Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD

Treating the Cause to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease

Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., received his B.A. from Yale University and his M.D. from Western Reserve University. In 1956, pulling the No. 6 oar as a member of the victorious United States rowing team, he was awarded a gold medal at the Olympic Games. He was trained as a surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic and at St. George's Hospital in London. In 1968, as an Army surgeon in Vietnam, he was awarded the Bronze Star.

Dr. Esselstyn has been associated with the Cleveland Clinic since 1968. During that time, he has served as President of the Staff and as a member of the Board of Governors. He chaired the Clinic's Breast Cancer Task Force and headed its Section of Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery.

His scientific publications number over 150, "The Best Doctors in America" 1994-1995 published by Woodward and White cites Dr. Esselstyn's surgical expertise in the categories of endocrine and breast disease. In 1995 he published his bench mark long-term nutritional research arresting and reversing coronary artery disease in severely ill patients. That same study was updated at 12 years and reviewed beyond twenty years in his book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, making it one of the longest longitudinal studies of its type. It is most compelling, as no compliant patients have sustained disease progression. Today, beyond 20 years compliant patients continue to thrive.

Dr. Esselstyn and his wife, Ann Crile Esselstyn, have followed a plant-based diet for more than 26 years. Dr. Esselstyn presently directs the cardiovascular prevention and reversal program at The Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. www.heartattackproof.com

Virginia Messina, RD

Issues in Planning Optimal Diets for Vegans

Virginia Messina, MPH, RD, is a dietitian and public health nutritionist specializing in vegan nutrition. She has a degree in nutrition from Douglass College of Rutgers University and a master's degree in public health nutrition from the University of Michigan.

Ginny publishes widely on topics related to vegan diets for both health professionals and the public. She has twice co-authored the American Dietetic Association's Position on Vegetarian Diets, and is co-author of a textbook on vegetarianism written for health professionals and nutrition students.

She has worked as a dietitian for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, taught nutrition to dietetics students at the university level, and was the director of nutrition services for a medical clinic serving 50,000 patients at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Ginny serves on the advisory board of the Vegetarian Resource Group. www.theveganrd.com

Milton Mills, MD

What Every Physician Should Know About the Role of Nutrition in the Practice of Clinical Medicine

Milton Mills, MD, is Associate Director of Preventive Medicine for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and works as a Critical Care physician with Fairfax Hospital in Virginia and United Medical Center in Washington DC. His experience specializing in Internal Medicine and HIV disease, and in the relationship between nutrition and chronic diseases has made him extensively knowledgeable about the unique health care needs of minorities, the challenges of practicing medicine in inner cities, and the special medical and nutritional requirements of HIV+ and AIDS patients.

Dr. Mills graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine, serving as student body president of the medical school and Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor of the Stanford Medical School newspaper. He did his internship at the University of California-San Francisco, and his residency at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. www.pcrm.org

Karen Jaceldo-Siegl, DrPH

Latest Nutrition Findings from the Adventist Health Study 2

Dr. Jaceldo-Siegl is a co-investigator in the Adventist Health Study-2, a cohort study of Seventh-day Adventist in the United States and Canada designed to determine the relationship between their diets and chronic disease. Her research interests include exploring and developing different methods of assessing diets, dietary supplement use, and examining the relationship between diet and such outcomes as mortality, metabolic syndrome, cognitive function, and heart disease.

Dr. Jaceldo-Siegl also holds the position of assistant professor in the department of nutrition in School of Public Health and department of preventive medicine in School of Medicine. Her work in the nutrition department is primarily focused on research, with emphasis on the nutrition and health benefits of soy and nut consumption, and more recently the environmental impacts of vegetarian diets. She received her BS in chemistry from the University of Texas, MS in Nutrition from Incarnate Word University, and doctorate in public health from Loma Linda University in 2003. www.llu.edu

Andrew Rife, ND, M.Ed

Managing Metabolic Syndrome

Dr. Rife is the Clinical Director of Puget Sound Family Health and author of the Weigh to Live Program, teaching a whole-foods, allergy-free, glycemic based approach to health. The program is currently being researched at the University of Puget Sound and has been delivering impressive results. His private practice focuses on nutritional approaches to complex medical issues and combines aspects of whole-foods nutrition, addiction studies, environmental health, and psychoneuroendocrinology. Dr. Rife graduated from Bastyr University and holds a bachelor's degree in architecture and a master's degree in education. He has enjoyed a plant based diet since 1985 and a sugar free diet since 2001. www.pugetsoundfamilyhealth.org

Mark Messina, PhD

Soyfoods and Health: Research Updates & Implications for Clinical

Mark Messina, PhD, is an adjunct associate professor at Loma Linda University, is the co-owner of Nutrition Matters Inc., a nutrition consulting company; and the executive director of the Soy Nutrition Institute. He is a former program director with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), where he initiated a research program on the anticancer effects of soy. Since leaving the NCI, Dr. Messina has devoted his time primarily to the study of the health effects of soy foods and soybean isoflavones. He writes extensively on these subjects and has published more than 50 articles and book chapters for health professionals. He has also given more than 400 presentations to both consumer and professional groups throughout the United States and in 35 countries.

Dr. Messina is the co-author of three books, The Simple Soybean and Your Health, The Vegetarian Way, and The Dietitian's Guide to Vegetarian Diets: Issues and Applications. www.pcrm.org