Noted Heart Expert Addresses Anatomy Class

Esselstyn, a leading proponent of plant-based diets, starred as a featured expert in the acclaimed 2011 documentary film, Forks Over Knives. His 2007 New York Times bestselling book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, based on results of his 20-year nutritional study, made a groundbreaking case on the plant based diet’s ability to improve the health of veins and arteries and other illnesses including lupus, multiple sclerosis and the four prevalent “Western cancers,” prostate, breast, colon and pancreatic. Former President Bill Clinton used the book’s plant-based and oil-free guidelines to help reverse his heart disease that was first surgically addressed with 2004 quadruple bypass surgery.

“The academic goals of Hawken’s Honors Anatomy and Physiology course is to better understand how cells, tissues, organs and organ systems coordinate their functions to produce a healthy individual,” said Rebecca Roark, Hawken’s Upper School Dean of Students, and course instructor. “Dr. Esselstyn presented evidence for a vegan diet with data from both correlational and experimental research. His evidence was very easy to follow and compelling.”

Esselstyn, a Yale University graduate, received his M.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and was an intern and resident at the Cleveland Clinic. A former Olympic rowing champion, he served as an Army surgeon in Vietnam, and eventually became President of Staff and member of the Board of Governors at the Cleveland Clinic. He is a former Hawken parent and current Hawken grandparent.

“We currently are studying the cardiovascular system and Dr. Esselstyn was really able to make the case for the importance of the endothelial lining of the system,” Roark added.

Besides guest presentations, the Anatomy and Physiology class also incorporates laboratory exercises and case studies into its curriculum. Last semester students visited Case Western Reserve University’s Sim-Lab where they learned techniques of orthoscopic surgery and were able to “scope” a model of a head.