Peace be with you. Welcome to the D
show. I'm your host. Subscribe if you
haven't already. My next guest is on the
front line of trying to save lives
because heart disease is a leading
killer in America. And you know who's a
big fan of his work? That's right. The
former President Bill Clinton
have conquered your weight. What What
are you doing? How do you do it? Why
can't I do it? So when you and I had to
have our heart operations because of
blockage,
but even you know Dr. Esleston who has
the most part of militant position, he
doesn't even eat things made with olive
oil
and he looks great. He's about 10 years
older than we are. What we've heard from
President Clinton is the remarkable
change that he's been willing to make to
remove completely from his his nutrition
those foods which we know will devastate
and injure the inner lining of your
arteries.
And when we come back, Dr. Essen will be
telling us how heart disease can be
cured, how it can be reversed here on
the Dean Show. Don't go anywhere.
This is the show. This is the show.
This is the show. This is the [singing]
show. This is the show. This is the
show.
This is the
show.
Welcome back to the Dean Show and our
special guest because it's important.
We're trying to save lives from the
documentary Forks Over Knives.
This could be the first generation of
children in the United States that lives
less than its parents.
I got two pills I take for my diabetes.
Then I got [music] one for cholesterol,
high blood pressure, and then I take
Biata, which is an injectable.
Dr. Esselin, how are you, sir?
I'm fine. Eddie, how are you today?
Good, thank God. I was very impressed. I
saw you actually on Forks Over Nights.
Have you seen the documentary?
Most certainly.
Yeah. Now, I I'm looking at a book here.
It's called Reversing Heart Disease. Uh
tell before we get into the book, tell
us a little bit about yourself and what
you do.
Well,
[clears throat]
after I finished my tour as a combat
surgeon in Vietnam, I was uh asked to
join the staff of the Cleveland Clinic
where I was a general surgeon for 30
years. I was director of the breast
cancer task force and head of the
section on thyroid and parathyroid
surgery. But it was in my role as
chairman of the breast cancer task force
that I got increasingly disillusioned in
the late 1970s early 80s with the fact
that no matter for how many women I was
doing breast surgery, I was doing
absolutely nothing for the next
unsuspecting victim. And this led to a
bit of global research and it was quite
striking to see that breast cancer rates
for example in Kenya were something like
30 and 40 times less frequent than in
the United States. And if you looked at
breast cancer in rural Japan in the
1950s, it was very infrequently
identified. And yet, as soon as the
Japanese women would migrate to the
United States by the second and third
generation, still pure Japanese
American, they now had the same rate of
breast cancer as their Caucasian
counterpart. And even more provocative
perhaps, was the incidence of prostate
cancer in the entire nation of Japan. In
1958,
how many autopsy proven cases were there
from cancer, deaths from cancer of the
prostate in Japan?
18. One of the most mind-boggling
statistics you've ever seen.
Dr. Esleston, can you can you tell us
for uh the audience? Most people have no
idea what heart disease is, what causes
heart disease. Can can we start from the
beginning? Can you tell us what actually
is what is heart disease?
The leading killer of women and men in
Western civilization is coronary artery
heart disease. And if the truth be
known, this is really nothing more than
a toothless paper tiger that need never
ever exist. And if it does exist, it
need never ever progress. This is a
benign food born illness.
And I say that because if we look for
instance
at some of the cultures on the planet
today like uh the rural Chinese uh the
papo highlanders of central Africa or
the tara kumar Indians in northern
Mexico
uh cardiovascular disease is virtually
non-existent in these cultures. Why?
because by heritage and tradition they
consume a plant-based type of nutrition.
And uh this is really sort of the the
guidepost of so much of the the research
that we've involved in uh with the first
our first small study in 1985
when it was initiated
started with patients who were
absolutely ravaged with heart disease.
And we asked them to in essence stop uh
the foods that were injuring
the lining of their artery uh every time
they passed their lips. I mean, I think
all experts in this disease would agree
that where this disease has its
inception
is when we progressively destroy
that life jacket and guardian of our
blood vessels, which is that single
layer of cells that lines the innermost
[clears throat] part of our artery, the
endothelium.
