Dr. Akil Taher is a practicing physician in Gadsden, Alabama and lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He is an eternal optimist, explorer, and adventurer, and over the last decade, he has overcome acute medical ailments by transforming his mind, body, and spirit through the adoption of a plant-based diet, practice of yoga and meditation, regular exercise, and developing a positive and purpose-driven mindset.

In 2010, at the age of sixty-one, he dramatically altered the conventional script adopted by most bypass surgery patients by climbing Mount Kailash in Tibet at 19,000 feet. This was a year after his open-heart surgery. In October 2011, he ran his first full marathon, the Chicago Marathon; and in September 2012, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world. He then expanded the canvas of his age-defying adventures by pursuing physically challenging activities on land, sea, and air, including triathlon, scuba diving, white water rafting, hang gliding, skydiving, and a century bike ride (a 100-mile cycling event) at age 70.

Dr. Taher is also a speaker focused on spreading the message of a heart-healthy lifestyle. He has recently come out with his first book Open Heart: The Transformational Journey of a Doctor Who, After Bypass Surgery at 61, Ran Marathons and Climbed Mountains. The book chronicles his exploits since his heart surgery.

I chat with him about his book Open Heart, what inspired him to write this book, book recommendations, and much more.

Hello, Dr. Taher! Tell us a bit about yourself!

I am a 72 year old practicing physician in Gadsden, Alabama, USA. I was raised in Mumbai, India and trained in Family Medicine at the Flower Hospital in Sylvania, Ohio, USA.

I’m now a resurgent physician, a recovered bypass surgery patient, a septuagenarian athlete, a heart-healthy speaker, and a holistic health and wellness consumer.

But until 2009, I was just an experienced physician, a couch potato, and an obstinate epicurean who feasted over the best foods without worrying about unhealthy consequences. Like many, I believed that, “Heart disease won’t happen to me.”

In August 2009, at the age of 61, open heart surgery knocked at my door and my world came crumbling down. Fortunately for me, determination ran deep in my veins. After surgery, I sat back and reflected on my life. I had two choices – first, to lead a cautious, mediocre, and sedentary life, as seen in most patients after recovery from a heart bypass surgery; or second, to abandon the ordinary by taking my own journey to the extraordinary. I turned this setback into an opportunity.

7 months after my bypass surgery, I completed my first half marathon in Nashville, Tennessee. I then undertook a mountaineering trek to Mount Kailash (altitudes of 19,000 feet) in Tibet. In October 2011, I ran my first full marathon (26.2 miles or 49.19 kilometres), the Chicago Marathon, and in September 2012, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free standing mountain in the world.

Over the last decade, I overcame acute and chronic medical ailments and expanded the canvas of my physically enduring adventures comprising a century bike ride (a 100-mile biking event), triathlons, bungee jumping, hang gliding and skydiving.

This was all possible because I changed my lifestyle to incorporate healthy eating habits, an exercise regimen, and regular practice of yoga and meditation.

In addition to being an outdoor enthusiast, I am involved in charity work at various levels. I raised US $10,000 single-handedly for the American Heart Association when I ran the Chicago Marathon. For the Mumbai Marathon, I raised Rs. 10 lakhs for St. Jude and PETA. I ran the prestigious Boston Marathon a year after the bombings in the 2013 Boston Marathon, raising US $ 4000.

My clinic, Doctors MedCare in Fort Payne, Alabama, USA has sponsored Rainsville Freedom Run from its inception which provides help to the Chattanooga Homeless Shelter and DeKalb County animal shelter.

As an athlete and wellness consumer, I benefitted tremendously by adopting a heart-healthy diet. As a resurgent physician, I leverage medical science and lifestyle changes to treat the underlying cause of the disease and not just the consequence of the disease. And as an inspirational and motivational speaker, I stay focussed on spreading the message of a heart-healthy lifestyle.

I am an eternal optimist, explorer, and adventurer. I am married and have two children and an adorable grandson.

Up to the age of 61, I was my biggest impediment to progress, and then I became my biggest change agent. And now at age 72, I am living a life of purpose, peace and contentment, doing everything I love.

How would you describe your book Open Heart in one sentence?

Open Heart is a transformational journey of a doctor who, after bypass surgery at 61, ran marathons and climbed mountains, spurred by body, mind and spirit.

Now tell us a little more about the book! What can readers expect?

My book Open Heart is an invitation for the reader to experience the agony of living in an exhausted body with a long line of seemingly insurmountable problems and how I challenged these by diet, exercise, meditation, yoga and Pranayama.

I also want readers to benefit from my mistakes and take small steps in changing their lifestyle so that they can lead a heart-healthy life and improve their overall health and well being. My willingness to reflect on my own shortcomings will inspire the readers to be honest about their own life’s decisions and conquer their own challenges.

This book will also help readers to understand the importance of whole-food, plant-based diet (WFPBD), that is evidence based and backed by science as well as my personal experience.

This book is also full of adventure and fun with a healthy dose of humorous anecdotes.

And finally at age 72, I can say with confidence that this book is a testament that age is not a limiting factor for changing one’s lifestyle.

What inspired you to write this book?

I wrote this book because each time I made a change in my lifestyle or came back from an adventure, my staff, patients, family and friends told me how much they enjoyed and benefited from my stories and wanted me to write a book. I procrastinated, using lack of time as an excuse. Covid-19 pandemic in a strange way was a blessing in disguise. It gave me time to put my thoughts on paper and finish the book.

