posted June 11, 2024
I live in New Jersey but could not find any Vegan physicians. It was exasperating going from provider to provider trying to find someone who didn’t think I needed to eat fish or that what I am doing is ridiculous. I finally found an in-person provider who understood and respected my Vegan lifestyle, but I wanted to quadruple-check, so booked an online appointment with Dr. Keary O’Connor with Love.Life Telehealth.
In a Master Main Street Vegan Academy class last spring, we discussed how a Vegan can still have health issues despite our healthy lifestyle. The damage done before becoming plant-based may be irreversible or the vegan diet we follow may have more processed junk than we thought.
About Love.Life Telehealth
Love.Life Telehealth is a virtual healthcare provider providing Vegan doctors to all 50 states and Washington, D.C. With nine doctors, you may have the choice of one or several licensed physicians licensed in your state. People outside of the US can also meet with them as well.
How do you know which doctor to choose if given a choice? Their website includes a welcome video from each doctor so you can meet them beforehand.
Anthony Masiello, CEO and Co-Founder of Love.Life Telehealth, started the business just as the pandemic shut down in-person visits across the country.
Masiello started a plant-based lifestyle himself after being denied life insurance at age 33. He was morbidly obese, weighing more than 360 pounds, medicated for high blood pressure, and suffering from psoriasis, eczema, migraine headaches, and sleep apnea. With his transition to a whole food plant-based diet and healthy lifestyle, Anthony lost 160 pounds and reversed all these conditions. He has maintained that weight loss, and an incredible quality of life, for more than 16 years.
You don’t have to be a Vegan to see a Love.Life Telehealth doctor. Roughly half of their patients are omnivores and the other half are already vegans. So far, they have seen approximately 6,500 patients since 2020. You do not have to be a Vegan. This is a great alternative for everybody. You have nothing to lose except some extra weight and prescription meds.
Imagine the doctor showing up at exactly the time of your appointment? It is fabulous! While Love.Life Telehealth was not covered by my insurance, the lack of tedious and cumbersome insurer requirements meant quality time with my doctor instead. Many providers claim longer wait times are due to insurance companies requiring higher patient volumes and tons of extra paperwork.
My Love.Life Telehealth Experience
I don’t believe in taking medication and practice preventative care. This aligns with Love.Life Telehealth, as Masiello confirmed, “The physicians at Love.Life Telehealth live the lifestyle they prescribe and are highly skilled at working with patients to identify and treat the root cause of medical conditions and health concerns with diet and lifestyle changes first.”
Thinking I’d not get an in-depth evaluation since I’m already a Vegan and exercise every day, Dr. O’Connor was extremely thorough and even had some concerns. We went over my recent bloodwork and discussed issues.
I was able to email Dr. O’Connor with follow-up information and questions after our visit. I don’t have to tell you how difficult it usually is to speak to a doctor after your in-person visit—what a bonus!
Now I have a plant-based doctor if I have any concerns about an in-person visit or anything medically related. Love.Life’s physicians can order tests so you can bypass an in-person doctor’s visit, too.
My experience with Love.Life was pleasant, helpful, and thorough.
And the dreaded question, “Where do you get your protein?” never came up.
Cherie Hans holds certifications from Dr. McDougall’s Starch Solution and Dr. Campbell’s Plant-Based Nutrition programs. She holds a Master of Science in Bilingual Education from St. John’s University, New York, and a Bachelor of Arts from the City University of NY: Queens College in English and Spanish, and currently teaches adults in English as a Second Language. After graduating from Main Street Vegan Academy, Cherie started the blog Fit and Fifties Vegan. She is from Queens, New York, but now resides in New Jersey with her husband and many rescued cats.