South East Asian firecracker

We’re fresh back from a ground-breaking conference on integrative medicine at which ANH-Intl was an affiliate, and my colleague, Meleni Aldridge, and I were both invited to speak. I was honoured to be invited to give the keynote address. Gathered in Kuala Lumpur was a kaleidoscope of physicians, other practitioners, community workers and members of the public from around South East Asia who are clearly passionate about their participation in healthcare systems that are not dependent on new-to-nature drugs and are built around natural principles. It was a collision of interests that may have been ignited sufficiently to yield an inherently sustainable system of healthcare that I believe has the potential to gather pace quicker than anything we’ve seen in the West.

Just 45 minutes after our landing at London Heathrow, on the very same runway, there was another collision. Tragically, a man lost his life and chaos ensued. It was a reminder of how fragile life is and how easily and quickly one wrong turn can transform a highly ordered system into one that is entropic. In evolutionary terms, the over-reliance of humanity on pharmaceutical drugs in the post-WWII period may one day be judged in the same way.

At present, pharmaceutical drugs remain the third biggest killer in industrialised countries. Perhaps it’s time for those less reliant on technology, and those more in touch with our inherent biological nature to take the lead. At least, that’s how it still feels as I remain on a ‘high’ after the experiences of the last week in South East Asia.

Find out more about the firecracker of a conference in Malaysia as well as the reasons why so many of us are so passionate about plant-based diets.

In health, naturally and sustainably, wherever you are

Rob Verkerk, PhD

Founder, executive & scientific director