Rip Esselstyn | |
---|---|
Born | Upstate New York, U.S. | February 16, 1963
Occupation | Health activist, food writer |
Alma mater | University of Texas, Austin |
Subject | Low-fat diets, whole-food diets, plant-based diets |
Spouse | Jill Kolasinski |
Children | 3 |
Relatives | Caldwell Esselstyn (father) Jane Esselstyn (sister) George Crile, Jr. (grandfather) George Washington Crile (great-grandfather) George Crile III (uncle) |
Website | |
plantstrong |
Rip Esselstyn (born February 16, 1963) 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. [1] He calls it a "plant strong" diet, a term he has trademarked. [2] 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).
Esselstyn was born in Upstate New York on February 16, 1963, the son of Ann and surgeon Caldwell Esselstyn. He was named after Rip Van Winkle. He is the grandson of surgeon George Crile, Jr. and the great-grandson of surgeon George Washington Crile. His father is a former Olympic rowing champion who was one of the early advocates of a whole-food, plant-based diet in the prevention and reversal of heart disease. [3] He has a sister named Jane and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. [4] [5] He graduated from the Mercersburg Academy in 1981 and attended the University of Texas, Austin on a swimming scholarship from 1982 to 1986. [6] During that time, he became an All-American swimmer. [7] After college, he became a triathlete and competed for approximately ten years. [2] In 1997, he retired as a triathlete and turned his attention towards becoming a firefighter and emergency medical technician, joining Engine 2 of the Austin Fire Department. [4] [8] He retired from firefighting to focus on becoming an advocate for plant-based nutrition. [9]
Whilst he grew up eating the standard American diet, Esselstyn switched to a whole-foods plant-based diet in 1987, cutting out meat, fish, eggs and dairy. [10] He was also inspired by Dave Scott, who was a vegetarian. [6] [11] Esselstyn describes his approach as "plant-strong" and has trademarked the term. He says he avoids the word "vegan" in case it discourages people, and believes that "plant strong" sounds healthier and more inclusive. [2]
In 2003, when a co-worker at the Engine 2 fire department discovered that his cholesterol was very high, Esselstyn encouraged the Engine 2 team to switch to a whole foods, plant-based diet to help their colleague. This experience eventually led him to write The Engine 2 Diet, which begins with a foreword by T. Colin Campbell, author of The China Study (2005). [9] [12] The Engine 2 Diet appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list [13] [14] and was endorsed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who made a public appearance with Esselstyn in January 2013. [15] In 2010, Whole Foods Market included The Engine 2 Diet as a "Healthy Eating Partner". [16]
In 2013, Esselstyn released another book, My Beef With Meat. [17] [18] [19] It was a New York Times best seller ("Advice, How-To, & Miscellaneous List") that reached the #1 spot for the week of June 2, 2013. [20]
Esselstyn appeared, along with his father and T. Colin Campbell, in the 2011 American documentary on whole foods, plant-based eating, Forks Over Knives. He later developed and starred in the follow-up documentary, Forks Over Knives Presents: The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue with Rip Esselstyn. [21] [22]
Esselstyn is married to Jill Kolasinski, with whom he has three children. [4]
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a vegan.
A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods. Plant-based diets encompass a wide range of dietary patterns that contain low amounts of animal products and high amounts of fiber-rich plant products such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. They do not need to be vegan or vegetarian, but are defined in terms of low frequency of animal food consumption.
The practice of vegetarianism is strongly linked with a number of religious traditions worldwide. These include religions that originated in India, such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. With close to 85% of India's billion-plus population practicing these religions, India remains the country with the highest number of vegetarians in the world.
Conversations regarding the ethics of eating meat are focused on whether or not it is moral to eat non-human animals. Ultimately, this is a debate that has been ongoing for millennia, and it remains one of the most prominent topics in food ethics. Individuals who promote meat consumption do so for a number of reasons, such as health, cultural traditions, religious beliefs, and scientific arguments that support the practice. Those who support meat consumption typically argue that making a meat-free diet mandatory would be wrong because it fails to consider the individual nutritional needs of humans at various stages of life, fails to account for biological differences between the sexes, ignores the reality of human evolution, ignores various cultural considerations, or because it would limit the adaptability of the human species.
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.
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.
Gene Stone is an American writer and editor known for his books on animal rights and plant-based food.
Vegetarian and vegan dietary practices vary among countries. Differences include food standards, laws, and general cultural attitudes toward vegetarian diets.
Gene Baur, formerly known as Gene Bauston, is an American author and activist in the animal rights and food movement. He’s been called the "conscience of the food movement" by Time magazine, and opposes factory farming and advocates for what he believes would be a more just and respectful food system. Baur is president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, a farm animal protection organization. He is vegan and has been involved with animal rights since he co-founded Farm Sanctuary in 1986. Baur has authored two books and various articles.
A low-carbon diet is any diet that results in lower greenhouse gas emissions. Choosing a low carbon diet is one facet of developing sustainable diets which increase the long-term sustainability of humanity. Major tenets of a low-carbon diet include eating a plant-based diet, and in particular little or no beef and dairy. Low-carbon diets differ around the world in taste, style, and the frequency they are eaten. Asian countries like India and China feature vegetarian and vegan meals as staples in their diets. In contrast, Europe and North America rely on animal products for their Western diets.
Caldwell Blakeman Esselstyn Jr. is an American physician, author and former Olympic rowing champion.
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.
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.
Planeat is a 2010 British documentary film by Or Shlomi and Shelley Lee Davies. The film discusses the possible nutritional and environmental benefits of adopting a whole foods, plant-based diet based on the research of T. Colin Campbell, Caldwell Esselstyn and Gidon Eshel. The film also features the views of Peter Singer.
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.
Gidon Eshel is an American geophysicist best known for his quantification of the "geophysical consequences of agriculture and diet". As of 2017, he is research professor at Bard College in New York. He is known for his research on the environmental impacts of plant-based diets.
The Game Changers is a 2018 American documentary film about athletes who follow plant-based diets.
William John Bulsiewicz better known as Dr. B., is an American board-certified gastroenterologist and author known for his exploration of the relationship between the gut microbiome and plant-based nutrition.
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.
Julieanna Hever is an American registered dietitian and advocate of plant-based nutrition.