diseaseprevention

Friend, mentor and original Plantstrong pioneer Rip Esselstyn and I go way back. Both swimmers, we crossed paths at many a meet — as young teens and later as collegiate rivals (Rip was always far more accomplished than I). During the early stages of my transition to a plant-based diet, I vividly recall perusing Facebook when I stumbled upon Rip, who just happened to be on the precipice of publishing his first book on the very subject I was attempting to master. From that moment forward, Rip became a lighthouse — illuminating my path as a generous friend and cheerleader always available to share his knowledge, experience and inspiration. Today, Rip (finally) joins the podcast to share that knowledge, experience and inspiration with you — a hotly anticipated master course on the incredible power of a whole-food, plant-based diet to prevent and reverse disease, promote optimal health, and fuel your athletic dreams. Educated at the University of Texas at Austin, Rip was a three-time All-American swimmer before spending a decade as one of the premier professional triathletes in the world. He then joined the Austin Fire Department where he introduced his passion for a whole-food, plant-based diet to Austin’s Engine 2 Firehouse in order to rescue a firefighting brother’s health. To document his success he wrote the New York Times' bestselling book, The Engine 2 Diet, which demonstrates the irrefutable connection between a plant-based diet and good health. Rip left his job as a firefighter in 2009 to team up with Whole Foods Market as one of their Healthy Eating Partners to raise awareness for Whole Foods employees, customers and communities about the benefits of eating a plant-strong diet. As the founder of Engine 2, Rip develops and implements a range of programs and events geared toward education, inspiring and nurturing plant-strong living for individuals, families and organizations across the globe. A New York Times bestselling author of four books, Rip has appeared on hundreds of radio and national television shows, including the Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, Good Morning America and The Dr. Oz Show. Each year his family produces a series of all-inclusive, immersive events, culminating in Camp Plantstock — an extraordinary experience I highly recommend to anyone looking to reboot their lifestyle. Finally, Rip's newest book, The Engine 2 Cookbook hits bookstores everywhere on December 26, 2017. This is a conversation I’ve been anticipating since the first episode of this podcast Enjoy! Rich

This week we hit a huge milestone – 2 MILLION DOWNLOADS!  Wow. I was blown away when we hit 1 million after about a year since we started this experiment. Then just five months later, we hit the second million. I am beyond words. I love doing the podcast, love it. I do this for you. So it means more than you can imagine that it has found a passionate and loyal audience. With utmost sincerity, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and promise to honor your commitment to the show by striving to always do better and be better. In honor of the milestone, I thought it appropriate to bring you one of my most compelling and important interviews to date. A conversation with a man I owe my life. A man whose studies, books and tireless advocacy have transformed countless lives across the globe. A man absolutely instrumental in paving a path for my own personal transformation – a journey that begins and ends with my adoption of a plant-based diet. T. Colin Campbell Dr. Campbell may not have invented the whole food plant-based diet, but he is most certainly the regal lion of the movement, pioneering it from fringe acceptance to modern age, widespread mainstream adoption. He is best-known as the author of The China Study*, one of the most important, ground-breaking, massively best-selling books ever written on health & nutrition. More recently, Dr. Campbell published an important follow up, Whole: Rethinking The Science of Nutrition*. But even if you have not read either of these books, there is a solid chance you saw him and his work profiled in the incredibly powerful documentary Forks Over Knives*. The simple truth is that how we are beginning to understand the ways in which food and nutrition impact the underlying causes of so many Western diseases that unnecessarily plague developed cultures — and the means to prevent and reverse them — is due in large part to the tireless scientific research to which Dr. Campbell has devoted his life. He is, quite simply put, an absolute paradigm-busting legend of the modern movement for long-term wellness, disease prevention & reversal, sustainable ecosystems, animal welfare, and agricultural reform. For the uninitiated, T. Colin Campbell is a Cornell and MIT trained Ph.D. in nutrition, biochemistry and microbiology and current professor emeritus at Cornell specializing in both nutrition & toxicology – specifically the effects of nutrition on long-term health and even more particularly the role nutrition plays in the causation of certain types of cancer. In addition to the two books mentioned above, he is the author of over 300 peer reviewed research papers on a variety of subjects related to the above. Maybe you're new to all this — I don't get all the fuss. What exactly is The China Study?