And the endothelial cells manufacture
this wonderful magic molecule of gas,
nitric oxide. Nitric oxide protects and
prevents all the cellular elements in
our bloodstream from ever getting
sticky. Our blood flows like teflon
rather than velcro. Number two, nitric
oxide is the strongest vessel dilator in
the body. When you climb stairs, the
arteries to your heart widen. The
arteries to your legs widen and dilate.
That's nitric oxide. Number three,
nitric oxide protects the wall of the
artery from becoming thickened, stiff,
or inflamed. It protects us from getting
high blood pressure or hypertension.
Number four, and this is most important,
that [clears throat] an adequate safe
amount of nitric oxide will protect us
from ever developing blockages or
plaque. So in other words, everyone
everyone on the planet who has
cardiovascular disease has their disease
because they have so sufficiently
trashed and injured their endothelial
capacity to make nitric oxide. They
don't have enough nitric oxide to
protect themselves from developing this
disease.
So [clears throat] what are the foods
that every time you pass these foods
pass your lips you injure
your endothelial cell and decrease the
production of nitr nitric nitric oxide.
They are oils. Olive oil, corn oil,
soybean oil, safflower oil, sunflower
oil, coconut oil, palm oil, oil in a
cracker, oil in a piece of bread, oil in
salad dressing. oil will injure the
endothelial cell.
Number two, anything with a mother or
face, meat, fish, chicken, fowl, turkey,
poultry,
will injure endothelial cells, as does
dairy, milk, cream, butter, cheese, ice
cream, and yogurt. And
any excesses of sugar such as maple
syrup, molasses, and honey.
And uh so what we found, interestingly
enough, if you do the research
uh going back to 19 the 1950s and look
at sadly our GIS who died in combat in
Korea, you will find that
80% of those 20 year old GIS had gross
evidence of coronary artery disease
already. not enough for their cardiac
events yet, but there the disease was
already established.
Now, on the other hand, if you look at
an similar autopsy study now 45 years
later in 1999,
this time looking at young women and men
between the age of 17 and 34, you will
find that now the disease is ubiquitous.
Everybody has the disease.
So what's going on here? Again, not
enough at that young age to have their
cardiac events. So not surprisingly that
people keep eating these same western
foods and continue to injure. It's not
surprising that we as physicians then
identify
their cardiac events which begin
occurring in their 40s, 50s and 60s and
so on.
Now [clears throat]
what we found
uh actually 30 years ago in our first
small group of patients who had serious
cardiovascular disease and they had
failed their first or second bypass and
they had failed their first or second
angoplasty or they were too sick for
these procedures. they had refused.
And uh we found that when they were
instructed to limit their nutrition to
whole food plant-based nutrition, not
only could they stop the progression of
their disease, but they could also we
would see at times striking examples of
disease reversal.
So are you are you saying now that you
can reverse this heart disease which by
the way how many people actually die
from heart disease yearly? Do you know
the numbers? Is this is this is this
true? It's one of the uh is it the
leading cause of death every year?
Absolutely. Over 800,000 people will die
of heart attacks and strokes every year.
[clears throat] Yes.
So are are you saying Dr. Essie that you
don't have to be on 10 different forms
of drugs, pharmaceutical drugs, that you
can actually reverse this? Because some
doctors will say this is a myth, but are
you saying this is a fact that you can
reverse it without the drugs and with a
plant-based diet?
Well, let's let's do this. Let's go over
the totality of the evidence. I've
shared with you already that from an
epidemiological standpoint that there
are millions of people who will never
develop cardiovascular disease. Now what
we found out 30 years ago is but he took
these patients who were seriously ill
with cardiovascular disease
and by getting them to eat the same type
of [clears throat] whole food
plant-based diet that we see in those
nations where the disease is not present
uh not only could they stop their
disease but often you'd see striking
examples of disease reversal. Dr.
