“There is nothing in 33 years of medical practice that has been more beneficial to my patients than my own acceptance of a plant-based diet.” Although John Houk, MD, had personally met Denis Burkitt, MD, in medical school, read Nathan Pritikin’s 1979 best
seller, and been exposed to the work of Dean Ornish, MD, and Terry Shintani,
MD, it was only when a patient in mid 2012 sent him a DVD of “Forks Over Knives” that he adopted a plant-based diet.

John Howard Houk, the 2012 Hawaii Medical Association Physician of the Year, is a primary care internist, a teacher, and a family man. He began his medical career at the
Fronk Clinic Honolulu in 1980 before going into solo practice in 1988.

Throughout his career he has been passionate about establishing primary care as the foundation of our healthcare system. Dr. Houk is an assistant clinical professor at
University of Hawaii School of Medicine, lecturing to medical students and mentoring 3rd year students for their outpatient medicine rotation. He is a frequent lecturer both
to physician groups as well as to general audiences.