Caldwell Esselstyn

Last updated

Caldwell Esselstyn
Caldwell Esselstyn, Denmark, 2019.jpg
Esselstyn in May 2019
Born (1933-12-12) December 12, 1933 (age 90)
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Yale University (AB, 1956)
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (MD, 1961) [1]
Known for Forks Over Knives
SpouseAnn Crile
Children4, including Rip Esselstyn [2] [3]
AwardsGold Medal, 1956 Olympic Games – Men's eight
Scientific career
Fields Cardiology
Plant-based diet
Institutions Cleveland Clinic
Website www.dresselstyn.com
Caldwell Esselstyn
Medal record
Men's rowing
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1956 Melbourne Men's eight

Caldwell Blakeman Esselstyn Jr. (born December 12, 1933) [1] is an American physician, author and former Olympic rowing champion.

Contents

Esselstyn is director of the Heart Disease Reversal Program at the Cleveland Clinic. [4] He is also the author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease (2007), in which he argued for a low-fat, whole foods, plant-based diet that avoids all animal products and oils, as well as reducing or avoiding soybeans, nuts, and avocados. The diet has been criticized for its unfounded health claims. [5] [6]

Background

Esselstyn was born in New York City in 1933 to Dr. Caldwell Blakeman Esselstyn Sr. and Lilian Meyer. [1]

Esselstyn graduated from Yale University in 1956 [7] where he was a member of Skull and Bones. [8] He also competed in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, winning a gold medal in the "eights" as a member of the American team. [9]

Esselstyn received his M.D. from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 1961. During this time he met and married Ann Crile, daughter of surgeon George Crile, Jr, who was a leading figure in the United States in challenging unnecessary surgery, best known for his part in eliminating radical breast surgery and the granddaughter of George Washington Crile, founder of the Cleveland Clinic. [10] Esselstyn was an intern (1961–62) and resident (1962–66) at that clinic. [1] In 1968 he completed a tour as an Army surgeon in Vietnam where he was awarded the Bronze Star. [1] Upon his return he rejoined the clinic and has served as the President of the Staff and as a member of its Board of Governors. He served as the President of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons in 1991. In 2000 he gave up his post at the Cleveland Clinic. [6]

Esselstyn has served as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Nutrition Action magazine, published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. [11]

Diet work

Esselstyn promotes a whole foods, plant-based diet, arguing it can prevent coronary disease and cardiovascular disease. The diet excludes all animal products and oils and recommends foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pulses, and especially cruciferous vegetables. [5]

His work received media attention when former U.S. President Bill Clinton cited it, along with work by Dean Ornish and The China Study as the basis for his change of diet in 2010 [12] and yet more in late 2011 when Clinton discussed his diet with CNN and other media outlets. [13]

Esselstyn was also one of the doctors featured in the documentary films Forks Over Knives (2011) and The Game Changers (2018). [14]

With regard to Esselstyn's claims, Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, said: "Diet alone is not going to be the reason that heart attacks are eliminated. Other key factors include physical activity, cholesterol, blood pressure and weight." [15]

Harriet A. Hall has written that the claims made by Esselstyn are misleading and that the evidence on which they are based is "pretty skimpy". [5] Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic said that his claims are unproven because there isn't data from rigorous clinical trials to support them. [6]

Awards

In 2005 Esselstyn received the Benjamin Spock Award for Compassion in Medicine (he was the award's first recipient), and in 2009 the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Cleveland Clinic Alumni Association. In 2010 he received the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame Award. [10]

Selected publications

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Fuhrman</span> American celebrity doctor (born 1953)

Joel Fuhrman is an American celebrity doctor who advocates a plant-based diet termed the "nutritarian" diet which emphasizes nutrient-dense foods. His practice is based on his nutrition-based approach to obesity and chronic disease, as well as promoting his products and books. He has written books promoting his dietary approaches including the bestsellers Eat to Live, Super Immunity, The Eat to Live Cookbook, The End of Dieting (2016) and The End of Heart Disease (2016). He sells a related line of nutrition-related products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Washington Crile</span> American surgeon and co-founder of Cleveland Clinic

George Washington Crile was an American surgeon. Crile is now formally recognized as the first surgeon to have succeeded in a direct blood transfusion. He contributed to other procedures, such as neck dissection. Crile designed a small hemostatic forceps which bears his name; the Crile mosquito clamp. He also described a technique for using opioids, regional anesthesia and general anesthesia which is a concept known as balanced anesthesia. He is also known for co-founding the Cleveland Clinic in 1921.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthy diet</span> Type of diet

A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy.

<i>The China Study</i> 2005 book by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II

The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health is a book by T. Colin Campbell and his son, Thomas M. Campbell II. The book argues for health benefits of a whole food plant-based diet. It was first published in the United States in January 2005 and had sold over one million copies as of October 2013, making it one of America's best-selling books about nutrition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. Colin Campbell</span> American biochemist

Thomas Colin Campbell is an American biochemist who specializes in the effect of nutrition on long-term health. He is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean Ornish</span> American physician

Dean Michael Ornish is an American physician and researcher. He is the president and founder of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, and a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. The author of Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease,Eat More, Weigh Less and The Spectrum, he advocates for diet and lifestyle changes he believes can treat and prevent heart disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alkaline diet</span> Fad diet

Alkaline diet describes a group of loosely related diets based on the misconception that different types of food can have an effect on the pH balance of the body. It originated from the acid ash hypothesis, which primarily related to osteoporosis research. Proponents of the diet believe that certain foods can affect the acidity (pH) of the body and that the change in pH can therefore be used to treat or prevent disease. However, their claims are false, and there is no evidence supporting the claimed mechanisms of this diet, which is not recommended by dietitians or other health professionals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vegetarian Diet Pyramid</span> Nutrition guide for a healthy vegetarian diet