Ornish, my colleague and friend was a
pioneer at this and published studies
before we did and there are increasingly
is there an awareness of the fact that
this is a benign food born illness. I've
often said that coronary artery disease
is a toothless paper tiger that need
never ever exist and if it does exist it
need never ever progress. This is a
completely benign food born illness. For
example,
uh we just reported another paper last
year of some two uh 198 patients
where there was a adherence rate of our
program of close to 90% 89%.
Of those patients who adhered to the
program over the next 3.75 years, there
was one major cardiac event, one patient
had a stroke. That's 99.4% 4% avoided
any further cardiovascular event events
and these were patients who had severe
triple vessel coronary uh artery
disease. Now when I say reversal
I think it's important to recognize that
what most people will think about is the
blockages that occur in the uh major
coronary arteries. And yes, you can see
sometimes striking example of reversal
of uh of that.
But there are patients who are in their
50s and 60s and so forth who will have
plaque that is made up of scar fibrosis
and calcification
that even though that will never reverse
these patients, interestingly enough can
reverse their stress test uh can reverse
their disease on a PET scan. meaning
that they can get practically normal
flow back to the heart muscle without
reversing that uh that plaque in the
major artery. In addition
[clears throat]
to that, there may be disease in the
legs, there may be disease in the
corateed artery going to the brain. You
can see reversal in that artery to the
brain with ultrasound.
uh in the leg you can see the transition
when you measure the difference in pulse
volume and then there are multiple
symptoms that will change as these
patients reverse their disease they get
they will escape their anggina their
chest pain they will get rid of their
claudication or pain in the calf muscle
if it is due to disease in the extremity
or uh they will actually reverse their
erectile dysfunction
we're here with Dr. Es, we're going to
take a break. We're here trying to save
some lives. Man on the front line trying
to cut this statistic down because it is
a leading killer. Heart disease. We'll
be right back with more. Don't go
anywhere.
I want you to imagine you wake up and in
front of you are a bunch of guys running
around kicking a ball. No goals, no
lines, no rules. What would you think?
But is that your life? Surely every
sport has its goal. Every game has its
end. It has its objective. It has its
rules. How about life? How about our
life? Isn't there a goal to life? Isn't
there a purpose, an objective that we
have to reach? We think so. The Quran
tells us that we exist in order to
worship God. And worshiping God means
knowing God. As the Quran says,
insun
worship though is not some narrow small
thing. It's wide. It's vast. It
encompasses everything that the human
being does. Everything that you do,
everything that you think, everything
that you feel can be done, thought,
said, felt in a way that is either
pleasing or displeasing to God. The
purpose of life is to try and do
everything in a way that God loves and
God is pleased with. That is your goal.
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Back here on the Dean Show where Dr.
Esselin
sir, we we saw now on the on the movie
that you were in the film that um
actually the people they were written
off by their their doctors that
basically they were going to die and is
it true that they were it shows as in
the film that they were actually taken
off the prescription drugs. they
actually ended up living and all through
this the natural way through this
changing up their eating uh diet and
going more on a plant-based diet. Is
this right?
Well, that's that's true. The uh the
patients that were seen in the film have
had a very gratifying response. They
were people who totally bought into the
whole concept of whole food plant-based
nutrition and they actually uh were
delighted and proud to uh to be a part
be a part of it. But as soon as they
start losing their chest pain, they lose
weight, they see that their disease is
reversing. I mean, you've got them
hooked. It is incredible to think that
something as simple as nutrition
uh could be so absolutely powerful. I
mean the troubled with most physicians
who treat cardiovascular disease is not
only are they caring, they're
compassionate and they have an enormous
fund of knowledge, but no time in their
training were they ever exposed to the
power of nutrition. They don't
understand nutrition. They never get
training in it. They don't get training
in behavioral modification.
So [clears throat] they are it's very
difficult for them to embrace it. But
one of the things that we have found
increasingly is that many younger
cardiologists who are willing [snorts]
to take a look at this have absolutely
embraced it and have done wonderful
things with their patients as they begin
to teach them the power of plant-based
nutrition. What are the foods that they
must avoid? what are the foods that will
restore [clears throat] their healthy
vascule?
