Dr Allen is from a 7th Day Adventist family from Loma Linda, CA. The 7th Day Adventists are one of the Blue Zone communities in the world.

Vegetarian for life; never ate meat. Thought he was following the best possible food system: vegetarianism. But he was consuming dairy, cheese, processed foods, …

When his son was about to be born, did medical tests for life insurance purposes. Surprised to discover fatty liver!

His wife insisted that they watch the documentary Forks Over Knives (90 mins, 2011). He watched but refused to believe much of the documentary! Started researching to find flaws in Forks Over Knives narrative. To his surprise, he couldn't!

Switched to veganism; removal of dairy products.

Later, read The Starch Solution by Dr John McDougall and attended his Advanced Study Weekend program. His wife had struggled with headaches prior to the trip. Headaches went away during the weekend. That helped them realize that processed foods and oils really need to be removed.

Switched to Whole Food Plant-Based in its strict form. Changed his approach to medicine.