I was also aware that heart disease was the leading cause of death worldwide, killing more people than all cancers combined. Being a resurgent physician and a heart disease survivor, I knew how important a plant based diet was in not only preventing but reversing heart disease as I explain in the book’s chapter “Diet is more important than exercise.” So, I wanted to discuss this topic in my book.

Can you tell us some interesting anecdotes from your marathons and treks which find a place in this book?

Here are a few anecdotes that come to my mind.

During the Boston Marathon:

I had worn a knit toboggan at the start of the race to keep warm, but I took it off as it was getting too hot. With $20 in my pocket, I approached a stranger on the sidewalk and offered him money in exchange for his baseball hat. He was reluctant at first, but his girlfriend told him to hand it over to me. Not only that, but she refused to take the $20. As a parting shot, the man let me know that the hat had been his for ten years. “You better finish the race,” he shouted at my back. In retrospect, his words were part of my motivation for finishing the race. I tried hard to find him after the race, went online, and asked the authorities if they could help, but they all wanted his name. He made a difference that day, and I hope he gets to read this book.

A humorous but true anecdote during climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro:

As I tried to put my tired body to sleep, I couldn’t. The side effects of the antimalarial medication were beginning to show up as insomnia and anxiety. I stayed awake all night. At first, I talked to my friend next to me, till he and the guys in the other tents asked me to shut up. With my enlarged prostate, all the fluids I’d drunk, and the water pills I’d taken, I kept getting a strong urge to pee every two to three hours. It was frigid outside, so I fumbled around in the pitch dark, trying to find my headlamp so I could find my pee bottle. I then rolled onto my side, still in my sleeping bag, made the necessary adjustments, and waited anxiously for the flow. Nothing happened. Frustrated, I got onto my knees. My friend asked what I was doing.

I meekly answered, “Praying for a miracle.” And finally it happened, and oh, my God, what a relief!

Triathlon. Cold water conundrum:

To face the cold waters of Lake Lanier, I decided to buy a full-body wet suit online. In my excitement, I immediately put it on when it arrived without reading the instructions, which specifically required me to apply body glide on my wrists, legs, toes, ankles, feet, and all around my neck to help get the suit on and off with ease. As it was, it took me a while to get it on, but I could not take it off, no matter how hard I tried.

I sat on the bed, took a few deep breaths for a final effort to get it off, and managed to pull the wet suit down to my waist. But that was it. I could not get it off the lower part of my body. I tried as hard as I could before swallowing my pride and leaving the room to get help.

I came down to my living room and asked my bemused wife for help. She took hold of both rubber leggings and tried to drag me out of it, but it didn’t work.

Eventually, Nafisa got a pair of scissors and cut about five inches on the outer side of each legging. She now had a better grip to not only pull the wet suit off me, but also a whole lot of hair off my legs. We laughed our lungs out as we created a spontaneous moment of togetherness in a most unexpected manner.

In the book, you also discuss about the enormous role that diet plays in preventing as well as recovering from heart disease as well as other chronic illnesses, such as cancer, diabetes, and kidney disease. Could you tell about this in brief for our readers?

Diet is more important than exercise. A bad diet feeds a disease while a good diet fights a disease. It is not bad genetics that runs in the family but it is a bad diet that runs in the family.

Meat, eggs, dairy and sugar are the biggest competitors to your health.

Animal protein lacks fiber, has cancer linkage, can cause high cholesterol, osteoporosis and reduced renal function.

Dairy has hormones and antibiotics and can lead to acne and allergies. Besides most of us are lactose intolerant and cannot digest the protein casein found in cow’s milk.

Fructose from added sugars appears to be associated with declining liver function, high blood pressure and weight gain. The best diet to prevent and reverse heart disease is a plant based diet. Remember eating an unhealthy vegetarian or vegan diet is as bad as consuming the flesh of an animal.

What is the message that you want readers to take away from this book?

Diet is more important than exercise.

Adventure may hurt you but monotony will kill you. (Here, adventure is a metaphor. It can be any activity outside your comfort zone, like learning how to play chess, bridge, gardening, cooking)

Adversity can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Hidden talents mostly surface during adversity and rarely during normal life.

Do the thing you fear most and death of fear will be certain.

An unexciting truth can be eclipsed by a thrilling lie. Examples of these are found in the book.

How have you been coping with the current pandemic and what will be the new normal for you post it?

I can understand the devastation caused by Covid-19. As a physician, I implore people to get vaccinated. There are a lot of unanswered questions but not getting vaccinated or not using a mask is not the answer.

Covid-19 induced lockdowns gave me the time to finish my book. I started new hobbies like cooking and gardening.

I would also like to tell readers that a research article published recently in a British Medical Journal has said that a vegan diet (not a junk food vegan diet) reduces the severity of Covid-19 disease by 73%.

Lastly, are you currently reading anything and do you have any book recommendations for our readers?

I am currently reading the book Quiet by Susan Cain. I would recommend the books How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael Greger and Gene Stone, Prevent And Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure by Caldwell B. Esselstyn, The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, and Reversing Diabetes in 21 Days by Nandita Shah.

The book ‘Open Heart’ is available online and at your nearest bookstore.