Mills, a practicing critical care physician in the Washington, D.C., area, pointed to disgust, which he says is one of six inherent human emotions, to make his argument that a plant-based diet is the best diet for humans. He believes humans are herbivores and that their innate reaction to animal flesh is revulsion. This inborn response, especially to raw and/or putrefied flesh, protects people from sickness, he said.

He used images of lions feasting on freshly killed game, bears catching salmon and eating them whole, and other natural carnivores and omnivores hunting and catching prey to help make his case. Lions, for example, have no problem eating an animal while it is still alive, he said. They will cover it with dirt and leaves and continue to feast on it for days, undeterred by putrefied flesh.

Humans, on the other hand, have to disguise meat to make it palatable, according to Mills. He attributed humans’ heightened color vision and ability to see minute detail, compared to the vision of animals, as a reason people dress meat up before consuming it, cutting it into neat, smooth pieces similar to fruits and vegetables.

The vision of carnivores, on the other hand, is motion sensitive, Mills said. Combined with their heightened night vision, it helps them track and kill prey.

Because of heightened color vision, humans further disguise animal flesh by cooking and seasoning it with herbs and vegetables. Salt, he said, is not something carnivores seek separately because it is available in the blood of the animals they consume.

Humans, especially men, are likely to faint if they see blood and gore, said Mills. This is not a problem for carnivores. He said doctors, emergency personnel and others have to be trained to deal with blood and gore. Military personnel deployed to battle zones often suffer psychological repercussions from witnessing violence, including increased rates of suicide.

Mills, who is a popular public speaker on preventive health care and was featured in the 2017 documentary “What the Health,” said he was inspired to follow a whole-food, plant-based diet by the teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which is in keeping with his belief that the body should be treated with respect.

He is a graduate of Stanford University School of Medicine, served as associate director of preventative medicine for Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and co-authored published articles on racial bias in federal nutrition policy.

* Rich Van Scoy can be reached at richv@mauinews.com.