Like all firefighters, Rip Esselstyn is dedicated to saving lives. But in Esselstyn’s case, his efforts focus on helping firefighters and others avoid heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other killers, by following a “plant-strong” diet.
Esselstyn, an Austin firefighter until last fall, began eating a vegan (or plant-based) diet in 1987 when he became a professional triathlete, following the example of a mentor-athlete as well as the medical facts discovered by his physician father, a leading researcher on reversing heart disease through diet. More than 20 years later, Esselstyn is an established diet guru. He has written a bestselling book, The Engine 2 Diet, and recently retired from the fire service to work as one of two “healthy eating partners” of Whole Foods Market.
But while his message is spreading to a general audience, Esselstyn’s roots remain in the fire service.
Saving Lives at the Station
Esselstyn joined the Austin Fire Department in 1997, and drew interest with his plant-based diet–a way of eating that does not fit in with typical firehouse meals.
“Ever since I joined, I’ve answered questions about how I eat, and written programs for people who asked me to help them out,” Esselstyn recalls. In 2003, his shift had a bet to see who had the lowest cholesterol. Through this bet, they discovered that Specialist James Rae (J.R.), age 37 and with a family history of heart disease, had dangerously high cholesterol. “We embarked on a journey to save the life of a fellow firefighter,” Esselstyn says. “As an act of solidarity, the five firefighters at Station 2’s C shift started eating a plant-based diet. We all ate that way at the station, and I think three of us (including J.R.) ate that way around the clock.”
Within a month, J.R.’s cholesterol level dropped from 344 to 196. Word around the firehouse spread about the benefits of Esselstyn’s way of eating. “Now, the Austin Fire Department has close to 100 firefighters eating a plant-strong diet, and it all started from that C shift in 2003,” Esselstyn says.
Although the vegan firefighters had to endure some teasing, there’s no denying that they’re reaping huge benefits. After all, the No. 1 cause of firefighter fatalities is heart disease–and the firehouse lifestyle is a big contributor to this. “At the firehouse, you have a confluence of all these awful things coming together,” Esselstyn points out. “Your nerves are always on edge, waiting for the next call–so you float to the refrigerator.” He adds: “And firehouses are the dumping grounds for America’s leftovers.”
Calling Dr. Oz
The story of how C shift rallied to help a firefighter, and the astounding drop in J.R.’s cholesterol, soon got media attention, including a big article in The New York Times–which led to attention from literary agents.
“I realized for the first time that as a firefighter, I was in a unique position to reach a segment of America that never gets a chance to hear this message,” Esselstyn says. So he wrote his Engine 2 Diet book, which came out in February 2009 and became a national bestseller. “Now that the book is out, I’ve heard from firefighters around the country, who write to tell me their success stories,” he says.
In February 2010, Esselstyn appeared on The Dr. Oz Show, where Mehmet Oz, MD, challenged three overweight Chicago firefighters to follow the Engine 2 Diet for 60 days–giving up all meat, dairy, processed foods and extracted oils. All three agreed to a goal of losing 4 inches off their waists–and within 2 months, each had lost 25 to 40 lbs. and saw major reductions in cholesterol levels.
One of the firefighters, Doug Crowley, says, “The hardest part for me was the education. I thought I knew how to eat well, but I had to really police my diet. There was a lot of information to take in.”
Crowley has met Dr. Oz’s goal, saying he went from pants with a 38″ waist “that I basically tugged under my gut,” to a size 34″ that are getting too loose. He says, “The support I got at the firehouse was amazing. Some of the guys were calling me up and giving me recipes. They bent over backward to support me, saying ‘it’s a tough challenge, but we know you can do it.’”
Crowley plans to continue following a modified version of the diet. “I’ve adapted the diet to myself. It’s a very, very rigid diet and I’m not following it exactly. But I made a lifestyle change based on Rip’s philosophy on food.”
He adds, “I hope that the guys who read this are inspired to do something about their health.”