Neal Barnard, MD, FACC, is an adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC, and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
Dr. Barnard has led numerous research studies investigating the effects of diet on diabetes, body weight, and chronic pain, including a groundbreaking study of dietary interventions in type 2 diabetes, funded by the National Institutes of Health, that paved the way for viewing type 2 diabetes as a potentially reversible condition for many patients. Dr. Barnard has authored more than 90 scientific publications and 20 books for medical and lay readers. He is the editor in chief of the Nutrition Guide for Clinicians, a textbook made available to all US medical students.
As president of the Physicians Committee, Dr. Barnard leads programs advocating for preventive medicine, good nutrition, and higher ethical standards in research. His research contributed to the acceptance of plant-based diets in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In 2015, he was named a fellow of the American College of Cardiology. In 2016, he founded the Barnard Medical Center in Washington, DC, as a model for making nutrition a routine part of all medical care.
Working with the Medical Society of the District of Columbia and the American Medical Association, Dr. Barnard has authored key resolutions, now part of AMA policy, calling for a new focus on prevention and nutrition in federal policies and in medical practice. In 2018, he received the Medical Society of the District of Columbia’s Distinguished Service Award. He has hosted four PBS television programs on nutrition and health.
Originally from Fargo, North Dakota, Dr. Barnard received his medical degree at the George Washington University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the same institution. He practiced at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York before returning to Washington to found the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
CARIBBEAN CRUISE
March 1-8, 2026
Classes
Your Body in Balance: The New Science of Food, Hormones, and Health
In recent years, the role of food choices in hormone-related conditions has become clearer, with striking benefits for health. Dr. Barnard will illustrate the importance of low-fat, high-fiber diets to reduce pain for women caused by dysmenorrhea and endometriosis. Dietary intervention can also reduce the symptoms experienced by postmenopausal women, including hot flashes, and affect other health concerns that arise during this time including heart disease, diabetes, and weight gain. This session will demonstrate how to make these dietary changes seamless and straightforward with new tools to alter hormones naturally and improve health.
Panel Q&A: Cruisin’ for Knowledge – Doctors’ Panel Hosted by Sandy Pukel with Drs. Neal Barnard, Michael Greger, & Scott Stoll
Don’t miss this motivational, inspiring, and informative Q&A with plant-based diet luminaires, Drs. Neal Barnard, Michael Greger, and Scott Stoll. Your host is Sandy Pukel, founder of Holistic Holiday at Sea. This is your chance to get all your questions answered. Whether you have been practicing a plant-based lifestyle for years, or are just getting your feet wet, these experts can take you to the next level. Get the real scoop on living well, eating well, and taking control of your health.
KEYNOTE | Power Foods for Weight Control
Scientists have found that certain foods trigger weight loss automatically. Unlike the usual approach to dieting, which focuses on going hungry and avoiding the foods you love, the Power Foods approach encourages you to add specific foods that cause weight loss. Power Foods work in three ways: First, they trigger satiety, taming your appetite so that you naturally eat less. Second, they trap calories in your digestive tract and carry them out with the wastes. Third, they ramp up your metabolism, so you burn calories faster hour after hour.
Tackling Diabetes
Diabetes is not caused by eating sugar, bread, or carbohydrates in general. Type 2 diabetes begins as insulin resistance, which is caused largely by the accumulation of fat in the liver and muscle cells. A single fatty meal can cause insulin resistance in a matter of hours. Although medications remain a mainstay of treatment for type 2 diabetes, nutritional interventions have shown surprising power in both the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes. In clinical trials, a low-fat vegan diet improves in blood glucose control, apparently due to the diet’s ability to reduce the intracellular fat that leads to insulin resistance. The diet also improves plasma lipids, blood pressure, and body weight. This presentation will describe the how individuals can put the power of a healthful diet to work for themselves.
Book Signing
Monday March 2, 7:15PM
