Vegetarian Star

You’ve heard it from Bill Clinton himself first. Now, the doctors behind his motivation for following almost a completely vegan diet are talking to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on how more people should adopt the plan that can prevent and reverse heart disease.

Dr. Dean Ornish has been Clinton’s physician consultant since 1993 and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn is the author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease and the father of the Texas firefighter Rip Esselstyn who authored The Engine 2 Diet and convinced his fellow firemen at the station to eat veg to improve their health.

Dr. Esselstyn says, “When you do what President Clinton has done, when you completely try to remove any foods that are going to injure your vessel, the body has this remarkable capacity to 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 causes of these illnesses.”

The causes of these illnesses, Esselstyn insists, in continuing to eat “anything with a mother, anything with face.”

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Whole Foods’ CEO John Mackey recently told USA Today that the store will be unveiling a new, private label line next year that famous vegan firefighter and author Rip Esselstyn would approve of.

“We’ll introduce a private-label line in 2011 based on the healthy eating book The Engine 2 Diet,” Mackey said. “We’ve licensed that brand. It’s vegan (no animal fats) with no canola or safflower oils, and low in sugar and salt.”

The line offers products similar to what Mackey eats, but he insists that has nothing to do with its creation.

“Though that is the way I live, it is not my personal lifestyle driving this. We think it will be a good product category for the company.”

Looks like vegs will be ringing in the New Year with another option in good food.

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Rip Esselstyn

Rip Esselstyn got a congratulatory package from the Texas Beef Council after his book that describes the vegan diet that allowed the firefighters at his station to lose weight and improve their health, The Engine 2 Diet, became a success.

The Beef Council sent brisket to not only Rip’s house, but every fire house in Austin, Texas.

Some people have no manners, you know?

“At first I was pissed, but then I thought, This is amazing, because it shows how worried they are; it shows that they recognize that people’s consciousness is changing and that this is something for them to worry about,” Rip said. “I thought, Wow, how ballsy of them!”

The author and firefighter has an interview with Supervegan about tofu, vegan cheese, his partnership with Whole Foods and more.

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Whole Foods "Health Starts Here"

Whole Foods has partnered with Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of Eat To Live, and Rip Esselstyn, author of The Engine 2 Diet, to create their “Health Starts Here,” program designed to show customers what foods are nutrient dense.

The Health Starts Here logo will appear throughout the store near items that are plant based and nutrient dense, with Dr. Fuhrman’s Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI) system, which assigns high numbers to foods like fruits and vegetables and low numbers to meat products and processed/prepared foods that are low in nutrients compared to their caloric content.

The Health Starts here program consists of three basic principles:

* Simply put, eat mostly plants
* No matter what type of diet you follow — including those that incorporate dairy, meat and/or seafood — eat more plants, like raw and cooked vegetables, fruits, legumes and beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains
* Eat a colorful variety of plants to ensure you’re getting the best nutrients for your body, which leads to feeling satiated

For more information, visit Whole Foods Market.

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Gene Stone

Gene Stone, an accomplished writer and businessman who’s trophies include Esquire editor and co-founder of vegan ice cream shop Stogo, allowed Supervegan into a glimpse of what life was like collaborating with Rip Esselstyn and writing The Engine 2 Diet, a book about a fire fighter who helped his station extinguish cholesterol and extra pounds by putting out meat.

Stone didn’t expect to have much in common with the Texan vegan, except for the fact they both shunned meat.

“I didn’t expect he would be liberal (politically),” Stone said. “I also didn’t expect we would have similar senses of humor and really enjoy hanging out with each other as much as we do. I’ve become very good friends with several other members of his family as well. In the summer, I go up to the Esselstyn family farm near Hudson and spend a weekend in vegan paradise, where two dozen or so Esselstyns gather and there’s nothing but incredible plant-based food everywhere, all the time.”

Getting along great with Esselstyn wasn’t the only surprise Stone experienced during his ghostwriting project for The Engine 2 Diet.

Originally, Stone became vegan to write the book, but found it impossible to go back to eggs, cheese and other dairy after it’s completion.

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Rip Esselstyn

Rip Esselstyn recently gave an interview to Tonic and shared his favorite “must have” items from the grocery store.

Tonic’s question asked for 5, but just like you can’t stop taking those vegan cookies out the box and putting them in your mouth, Rip had to give a few extra.

“I’m a really big fan of broccoli,” says Rip of his number 2 choice. “Whole Foods Market has a frozen 365-brand of broccoli florets. I can freeze them and eat them again and again. I’ve become a big fan of frozen fruits and vegetables.”

Almond milk also makes the cut.

The author of The Engine 2 Diet that convinced his firefighter co-workers to eat vegetarian to lower cholesterol, lose weight and gain better health has just finished reading, “Born To Run,” a story about a tribe who ran 100 mile runs, fueling themselves on squash, beans and berries.

Is that what convinced Rip to add a “whole bunch of beans,” as number 5 on his list?

To read the entire interiew and learn what his other must have grocery items are, visit Tonic.

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Rip Esselstyn is scheduled to speak tonight at the Dolan Center for Science and Technology at John Carroll University, 20700 N. Park Blvd. in University Heights, Ohio.

The free event includes an hour long presentation, followed by a question and answer session, book signing and a reception featuring vegan food and beverage samples.

Esselstyn is the author of The Engine 2 Diet and a  firefighter from Austin, Texas’ engine company #2 that got his team mates to eat vegetarian at the firehouse to combat health problems they were having.

The clip above features an interview and more about the Esselstyn.

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A couple of months ago, Dr. Oz put three Chicago firefighters on a vegan diet.

Mauricio “Mo” Tirado, Egnechles “Iggy” Brown and Doug Crowley have all since lost 20-30 pounds each, according to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Crowley was able to stop taking cholesterol medication, Brown is excited he can see his abs again and oatmeal is starting to grow on Tirado.

The men plan to stick to their diets as much as possible and say that if they do ever consume meat, it will be in very small amounts.

Dr. Oz enlisted the help of The Engine 2 Diet author Rip Esselstyn, a Texas firefighter who got his team into better shape by convincing them to eat vegan at the firehouse.

“Firehouses are the dumping ground of all of America’s leftovers — you couldn’t create a better atmosphere for unhealthy eating,” Esselstyn said. “It’s such a masculine culture — they think you need to eat dairy, eggs and meat and if you don’t you’re a little sissy girl.”

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