some people live to eat; others eat to live," but Dr. Cousens says, "we eat to live to experience a unity with the God."

One can understand how difficult it would be to start a lecture with such a premise at NIH! However, all he teaches does have a definite and powerful effect on physical and mental health. So, for however restrictive one's definition of health is, we strongly encourage for you to look at Dr. Cousens' work and books. They are monumental and will definitively not leave you indifferent.

In Buenos Aires Dr. Cousens was also promoting the Spanish translation of There Is a Cure for Diabetes: The Tree of Life 21-Day+ Program (ISBN 978-1556436918). Diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association, is an incurable disease. Dr. Cousens says that, by the way they approach it, they are perfectly right! Dr. Cousens has an extensive experience curing diabetes. His program at The Tree of Life Center in Arizona lasts 21 days where people cure themselves by learning a new lifestyle. At the heart of the treatment is a healthy diet that is organic, vegan and live.

Most people who enroll in the Diabetes program are able to discontinue all medications within 4 days. The program also manages to cure 30% of diabetes type 1 – which would be considered a blasphemy for conventional medicine. A film has been made which portrays the experience; see Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days.

Dr. Cousens' diet comprises of foods with low glycemic index to avoid spikes in insulin, which he claims is the major culprit for inflammation, accelerated aging and a whole panoply of degenerative effects. This is not only happening to diabetics, but also to pre-diabetics, who number many times more. Dr. Cousens' crusade against Diabetes is due to the fact that this disease directly consumes a big chunk of medical costs. Furthermore, it is related to a whole series of other debilitating problems such as cardiovascular disease. Dr. Cousens' message is straightforward: enormous suffering and huge medical expenses can be avoided worldwide through simply reforming lifestyles and nutrition.

One of the most difficult aspects in adapting to Dr. Cousens' life style is reforming the diet because it is something that is determined by culture (all the people around us also eat the same way). Furthermore, modernity offers all kinds of sophisticated food treats where abundance is considered a most positive thing. Dr. Cousens' warns us that overeating, especially nutritionally-poor food rich in carbohydrates, is slowly killing us. It is now proven that calorie restriction lengthens the lifespan.

Understanding well these problems, Dr. Cousens' courses teach how to eat and prepare food. Every person is unique. Therefore, people learn – on an individual basis – how to identify what particular combination of carbohydrates, proteins and fats works best for energy, wellbeing and health. A whole new cuisine has to be created. The course facilitators, who are graduates of the Tree of Life master program, teach the cuisine part. After an early morning yoga session, the participants learn how to make live food that is both delicious and healthy.

For the uninitiated, live food means that nothing is cooked: at the most it is dried or slightly warmed. All seeds (like grains and beans) are sprouted; or, at least activated, which means that the sprouting process has started activating a whole cascade of enzymatic activity. The surprising thing is how fast, easy and fun it is! Fortunately, live-fooders do not have to feel alone anymore: there is now a huge community out there, with magazines, websites, restaurants, books and plenty of recipe sharing.

After lunch, Dr. Cousens, who refers to himself in the third person as "Gabriel," gave lectures packed with scientific facts and information. The day ends with an intense meditation session followed by Q&A dealing with spiritual issues.

To learn more, we recommend searching for many of Dr. Cousens' talks that are available online, as well as other resources made available Dr. Cousen's Tree of Life Center website.

Dr. Cousens is modern day spiritual teacher that also has the scientific and medical knowledge to be able to give a message apt for the 21^st century. Undoubtedly, he will gain many adepts in the medical world, since he claims that even a partial application of his teachings will produce huge health benefits. Bravo!