When Dr. Daphine Kaniaru, a family medicine doctor in Central Valley, California, sets her mind on something, she doesn’t quit.
She did not quit hosting healthy lifestyle coaching sessions even after a scary diagnosis that would have sent many into a panicked retirement on health grounds.
“I had a pituitary tumor discovered last year. I had surgery to remove the tumor, but that left me with hormone deficiencies. Later I developed low phosphorus, which left me with constant body pains and fatigue,” Kaniaru disclosed. “I have not been able to work since April, but I have been able to reach people on social media, website, [and] calls.
Kaniaru was forced to leave work because of her health, and she continues to struggle with complications. She finds joy in helping people become healthier versions of themselves. And because her health situation has made it impossible for her to help at her clinic, she has taken it online and on social media.
“Though I have had significant health challenges, I have been able to push through to help others be healthy. “Working with someone with diabetes decrease and even get off medicines is so fulfilling. The joy I find in seeing someone lose weight after a long struggle makes it all worth it,” Kaniaru said.”
While she enjoys a modest social media following, she has posted live videos on her Facebook page offering sound science-based advice to her audience, who frequently join her lives shows.
Kaniaru, the founder of Lifestyle Medicine Global, an organization dedicated to educating people to find natural ways to prevent, mitigate and reverse lifestyle diseases, is on a mission to help Kenyans optimize their health.
While many people fail to pursue their life vision, Kaniaru is not shy in pursuing hers– fighting the top lifestyle diseases in the world, diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease, and hypertension.
A vegan, Kaniaru recommends a plant-based diet to reduce lifestyle diseases caused by animal-based foods. She said animal-based foods were meant to be eaten sparingly.
“Studies have shown that eating a low-fat whole food plant-based diet can significantly reduce heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s dementia, obesity, and other lifestyle diseases,” a statement on the Lifestyle Medicine Global website states.
Within the Central Valley California Kenyan community, Kaniaru has started a Whatsapp group where she shares vegetarian recipes and tips for living a healthy lifestyle regardless of whether a person is a vegan or vegetarian who eats meat.
She explained the difference between a vegan and a vegetarian. A vegan eats only plant-based foods, and a vegetarian can eat animal-based foods such as eggs and milk.
“Though I have had significant health challenges, I have been able to push through to help others be healthy. “Working with someone with diabetes decrease and even get off medicines is so fulfilling. The joy I find in seeing someone lose weight after a long struggle makes it all worth it,” Dr. Daphine Kaniaru.
Her advocacy has inspired many people to reconsider their diet and introduce more plant-based foods in their meals, even though many still struggle to give-up meat altogether.
Her recipes, coupled with her background as a medical doctor, have given Valley residents a rare opportunity of having the services of a real doctor offering free dietary advice backed with science and giving them alternatives to subjecting themselves to a lifetime of medication as treatment for diseases such as diabetes.
She also offers consultation services through her website mylifestylemedicineglobal.com.
The young doctor has specialized in reversing the spread of diabetes, losing weight, managing cholesterol, building a healthy heart, and maintaining blood pressure.
She regularly hosts free seminars and workshops on Zoom and Facebook Live sessions to educate people about a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes, she involves other medical professionals to offer a wholesome perspective from different specialists.
Her theme includes giving her audience quick tips on improving their health without spending money on gym subscriptions, signing up for an expensive diet plan, or taking magic pills to lose weight.
To optimize health, Kaniaru offers several tips that may appear obvious and mundane but, if followed, could lead to better health outcomes.
The list includes regular exercise, a plant-based diet, enjoying the sunlight, water intake, social connectedness, and trusting in God, among others.
Trusting in God and having social connections stand out as they’re not necessarily scientific, but Kaniaru, a Seventh-Day Adventist, argues people with spiritual faith tend to have better health. Similarly, people with family and friends have a support system that assists them through mental and physical health problems.
Through her Facebook, YouTube, Website, and social media platforms, Kaniaru has used her background as a family doctor to educate the public on simple ways to live a healthy lifestyle by optimizing their health.
She has also assembled a team of medical professionals in the California Central Valley to empower the public about a healthy lifestyle from pediatric, physical therapy, psychiatry, and spirituality.
A recent forum focused on mental health, a growing crisis facing many Kenyans at home and in the diaspora.
The Lifestyle Medicine Global Facebook page uses humorous memes to promote a plant-based diet.
“You’re not lactose intolerant. You’re just not a baby cow,” one meme said.
Other posts show colorful plant-based meals that look appealing to the eye and delicious.
Kaniaru, 38, was born in Nyamira County in Kenya. She said her grandmother inspired her to join the medical field after observing nurses working at a hospital.
She went to Moi Minariet High School, then joined Moi University before moving to the US.
Kaniaru studied chemistry and premedical studies in the US at Rutgers University in New Jersey and earned her MD at Loma Linda School of Medicine in California.
HSN chose Kaniaru as the inspirational diasporan of the year, not because she’s famous but because of her dedication to helping the Kenyan community to optimize their health and adopt a healthy lifestyle despite her health challenges.
After observing Kaniaru’s consistent outreach effort and authenticity, we believe our community and the world are better because of her selfless attitude and generosity in sharing her wealth of knowledge as a medical doctor.
Those with personal questions can reach out to her through her website mylifestylemedicineglobal.com or her Facebook page and Lifestyle Medicine Global Facebook Page.
Kaniaru is an eternal optimist.
“I struggle with fatigue but get energized whenever I talk about lifestyle medicine. It is my source of energy to go on. I have work to do to reach many that need this valuable information. My health issue has not yet resolved, but I hope it will soon so I can do more,” Kaniaru said.