Ep. 188: Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr. - Nine Ways a Plant-Based Diet Has Reversed Cardiovascular Disease
PLANTSTRONG Podcast
Rip Esselstyn
4.8 • 2.3K Ratings
🗓️ 16 March 2023
⏱️ 66 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
New York Times bestselling author and PLANTSTRONG founder, Rip Esselstyn, is joined by a very special guest, his father, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., discussing the nine ways he has documented reversal of cardiovascular disease over the last 40 years.
When Dr. Esselstyn started his work at the Cleveland Clinic in the early 80s, he was the chairman of the breast cancer task force. In his work, he encountered multiple cultures where breast cancer was virtually non-existent and the same was true for cardiovascular disease.
Why was the incidence of cancer and cardiovascular disease so prevalent in the U.S. and other Western cultures, but not so in others?
Essy set out to prove that cardiovascular disease COULD be reversed with a whole food, plant-based diet, but first he had to find compliant patients and that’s where the conversation starts today. Once he had amassed compliant patients he did, in fact, prove reversal of heart disease in nine different measures, including:
Oh, and stick around to the end when he answers audience questions ranging from caffeine, salt, and alcohol, to diabetes, saturated fats, and gum disease.
Episode Highlights
10:10 Where does cardiovascular disease begin?
11:00 Role of nitric oxide
13:00 Is it ever too late to bring endothelial cells back to life?
14:30 What are the foods you should and shouldn’t eat to protect endothelial cells
16:00 Benefits of chewing your greens six times daily
21:20 Top Greens to Consume (i.e. Essy’s Rap!)
39:45 Essy Answers Your Questions
40:30 Will this also help with type 2 Diabetes?
41:05 Why are my triglycerides so high when I’m compliant?
42:00 Is one drink of beer or wine ok with dinner?
42:35 Are you against statin drugs?
44:50 Can old plaque be reversed?
46:50 Are plant-based milks ok?
48:50 Why is the totality of sodium intake important?
49:50 What are your recommendations on B-12?
50:53 Is there a link between gum disease and heart disease?
51:11 What are your thoughts on red rice yeast extract in place of statins?
51:25 What’s more toxic - salt or sugar?
55:50 How can avocados damage endothelial cells?
Episode Resources
Order Dr. Esselstyn's Book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure
Dr. Esselstyn’s Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Website
Slides from Dr. Esselstyn's Presentation
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Was those 18 patients, I wanted to follow up how many coronary events of disease progression |
| 0:07.6 | had they had in the eight years prior to coming into our study while they were in the hands of |
| 0:13.2 | expert cardiologists. And they interestingly enough those 18 patients had 49 |
| 0:20.8 | events of increasing or progressive disease. But once they came into our program, |
| 0:26.8 | 17 of those 18 over the next 12 years had zero disease progression and we often had striking |
| 0:33.2 | examples of disease reversal. There was one patient who failed because after six years, |
| 0:38.8 | he got back into the French fries, plant shops, glazed on us, and up having a bypass, |
| 0:45.5 | but now I'm happy to say he's back with the flock, but proves the point that I'm trying to share |
| 0:49.8 | today. I'm Rick Eosselston and welcome to the Plant Strong podcast. The mission of Plant Strong |
| 0:56.4 | is to further the advancement of all things within the plant-based movement. We advocate for the |
| 1:02.8 | scientifically proven benefits of plant-based living and envision a world that universally understands, |
| 1:09.5 | promotes, and prescribes plants as a solution to empowering your health, enhancing your performance, |
| 1:16.9 | restoring the environment, and becoming better guardians to the animals we share this planet with. |
| 1:22.7 | We welcome you wherever you are on your Plant Strong journey. And I hope that you enjoy this show. |
| 1:31.1 | It is always, always a pleasure to showcase and highlight the work of my father, |
| 1:37.6 | Dr. Cobble, the Eosselston Jr. And a couple of weeks ago, we did a wildly informative |
| 1:43.9 | Facebook live session on the nine ways he has been able to document the reversal of cardiovascular |
| 1:52.3 | disease, utilizing a whole food plant-based diet since he started his research at the Cleveland |
| 2:00.9 | Clinic 39 years ago. And that's what we're going to be sharing here today. But first, I want to give |
| 2:08.5 | you a little context. When my father started his work at the Cleveland Clinic in 1984, |
| 2:16.3 | he was the chairman of the breast cancer task force. And during his research, specifically his |
| 2:22.1 | epidemiological research, he was able to encounter multiple cultures where breast cancer was virtually |
... |
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