Pharmaceutical Company Boss Links Meat To Rise Of Autoimmune Diseases

The boss of a pharmaceutical company has linked animal products to increasing rates of cancer and autoimmune diseases. He also claims that adopting a vegan lifestyle reversed his diabetes.

In a recent interview with Plant Based News (PBN), Sigma Pharmaceuticals founder Bharat Shah, CBE, stated that he believes the consumption of meat and dairy is linked to rising rates of autoimmune diseases and cancers in the UK. He spoke with PBN founder Klaus Mitchell at the Sigma offices in Watford, England, and discussed the intersection of the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare, and diet.

Shah described milk, in particular, as “a very powerful addictive substance,” and said that the dairy industry involves “a lot of inhumanity” towards animals. “It’s not natural for one species to drink another species’ milk,” continued Shah, adding that humans are the only species in the world to do so.

He noted that both the meat and dairy industries rely on chemicals and antibiotics, and claimed that naturally occurring compounds in milk, in particular, can affect insulin production within the human body. “My problem was dairy,” Shah told PBN.

At the age of 30, Shah was pre-diabetic due to his work-focused lifestyle and inconsistent diet. Between the ages of 33 and 55, he began taking more and more medication. After he began taking “a lot” of injectable insulin to manage his diabetes, Shah attended a seminar about reversing the disease using a plant-based lifestyle.

“Within two weeks of starting the vegan diet, my medication, my insulin, went [to] less than [a] half dose,” said Shah. After three weeks, he explained, he was also on less than half his original dose of blood pressure tablets. He credits this significant, rapid improvement to his change in lifestyle, and specifically cutting out animal foods.

Autoimmune diseases, lifestyle, and vegan diets

Photo shows someone's hands as they cut up tofu, tempeh, lemons, and green vegetables — Adobe Stock Studies indicate that a vegan diet can help some people manage diabetes

Shah is not alone in his belief that a vegan diet could help some people prevent or manage diabetes, and even certain other chronic illnesses. A 2023 study demonstrated that a whole food plant-based diet could help people manage their glucose levels more effectively, and reported that 37 percent of the participants achieved full diabetes remission through lifestyle changes. Previous observational studies also support the use of plant-based food for prevention and treatment.

When asked why the idea of vegan food as lifestyle medicine has not taken more of a hold in the mainstream, Shah replied, “We live in a commercial world,” and cited the outsized impact of lobbying on the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries in comparison to results-driven approaches. “What I would like to see is less stress on the NHS, and I would like to see people living healthier, longer, and better,” said Shah.