James O'Keefe

O'Keefe has a family legacy in the medicine profession. His great-grandfather, Henry O'Keefe, practiced medicine in North Dakota from 1890 to 1935. Henry's son, Emmett (James' grandfather), was also a doctor in North Dakota.

James O'Keefe Jr. (born June 8, 1956) is an American author and cardiologist who has conducted studies in the field of cardiovascular medicine, diet and exercise. O'Keefe is a leading proponent of exercise but argues that moderate rather than extreme efforts, in a social setting-like are best for conferring longevity. He has also proposed a hypothesis regarding the evolutionary basis of homosexuality. He is currently a professor of medicine at the University of Missouri–Kansas City, Director of Preventive Cardiology at the Mid America Heart Institute of Saint Luke's hospital and Chief Medical Officer of the health supplement company Cardiotabs.

James Henry O'Keefe Jr. was born to James Henry O'Keefe Sr. and Leatrice O’Keefe in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on June 8, 1956. He graduated from the University of North Dakota where he received an undergraduate BS summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in Natural Science. In 1982, he received his MD summa cum laude with his MD from Baylor College of Medicine. He was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha.

O'Keefe met his wife, Joan, while at the Mayo Clinic. The two married in October 1984 and together they have four children: James III, Evan, Kathleen, and Caroline. Evan started medical school in January 2016.

In 2016, he published a paper entitled Nutritional strategies for skeletal and cardiovascular health: hard bones, soft arteries, rather than vice versa. This paper showed that calcium is ideally obtained from dietary sources. The form of calcium in bones and bone meal is calcium-hydroxyapatite, which may be particularly effective for building bone. Increased consumption of calcium-rich foods such as bones, fermented dairy products (e.g. yogurt, kefir, cheese), leafy greens, almonds, and chia seeds may be effective for improving both skeletal and CV health.

In 2018, he published an article about an evidence-based approach to the ideal diet for health and longevity.

O'Keefe believes that a healthy lifestyle should include some features of the diet and activity patterns of our ancient ancestors. He argues that this is essential because our nutritional needs were established many centuries ago in the remote pre-historic past; thus humans have been genetically adapted to thrive in a Hunter-Gatherer type of lifestyle. O’Keefe believes this mismatch between the diet and lifestyle for which we are genetically adapted, and the very different conditions in which we are living, is the underlying cause for much disease, disability and unhappiness. Our ancestors survived on a diet high in fish, nuts, fruits, vegetables, wild game meat and bones. They also received a large amount of exercise from walking, bending, lifting, carrying, swimming, climbing, and other activities that were necessary to their daily routines. O’Keefe recommends beverages including water, sparkling water, green tea and coffee; also, red wine can be a healthy choice if used in moderation.

O’Keefe gave a TEDx Talk in October 2016, on the natural origin of homosexuality. In this talk, and subsequent scientific paper, he proposes a theory about the evolutionary basis of homosexuality mediated by epigenetics. This theory posits that homosexuality is a naturally intended, normal variant that evolved to improve the interconnectedness and resilience of the family. The suite of psychological traits that tend to co-occur with same-sex orientation include increased IQ, and higher emotional intelligence, with less physical aggression. Through a complex interplay of epigenetics and genetics, homosexuality occurs more often in larger families, especially in a baby boy with multiple older brothers, or at times of increased stress during the pregnancy. In these settings, homosexuality is prescribed by nature largely via epigenetic changes in the developing fetus in response to the mother's environment. This can help to reduce overpopulation pressures at the family level; the gay individual also tends to improve the emotional bonding of their family and friends, thereby improving the strength survivability of the group.