Best known as Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation, actor Michael Dorn shares why he chose a vegan lifestyle after facing serious health concerns. In this exclusive interview, Dorn explains how cutting out animal products transformed his well-being, the challenges he overcame, and the lessons he hopes others can take from his plant-based journey.
Transcript
Please excuse the typos and punctuation errors. This transcript was completed by AI voice-generation software.
Michael Dorn’s Plant-Based Journey
Michael Dorn: This is Michael Dorn Worf, Star Trek, Next Generation. And I support The Plant-Based Diet.
I was diagnosed with an early, early stage of prostate cancer, and I was almost a vegetarian then. I was heading that direction. But what pushed me over the edge was the doctor who did the diagnosis said in discussion about prostate cancer, he said, he’s never seen a vegetarian with prostate cancer. And this is not like a holistic doctor. This is like a regular mainstream doctor. And I was just blown away. And I said, really? And he’s a guy that’s an older gentleman, so he’s seen thousands of prostates. And that spurred me to go on the Internet and really take a good look. I was already eating very healthy, but that really pushed me over the eggs. And the one thing that I learned is that vegan vegans don’t eat processed food. And one of the big processed foods that’s terrible for you is sugar. Because sugar feeds cancer cells, you cut out sugar. Cancer cells don’t have the food to grow. In some cases, it’ll reverse and stop the growth. I run into people all the time that say, I can’t do it, or it’s too difficult, or I really need meat. And I just say, look, it really is not difficult, it’s just different. I mean, you have to go into a shop a different way. You have to look at the packaging. You have to pay attention to what goes in it and be careful. And that just takes a little more time, but it’s not hard.
Why Michael Dorn Chose a Vegan Lifestyle After Cancer
Phoebe Chongchua: What were the top foods that you were eating that maybe you said, I’m not going to eat this anymore.
Michael Dorn: All meat, white rice, sugar. Even when I was a vegetarian, I’d have a cup of coffee in the morning with three packets of sugar. And also, interestingly enough, if you look at ketchup in a tablespoon of ketchup, there’s three grams of sugar. So I cut that out.
Health Benefits & Lessons from Michael Dorn’s Vegan Diet
Phoebe Chongchua: How did that improve your health?
Michael Dorn: Two things. I lost the weight because I was up at 236 pounds, and I went down to about 190 pounds. And also it slowed the growth of the prostate cancer that I had. And also your body, your organs, everything start working better and the body’s an amazing thing. It will start to regenerate itself. Within about seven years, your body will be totally clean. I know it sounds a little ethereal, but I feel it. I just feel a lot healthier. When I went on my vegan diet, people were just up in arms with me about you got to have protein. You need a lot of protein, you don’t. You need some. But plant-based protein is the best way.
Phoebe Chongchua: See more celebrity interviews and learn how to improve and maintain your health at ThePlantBasedDiet.com.
Photo by Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Paramount+
Michael Dorn’s story shows how powerful food choices can be. By adopting a vegan lifestyle, he not only addressed his own health but also became a voice for the benefits of eating plant-based. His journey highlights that change is possible at any stage of life—and that embracing a plant-based diet can bring lasting improvements for body, mind, and planet. To dive deeper into the science behind these benefits, explore our guide on Plant-Based Eating for Better Health.
