Meet Rip Esselstyn. He will tell you that western diseases thrive on the western diet. That our government sanctioned food pyramid is inverted. But don’t just believe him:
In the United States and most Western countries, diet-related chronic diseases represent the single largest cause of morbidity and mortality. These diseases are epidemic in contemporary Westernized populations and typically afflict 50-65% of the adult population, yet they are rare or nonexistent in hunter-gatherers and other less Westernized people. Although both scientists and lay people alike may frequently identify a single dietary element as the cause of chronic disease (eg, saturated fat causes heart disease and salt causes high blood pressure), evidence gleaned over the past 3 decades now indicates that virtually all so-called diseases of civilization have multifactorial dietary elements that underlie their etiology, along with other environmental agents and genetic susceptibility.
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Rip is officing in our space as we prepare to help him launch a marketing website that will support sales of his new book, The Engine 2 Diet. It advocates eating a plant-strong diet full of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. The diet has been medically proven to cause dramatic reductions in LDL cholesterol (that’s the bad one) levels in as little as two weeks. Weight loss is another, more visible, and perhaps more motivating benefit.
When we look at the issues facing our country and world The Engine 2 Diet rises to the challenge in so many ways. We are proud of Rip for making the telling of this story such a huge part of his life. The book hits stores on the 25 of February. The site we are creating will launch January 1st. Keep an eye on your news stand for major stories about this book in early 2009.