Vegetarian Diet Pyramid is a nutrition guide that represents a traditional healthy vegetarian diet. Variations of this traditional healthy vegetarian diet exist throughout the world, particularly in parts of North America, Europe, South America and, most notably, Asia. Given these carefully defined parameters, the phrase "Traditional Vegetarian Diet" is used here to represent the healthy traditional ovo-lacto vegetarian diets of these regions and peoples. A pyramid was created by Oldways Preservation Trust in 1998 with scientific research from Cornell and Harvard University and specific reference to the healthy patterns of eating demonstrated by the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Greger</span> American physician, author, and vegan health activist

Michael Herschel Greger is an American physician, author, and speaker on public health issues best known for his advocacy of a whole-food, plant-based diet, and his opposition to animal-derived food products.

<i>Forks Over Knives</i> 2011 American film

Forks Over Knives is a 2011 American documentary film which argues that avoiding animal products and Ultra-processed foods, and instead eating a whole-food, plant-based diet, may serve as a form of chronic illness intervention.

George Washington "Barney" Crile Jr. was an American surgeon. He was a significant influence on how breast cancer is treated and was a visible and controversial advocate for alternative procedures, now considered normal treatments. He worked at the Cleveland Clinic for more than fifty years.

The Rice Diet started as a radical treatment for malignant hypertension before the advent of antihypertensive drugs; the original diet included strict dietary restriction and hospitalization for monitoring. Some contemporary versions have been greatly relaxed, and have been described as fad diets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rip Esselstyn</span> American health activist

Rip Esselstyn is an American health activist, food writer, and former firefighter and triathlete. He is known as an advocate of low-fat, whole-food, plant-based diet that excludes all animal products and processed foods. He calls it a "plant strong" diet, a term he has trademarked. He has appeared in two documentaries about plant-based nutrition: Forks Over Knives (2011) and The Game Changers (2018). He is the author of The Engine 2 Diet (2009), My Beef With Meat (2013), Plant-Strong (2016), and The Engine 2 Seven-Day Rescue Diet (2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Hyman (doctor)</span> American physician and author (born 1959)

Mark Adam Hyman is an American physician and author. He is the founder and medical director of The UltraWellness Center. Hyman was a regular contributor to the Katie Couric Show until the show's cancellation in 2013. He writes a blog called The Doctor’s Farmacy, which examines many topics related to human health and welfare, and also offers a podcast by the same name. He is the author of several books on nutrition and longevity, including Food Fix, Eat Fat, Get Thin, and Young Forever.

<i>Naked Food</i> Quarterly magazine focusing on whole-food plant-based nutrition

Naked Food is a quarterly magazine focusing on whole-food plant-based nutrition. It features health information, nutrition and food related news, recipes, interviews, events, and product, book, and film reviews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Gundry</span> American doctor and author (born 1950)

Steven R. Gundry is an American physician, low-carbohydrate diet author and former cardiothoracic surgeon. Gundry is the author of The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in "Healthy" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain, which promotes the controversial lectin-free diet. He runs an experimental clinic investigating the impact of a lectin-free diet on health.

<i>The Game Changers</i> 2018 American documentary film

The Game Changers is a 2018 American documentary film about athletes who follow plant-based diets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Desmond</span> Irish gastroenterologist

Alan Desmond is an Irish consultant gastroenterologist and writer known for his advocacy of plant-based nutrition. He has argued that a whole food plant-based diet may prevent many diseases.

<i>How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease</i> 2015 book by Michael Greger

How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease is a book by Michael Greger, M.D. with Gene Stone, published in 2015 that argues for the health benefits of a whole food plant-based diet. The book was a New York Times Best Seller.

Joel K. Kahn is an American cardiologist, integrative medicine practitioner and promoter of whole food plant-based nutrition. He has been criticized for promoting anti-vaccine and COVID-19 misinformation.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Curriculum Vitae
  2. "Meet the Esselstyns". Enrich. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  3. "Esselstyn, A. The Daily Beet: An Answers Some Questions. 04 November 2016" . Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  4. "Heart Disease Reversal Program".
  5. 1 2 3 Hall HA (November 23, 2010). "Bill Clinton's Diet". Science-Based Medicine.
  6. 1 2 3 Harlan Spector for the Cleveland Plain DealerJune 09, 2008 Ex-surgeon Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. espouses a noninvasive cure for heart disease Archived May 7, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Official Website: Biography". Archived from the original on August 23, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  8. "C. B. Esselstyn Jr. Fiance of Ann Crile". The New York Times . May 1, 1961. p. 33.
  9. "1956 Summer Olympics – Melbourne, Australia – Rowing" Archived December 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved on May 15, 2008)
  10. 1 2 "About Dr. Esselstyn". heartattackproof.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012.
  11. "Scientific Advisory Board" (PDF). Nutrition Action. Center for Science in the Public Interest. January 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 19, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  12. Philip Sherwell for The Telegraph. October 3, 2010 Bill Clinton's new diet: nothing but beans, vegetables and fruit to combat heart disease
  13. David S. Martin, CNN August 18, 2011 From omnivore to vegan: The dietary education of Bill Clinton
  14. Angela Hickman (May 16, 2011). "The food revolution of Forks Over Knives will not be processed". National Post . Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  15. David S. Martin, "The 'heart attack proof' diet?", CNN, November 25, 2011.