Bill Clinton is Doing His Own Plant-Based Diet Experiment to Reverse His Heart Disease! Credits Esselstyn, Ornish & Campbell

Clinton Has Lost 24 Pounds So Far Following a Plant-Based Oil-Free Diet

Update 9/25/10:  Click here for my latest post about Bill Clinton's Diet and Wolf Blitzer's Interview with Drs. Esselstyn & Ornish. It's far more informative than this post.

Looks like Bill Clinton is following Dr. Esselstyn's plant-based heart disease reversal diet. 

Who would have ever guessed?  A reader from New Hampshire--who has been successfully following Dr. Esselstyn's diet after experiencing his own quadruple bypass three years ago--just sent me this recent post that appeared today on VegSource.   Good bye pulled pork--hello oil-free lentil salad!

Bill Clinton talks about going plant-based to reverse heart disease, so he can be healthy in the years ahead to see his potential grandchildren.

"I'm trying to be one of those experimenters," said Clinton. "Since 1986, several hundred people who have tried essentially a plant-based diet, not ingesting any cholesterol from any source, has seen their bodies start to heal themselves -- break up the arterial blockage, break up the calcium deposits around the heart. 82 percent of the people who have done this have had this result, so I want to see if I can be one of them."

Just hours ago, Ecorazzi received exclusive information from a friend of Clinton (who wishes to remain anonymous) regarding first-hand conversations with the former president about his vegan diet.

According to our source, Clinton decided to adopt the diet in the early part of May. While he does occasionally eat fish, the former president otherwise follows a strict vegan diet.

What made him go vegan? According to our source, Clinton has read many books on the topic, including books by T. Colin Campbell, Caldwell Esselstyn and Dr. Dean Ornish. Although losing weight was a benefit of the dietary change, the choice to go vegan was about more than just losing weight.

"I've never known him not to say what's on his mind," says our source. "And he knows quite a bit and likely has a lot to say about the benefits of a vegan diet. He has read The China Study, and he knows the issues. With time, I think it's likely he could become the most outspoken proponent of a complete vegan diet."

I certainly hope he can stick with it.  What better spokesperson for a heart healthy diet that can cut heart disease, cholesterol, and health care costs all at the same time?  Go Clinton!!

For a link to Clinton's latest CNN interview (9/21/10) explaining why he switched to a plant-based diet, click here.  He realized that his stent was no guarantee against future cardiac events--only a change in diet would provide that, and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic had 25 years of research to back that up.

If you aren't seeing the video below--click here for the link.

Looking for a "refresher" on what this diet is all about, read: 
What I Learned From Dr. Caldwell and Ann Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease "School"

Comments

[Steven Rice Fitness]

Wow, that's fantastic! I hope he sticks with it, and that he helps promote the idea. As much as I'd like to think that people can be swayed by scientists, doctors, and articulate bloggers, enthusiastic celebrities have more influence.

[Carol]

I read a brief piece about this over the weekend and thought "I bet he's doing the Esselstyn diet" - so glad to hear he's going plant-based. I'm sure he'll be vocal about this and spread the word.
Good for him!

[Charlie]

Here's a better interview he did with CNN on his diet: http://cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2010/09/21/intv.clinton.blitzer.weight.loss.cnn