Caldwell Esselstyn

Caldwell Blakeman Esselstyn Jr. (born 1933) is an American physician, surgeon and author who is also known as a former Olympic rowing champion. He graduated from Yale University in 1956, won a gold medal in the eights at the 1956 Summer Olympics, and received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University in 1961. He trained at the Cleveland Clinic, served as an Army surgeon in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star, and later led the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons as its president in 1991. He is director of the Heart Disease Reversal Program at the Cleveland Clinic and the author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, which argues for an ultra low-fat, whole-food, plant-based diet. His claims have been criticized by medical figures such as Steven Nissen as unproven for want of rigorous clinical trials. Nothing here is medical advice.