My uncle, he's a medical doctor. He's
actually he knows about you. He's a fan
of your work and he's on board and I got
to uh talk to him a little bit about
this about uh most of the doctors not
embracing more of this natural uh
plant-based uh remedies for for healing.
But he he he had seemed to have said
that, you know, we we we we do what we
we we know and most of them have no clue
about nutrition. So, uh what do you do?
He's actually on board now. He's uh he
actually has the book. He's referring
patients to change up their diet. And um
what do you actually do when you when
you encounter uh people in the medical
profession because we want to get them
on board?
Well, that's right. I as I have often
said in my presentation
as regards the those who are specialists
in cardiovascular medicine,
it really is possible for the best to be
even better. And what we do is that over
the last 5 years uh once a month I
conduct an intensive counseling seminar
5 and 1/2 hours for patients who do have
cardiovascular disease and during that
time these patients are going to learn
exactly what they did to create the
disease in the first place and precisely
how they can become empowered as the
locus of control to halt and to reverse
their disease.
And at the same time, everybody who
attends is going to receive a very hefty
notebook
that has every one of my PowerPoint
slides that I will have used, several of
our peer-reviewed scientific articles.
Because when you think about it, what
really is going to make this transition
powerful and inescapable is the absolute
science of this approach. They also get
a 44 page handout with many additional
recipes that add to the 240 which are in
the two books that we conclude include.
And also
uh there's a marvelous hour and a
quarter uh presentation from a wonderful
woman who's had 30 years experience
acquiring and preparing plant-based
foods, dealing with reading ingredients
and dealing with travel and restaurants.
And then everybody receives a DVD of the
entire five and a half hour seminar so
that if they get home and forgetful,
they can clip this on and get themselves
back up to speed. And then we always
have three local or regional
participants who previously had a
successful experience share their story
so that those in attendance can say to
themselves, listen, if he or she can do
this, I can do this.
And then we have time time for
answering questions like mentioned and
then we stay in touch as necessary
either through email or phone call. Now
the interesting thing is getting back to
the uh getting other physicians to
become familiar with this. In the last 5
years we've had 125
uh physicians uh attend our course
because they were interested in what we
were what we were doing. And it's very
gratifying to see some of that begin to
incorporate this in their own practice.
Doesn't this go back to the statement
I'm sure you're familiar with
Herpocrates who said, "Let food be your
medicine and medicine be your food."
Sounds pretty good.
Sound pretty good. Tell us about your
per your personal let let us just for a
moment get into your one day with Dr.
Esleston. When you wake up in the
morning, what do you eat? How many times
a day do you eat? uh some of your your
uh your entre that you have throughout
the day. Can you please fill us in?
Well, actually telling you what I eat
would be better to have my wife
say a word or two, but I the cereal I
love in the morning is I love
old-fashioned oats and I don't like to
cook them. I use them eat them as a dry
cereal, pour them in the bowl, then add
some uh raisins and a banana for some
sweetness. Then I like to add
raspberries, blueberries and
strawberries. And I particularly like to
wet it down with oat milk. And I find
that's very delicious and it carries me
very well till at 12:30 1:00 when I may
have lunch. What is lunch? Lunch may is
you or frequently is a
sandwich which is a metocker type of uh
rye bread with a hummus spread on it.
And then some cut up uh scallions or
cilantro or some kale that has been
cooked five and a half minutes so it's
nice and tender and then maybe anointed
with some lemon juice.
And then on top of that will be an
enormous slice of tomato. So I have an
open sandwich and on top of the tomato
I'll have some a tasteful balsamic
vinegar and several of those hold me
nicely for lunch. Uh then for supper,
uh I would have to say that the all-time
favorite and the meal that I first
encountered in uh Puerto Rico over 31
years ago when we were transitioning was
oldfashioned beans and rice. beans and
rice with some uh cut up scallions, cut
up peppers, cut up tomatoes, peas, corn,
and uh maybe some uh water chestnuts.
And on top of that, you can anoint it
with either tamari or some salsa, and
you've got an absolute feast.
