For Veterans: Your Next Mission Is You
VA Whole Health asks what matters to you, not what’s the matter with you.
💬 Veterans Crisis Line: in a crisis or thinking about hurting yourself, dial 988, then press 1, or text 838255. Free, confidential, 24/7. In an emergency, call 911.
🧭 What is VA Whole Health?
Whole Health is the VA’s approach to care. Instead of starting with your diagnosis, your care team starts with you: your values, your goals, and what you want your health for. Then they help you build a plan around it, combining medical care, self-care, and support.
At the center is the Circle of Health. You’re in the middle, surrounded by mindful awareness and eight areas of self-care:
🚶 Moving the Body · 🏡 Surroundings · 🌱 Personal Development · 🥕 Food & Drink · 😴 Recharge · 🤝 Family, Friends & Co-Workers · 🕊️ Spirit & Soul · 🧠 Power of the Mind
🌲 Sound familiar? Kitchen Monk’s Nine Pearls of Flourishing grew from the same idea: health is whole-person, and you choose where to start.
How to get started (it’s part of your VA care)
1. Ask your VA care team about Whole Health, or contact the Whole Health program at your local VA.
2. Take an Introduction to Whole Health class. Many VAs offer it in person, by video, or by phone.
3. Complete your Personal Health Inventory to reflect on what matters most and where you’d like to grow.
4. Build your Personal Health Plan with your team, Whole Health coaches, and Veteran peer facilitators.
What you may be able to use: Whole Health coaching, group classes, yoga, tai chi, meditation, acupuncture, massage, chiropractic care, and at some VAs, therapeutic gardening through VA FARMS. Offerings vary by location.
🎖️ We salute you, sir
Dr. Koushik R. Reddy, MD
“I have a carrot and a stent, you pick!”
Dr. Reddy is a cardiologist at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, Florida, board certified in cardiology, interventional cardiology, and lifestyle medicine. After a decade of placing stents, he turned his focus to preventing heart disease in the first place, with food and lifestyle. That’s the choice behind his famous question to patients.
Working with the Tampa VA’s Whole Health team, he helped build two preventive cardiology programs for Veterans: HEAL (Healthy Eating and Living), an introductory program, and CALM (Comprehensive Approach to Lifestyle Medicine), a six-week multidisciplinary program. He has served on the board of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine as its treasurer, was founding co-chair of ACLM’s Veterans Health Administration/Department of Defense and Cardiology member interest groups, and created the resource site FoodMDonline.
🙏 Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts
Dr. Reddy is one of Nathanael’s mentors. He introduced Nathanael to VA Whole Health and has coached him at lifestyle medicine conferences, including the American College of Lifestyle Medicine’s 2025 conference, where he presented on choosing whole, plant-based food, the carrot, over the stent. At a Plantrician Project conference, Dr. Reddy shared the VA’s free plant-based cooking guide that now anchors Kitchen Monk’s Cooking Trail. Much of what Kitchen Monk offers Veterans traces back to him.
Hear him: “I Have a Carrot and a Stent, You Pick!” on The Whole Health Cure podcast ↗ · Watch a presentation on YouTube ↗ · FoodMDonline ↗
🥕 Choose the carrot: free plant-based cooking from the VA
Practical Plant-Based Cooking (May 2023) comes from the VA’s GEMS Clinical Work Group and the Nutrition and Food Services Healthy Teaching Kitchen. It covers kitchen safety, plant proteins, building a balanced plate, flexible meal planning, and simple recipes like overnight oats, black bean tacos, and lentil soup. It’s free.
More for Veterans and military families
🤝 Find a free community · 🚶 Start moving today · 🌱 One small step today · 🛡️ Meet our Flourishing Coaching Guardians
Kitchen Monk™ is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or speaking for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. Dr. Reddy’s biographical details come from public sources; his mentorship is described from Nathanael’s own experience, and Dr. Reddy has not endorsed Kitchen Monk. Whole Health offerings vary by VA location; ask your local VA what’s available. Educational information only, not medical advice. Please talk with your healthcare provider before changing your diet, activity, or medications.
