I am a practicing physician in Gadsden, Alabama. I was raised in Mumbai, India and trained in family medicine at the Flower Hospital in Sylvania, Ohio.

“I am now a resurgent physician, a recovered bypass surgery patient, a septuagenarian athlete, a heart-healthy speaker, a holistic health and wellness consumer, and a proponent of whole-food, plant-based diet.”

But until 2009, I was just an experienced physician, a couch potato, and a pampered consumer who feasted over the best foods without worrying about unhealthy consequences, because 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, so I decided to completely change my life.

So, I reincarnated into a new life to stay true to the meaning of my first name, Akil−the "wise."

“A year after my bypass surgery, I 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 kilometers), the Chicago Marathon, and in September 2012, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world.”

Over the last decade, I have overcome acute and chronic medical ailments to indulge in century cycling, triathloning, skydiving, hang gliding, scuba diving, and white water rafting.

This was possible because I changed my lifestyle to incorporate healthy eating habits, an exercise regimen, and regular practice of yoga and meditation. https://www.akiltaher.com/mystory