Now, uh we we hear right now uh uh do
president, former President Clinton
saying,
even you know, Dr. Essel stand up who
has the most part of militant position.
He doesn't even eat things made with
olive oil
and he looks great. He's about 10 years
older than we are.
But he has a piece of chocolate every
New Year's Eve.
That you fudge once a year. Is that
right?
Oh, you don't want to get into that.
[laughter]
Yes. On New Year's Eve, I commit to a
Reese Peanut Butter Cup.
[laughter]
All right,
you're going to allow me that one.
Okay, back with more with Dr. Essestin.
Don't go anywhere.
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Back on the D show with Dr. Essen here.
We're trying to cut that. Now, you said
it's 800,000 people die from heart
disease yearly.
No, I said 800,000
people die uh from cardiovascular
disease. That includes strokes and heart
attacks.
Strokes and heart attacks. Now, heart
disease is somewhat of a a silent
killer. It can creep up and get you and
you can just uh you're lucky if you get
a second chance. Is that right?
Well, there's no question that that
heart disease can be very subtle at
times. uh patients may not have anything
in the way of symptoms
uh with a plaque that is blocking their
artery by no more than 30 or 40%.
And if sadly that plaque should rupture
uh and then suddenly the body tries to
mend that rupture by laying down a clot.
Now suddenly a vessel which was 30%
blocked is now 100% blocked and that
means that all the downstream heart
muscle is suddenly deprived of oxygen
and nutrients and it dies and that's the
heart attack. And sometimes these heart
attacks
can result in a what we call a cardiac
arrhythmia where the heart goes into a
ventricular rhythm which will lead to
fibrillation or standstill which is
fatal.
And h is it true you actually after this
this operation where you take what is it
the vein from the from the leg you put
it inside uh the the you open up the
chest and you um do the the bypass
surgery. You haven't still fixed the
problem have you?
It's a temporary solution. Oh no all
even cardiovascular surgeons are the f
first to admit that just like
cardiologists who are doing sense look
they don't do a thingation
of the illness and there is study after
study after that clearly shows that if
you are having a stent while you're in
the middle of a heart attack the stent
can be absolutely
life sick
save a lot of your heart muscle from
damage your life. However, what about
the other 90% that are having we call
elective stance? Uh with elective stance
when you're sent just because you've got
some chest pains uh or you may stress
test there is no
and there is no protection from a future
heart attack.
And thank you Dr. Esstein for being with
us here on the Dean Show. Forgive us for
the technical difficulties and get the
book preventing reversing heart disease.
You know what? It is a serious matter.
You have this leading killer killing too
many people and we can go ahead and
fight this by putting by fighting our
urges to eat the wrong foods and
changing our ways and eating the right
foods. And God willing, with God's help,
we can go ahead and take advantage of
all the wonderful, beautiful foods that
are out there.
All of the green, beautiful vegetables,
the fruits, and getting away from all
this junk that's out there. And when you
put junk in, what do you get? Junk out.
So, God willing, you can go ahead and
make these modifications, these
adjustments in our lives so we can go
ahead and live a more fruitful,
well-balanced life. We'll see you next
time here on the Dean Show. Until then,
subscribe if you haven't already. Peace
be with you.
There's no question that if the truth
were known that coronary artery disease
is a toothless paper tiger that need
never exist. And if it does exist, it
need never ever progress. What we've
heard from President Clinton is the
remarkable change that he's been willing
to make to remove completely from his
his nutrition those foods which we know
will devastate and injure the inner
lining of your arteries. And the
remarkable thing is the capacity that
the body has to heal itself. And when
you do what pre President Clinton has
done where you completely try to remove
any foods that are going to injure your
vessel, the bar body has this remarkable
capacity begin to heal itself. And I'm
afraid that as a medical profession, we
perhaps have fallen down and really
emphasized too much the drugs and the
procedures and the operations which
really treat the symptoms. They do not
treat the causation of this illness.
This is one of the few times since
Hypocrates that we have not told
patients about the causation of their
illness.