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Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr., M.D.

Sixteen years ago, while chairman of the Cleveland Clinic's Breast Cancer Task Force, general surgeon Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D., grew disappointed in the way he and his colleagues were treating cancer and heart disease. Relying on pills and procedures despite their side effects and risks, Dr. Esselstyn says he and his peers were doing "nothing to prevent disease in the next unsuspecting victim." This was particularly frustrating given that research studies had already suggested an obvious culprit. The fatty American diet was, in all likelihood, responsible for heart disease and many Western cancers, which are infrequently seen in parts of the world where much less fat is consumed.

Targeting heart disease, Dr. Esselstyn's experiment started at home. He and his wife adopted a plant-based diet, cutting out oil, meat, fish, and fowl and all but a few nonfat dairy products. "It means a lot to patients to know their doctor is making the same changes they are," he says. Since studies show a craving for fat diminishes the less fat one eats, and since patients have more than 3,000 recipes from which to choose, the physician and his heart patients have grown comfortable with their routine over time. "If I take away something delicious, I replace it with something delicious," Dr. Esselstyn says about the diet. "I may, for example, take away a hot fudge sundae but in its place, I'll tell you how to make a mean Baked Alaska."

Cleveland nutrition consultant Kris Napier attributes some of the success of Dr. Esselstyn's research study to the time and personal attention the surgeon devotes to the patients. He met with each patient every other week for the first five years of the study, every month thereafter. The surgeon, his wife, and the patients and their families still gather several times a year for picnics at which they share favorite low-fat, plant-based dishes.

Having published more than 150 scientific articles, Dr. Esselstyn is head of the section of thyroid and parathyroid surgery at the Cleveland Clinic and associate professor in the department of surgery at the Ohio State University School of Medicine. He received his A.B. degree from Yale University and his M.D. from Western Reserve University. Born in New York City, he grew up on a cattle farm in New York state. In 1956he won an Olympic gold medal as a member of the U.S. 8-oared rowing team.

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