About Prof. Spira, Ph.D.

In 2002, Prof. Spira was a 300-pound, 19 year old former high school football player who suffered from multiple ailments such as daily migraine headaches, frequent ear infections, sleep apnea, painful acid reflux, allergies, joint pain, yearly bouts of bronchitis, constant cold and flu-like symptoms, dry itchy skin, chronic constipation, ear infections, and bad body odor. After he lost his mother to a terrible string of chronic illnesses when he was in the 6th grade, he grew up assuming that he was genetically destined to be sick his whole life. While studying jazz trombone performance at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, he met a jazz drummer named Willie Smart (aka Brother Air) who told him about Arnold Ehret’s Mucusless Diet Healing System.

He had no idea that the mucus-forming foods he consumed played a huge part in his lack of wellness. All he knew was that if he continued on this path of self-destruction, he would surely die. Within 6 months of reading the book, Spira lost 110 pounds and overcame all of his major ailments. He was able to throw away his CPAP unit (an oxygen mask that treats sleep apnea) and the medications he’d taken since childhood. Since his transformation, Spira has become a world-renowned authority on the Mucusless Diet and inspired thousands of people to use Ehret’s Healing System to overcome their illnesses through his writings, music, and one-on-one consultation and coaching sessions.

Vision for a Mucus-free Future

Prof. Spira has worked hard to revive the work of Arnold Ehret and has helped thousands of people learn how to transition toward a mucus-free lifestyle. In 2014, Spira started Mucus-free Life LLC, which currently publishes several books including Prof. Arnold Ehret’s Mucusless Diet Healing System: Annotated, Revised, and Edited by Prof. Spira, Spira Speaks: Dialogs and Essays on the Mucusless Diet, Prof. Arnold Ehret’s Rational Fasting, Definite Cure of Constipation, and Thus Speaketh the Stomach.

In spring 2016 he released the audiobook version of his acclaimed annotated version of Arnold Ehret’s Mucusless Diet. In 2018 he released his revolutionary Mucusless Diet Healing System eCourse.

Since 2015 Spira sold thousands of copies of his books to health-seekers and his Annotated version of the Mucusless Diet frequently entered Amazon’s Top10 best seller’s list for Naturopathy, Health, Fitness, Dieting, Alternative Medicine, and Healing.

He is the webmaster of www.mucusfreelife.com, facilitates popular public support groups for Mucusless Diet practitioners, and produces educational videos about the Mucusless Diet on his Youtube Channel.

Prof. Spira is the most sought-after health expert specializing in Arnold Ehret’s Mucusless Diet Healing System and Mucus-free Living. 

Education and Professional Musical Activities

Prof. Spira is a life-long student, scholar, and gifted educator. He holds a BM degree in jazz trombone performance (cum laude) and a MM in jazz studies (summa cum laude) from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, as well as a MA in African American and African Studies and a PhD in musicology, both from the Ohio State University.

From 2006-08 he taught as a lecturer of music and Africana Studies at Northern Kentucky University where he instructed Survey of African-American Music and Music of World Cultures. He returned to Ohio State in spring 2018 to instruct MUSIC 2253 Introduction to Jazz. His academic research interests include jazz performance, jazz history, jazz education, and music-making cultures of the world.

As a professional musician, he has had the privilege of performing with some of the world’s greatest musicians, such as Columbus saxophone legend Gene Walker, Grammy Award winning trumpeter Brian Lynch, Foley McCreary (Miles Davis’ former lead bassist from Columbus, OH), George Clinton, Cincinnati bassist Bootsy Collins, Grammy Award nominee Bobby Floyd, Roy Ayers, and many others.

Spira has been a street performer since 2003, where he loves the freedom and ability to share his music with people who do not frequent jazz clubs or music festivals. In 2019, Spira gave presentation at the Ohio State University TEDx event entitled “Cultivating Creativity and Community Through Street Music.” In addition to the Fire Music Project, Spira is co-founder of the Breathairean Ensemble, an all-vegetarian jazz collective that performs music inspired by the mucus-free lifestyles led by its members.

Prof. Spira & Brother Air: Fire Music Project is Spira’s current musical project. The band is known for its intense free improvisational music-making, creative arrangements of jazz standards, funk-infused groove-oriented pieces, unique “jazz” treatments of popular tunes, and original compositions. Co-Leaders Prof. Spira and Brother Air have been musical partners since 2003. Dissatisfied with jazz groups that do not play with any “fire,” they formed Prof. Spira & Brother Air: Fire Music Project. CLICK HERE to visit the band’s website.