Yale grad, Olympic Gold, Bronze Star, top surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic and the doc that may have saved Bill Clinton’s life

J. Morris Hicks introduces Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn in August 2010. Speaking to a crowd of over 100 at our local yacht club that evening — he had a great impact.

How much more do you need to know about this great man? He has excelled in everything he has ever done. But I am sure that he would tell you that his greatest contribution to the entire world is his well-documented study — and book — proving that even advanced heart disease is completely reversible at almost any age.

As he says, our nation’s number one killer — heart disease — is nothing but a “toothless paper tiger that need never exist and, if it does exist, need never progress.”

I first learned about Dr. Esselstyn from reading The China Study in 2005 and then was privileged to meet him and his wife Ann later that same year in New York. We have since become friends and I tell my “Esselstyn story” at every single one of my public speaking engagements.

I tell about the 17 patients at the Cleveland Clinic who were recruited by Ess after being told that they could no longer have any more surgical interventions. Working with those patients in his own home in the evenings, he and Ann taught these lucky people how to completely reverse their heart disease by simply shifting to the natural diet for our species — eating mostly whole plants, in nature’s package. Now for the scoreboard:

In the eight years prior to his intervention, those 17 patients had 49 cardiac events — in the next eleven, the entire group had a grand total of ZERO. 49 – 0. Lopsided football score for sure.

But guess what? Armed with this powerful proof, Dr. Esselstyn was still unable to convince the Cleveland Clinic to offer this dietary intervention as an alternative to traditional surgery. You see, there’s just not much money to be made when people get healthy. (See related posts on cancer and health insurance)

But Ess does have a new job at the clinic. He is now the Director of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Reversal at the Wellness Institute of The Cleveland Clinic. He is still treating several hundred patients a year and has a near 100% success rate, yet still hardly ever receives a referral from a cardiologist. He gets the lion’s share of his patients from internet searches and word-of-mouth.

Bill Clinton has read his book and told the world about his success on CNN. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr….a true American hero indeed — his work will save millions of lives. You, or someone you know, may be one of them.

My recommended action plan for you. Get his powerful 2007 book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, read it, follow the advice, give it to a friend, save some lives and change the world. Don’t think you need it? He would now tell you that over 90% of Americans over the age of 20 already have coronary artery disease; they just haven’t had their first heart attack yet. Click here to view some great (and free) videos at Dr. Esselstyn’s website.

You see, heart disease is the natural result of eating the typical western diet of meat and dairy three meals a day 365 days a year. Simple cause — simple solution.

If you like what you see here, you may wish to join our periodic mailing list. Also, for help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4-Leaf page. From the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.Handy 4-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

• The movie that’s changing the lives of millions: Forks Over Knives DVD 
• Healthy Eating, Healthy World, The “big picture” about food (our book)
• An essential scientific resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell
• Dr. McDougall’s new book, The Starch Solution, with lots of great recipes.

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Diagnostic Survey. It takes less than five minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com

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J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4Leaf page or some great recipes at Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

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Blogging daily at hpjmh.com…from the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation