CAMPBELL, ESSELSTYN, COHEN FOLD OVER CARDS

When you are on a Vegetarian Diet, as I am, it is natural that other people are interested in the pros and cons of doing it. This webpage will help you talk with others about Vegetarian Diets.  It's arranged in four sections:

1. how to print the fold-over cards
2. background on card creation
3. background on the three researchers that provided content for the cards:
   1. Dr. T. Colin Campbell
   2. Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn
   3. Robert Cohen
4. files with the card content, in Microsoft Word format.

Several people have expressed interest in obtaining copies of these cards so we made it available to be downloaded on this website. Recently, I printed 800 of each card on card stock at Kinko’s which cost $229 or $0.143 per card. Another option is to download a Microsoft Word version of the card from this site, and do your printing at home. The document is set up so you can get four cards per page. The cards can be modified for support groups outside the Rochester, NY area.

Here is the procedure to print the fold-over cards:

1. Download the file to your computer, as described at the bottom of this page.
2. Open it in Microsoft Word. Note that it may not open correctly on Mac’s or older versions of Word.  See how to obtain the latest free reader, at the bottom of this page.

   Important: this document is designed to be printed twice: print it once on the first side, turn over the paper, and print the same document on the other side.
    

3. Print the document: it is just one page.
4. Turn over your printed paper, and print on the other side – or follow the directions to print on the other side that came with your computer printer
5. You will see a single 8.5" x 11" paper, with four identical cards, printed on both sides
6. Using your scissors or a paper cutter, cut off the bottom, cut vertically down the middle, and cut horizontally to separate into four pieces. Optionally, you can also trim edges, to eliminate white paper.
7. Then you can carefully fold each of the four into a "fold-over" card.

What if this procedure does not work? Make a phone call to my computer consultant, describe the type of printer and software you are using, and the problem you’re facing;. He’ll attempt to work with you to get the output you want. Depending on your particular computer setup, it might not be possible to print with your printer without making modifications.

Because I think it is important to share this information I will be happy to pay for 15 minutes of Dave’s time to help you print it out. You can reach Dave Lum on 585-586-7652.　
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Background:

Hi I’m Ed Ehlers. When you are on a Vegetarian Diet, as I am, it is natural that other people are interested in the pros and cons of doing it. Most people don’t even want to consider going on such a diet. I can identify with that because that is how I felt before I became a Vegetarian. Once on the diet we continue to learn more about the health benefits and have a desire to share information with others and hopefully not bore them to death.

The cards underwent many drafts. There are so many studies that it is difficult to choose what to share. I decided to use a fold out card approach because I can always keep some in my wallet, which is always with me and you can do the same My original plan was to have just one card that would have information on the above three researchers. Then I found information on the net that gave detailed information with specific studies on all the diseases that milk causes and I could not resist having another card with those details. I am proud of the fact that all three researchers were speakers at past Heartbeats meetings.
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Let me share some additional information on the three researchers:

1.  Doctor T. Colin Campbell:

As he explains in his book, "The China Study" he grew up on a dairy farm and he, like most of us, thought that milk and other forms of animal protein were good for you. After a lifetime of research and experiments he learned otherwise. When he spoke to doctors, nurses, and nutritionists at Strong Hospital, he was introduced by a doctor that was the head of preventive cardiology as one of two or three of the most knowledgeable people in the World on nutrition. Doctor Dean Ornish said that "any of us that work on nutrition stand on the shoulders of T. Colin Campbell."

I like to share with people his experiments that showed you can start and stop cancer like a light switch by increasing or decreasing the amount of animal protein. It just blows people away. The sad part is that it is true and people are unaware of it. In another part of his book, he shares his part in what the New York Times called the "Grand Prix of Epidemiological Studies." What is germane is that unlike Americans, the Chinese have a more homogeneous gene base. Hence, the difference in contracting diseases is easier to explain as being diet related.

I titled the card "Is Milk Good or Bad for You". Of course it goes well beyond milk and it extends to all animal protein. It is just that milk is really bad for you and somehow the milk industry is selling it as being healthy. Dr. Campbell believes that milk is the greatest carcinogen known to man.

At a recent conference that I attended he explained his and similar research as follows:

I am such a fan of Doctor Campbell that I purchased 20 of his books and I am lending them to people that are interested. They are a great read.
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2.  Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn

The first time I heard of his work was in the book "The China Study". Campbell claims that his research is even more profound than Dean Ornish’s. The concept that you can make yourself Heart Attack Proof is awesome. If a drug could accomplish it, it would be headline news. As I summarize on the card, Dr. Esselstyn had 18 patients that had 49 Coronary events before starting his diet. After going on his diet, they had zero cardiac events in the next eleven years. He defines a cardiac event as angina, bypass surgery, heart attack, stroke, or angioplasty. The five patients that dropped out had ten coronary events in ten years. So can diet really make you heart attack proof? There are no guarantees in life, but it sure would be nice if it was true. It is interesting contrasting Esselstyn’s approach versus Ornish’s.

There are four parts to the Ornish Program:

Esselstyn is only diet. While both diets are vegetarian, Esselstyn is also vegan, where he does not allow even a moderate use of egg whites or skim milk. At a recent Vegetarian Conference, I met two new patients of Doctor Esselstyn. His method is to interview someone by phone first to determine if they were really interested in making the necessary diet changes. Then you have a private four-hour meeting with the doctor and his wife to discuss the diet in detail. After that you are required to keep detailed records of your diet for the next two weeks which will be reviewed with the doctor. The fee is about $475, which is extremely reasonable , and a different doctor-patient relationship. He has authored numerous papers on his program, and his first book has been recently published. It is called "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease."

His background is as a surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, where he discovered that carving up people was not satisfying in his quest to stop disease. His wife’s grandfather was the founder of the Cleveland Clinic, and her father was the President. When he first proposed a diet oriented program at the Clinic he faced major resistance, and key people did not even return his phone calls. Per Esselstyn, "the medical establishment is just not interested in promoting diet-based preventive medicine".

Doctor Esselstyn recently delivered a powerful talk and presentation to a number of people from the area surrounding Rochester. In his formal presentations he shows a modern architectural building where cardiologists and surgeons reside. Then he shows a shack where he claims preventive medicine proponents reside. Dr. Esselstyn claims, and I agree, that to promote his concepts all "you have to buck is The Medical Establishment, the Government, and Industry."

That is why I am investing my time and energy to help promote these life-saving concepts. I believe that as smart and caring as most traditional doctors are, they can only prescribe what they have been taught and what they know. We are fortunate that doctors Esselstyn and Campbell do what they do in preventing cardiac events. To learn more about Doctor Esselstyn and others check out the websites listed on the fold-over cards.
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3.  Robert Cohen

I met Bob at a Vegetarian Conference where he was a speaker. His first book is titled, "Milk – The Deadly Poison." There is nothing subtle about Bob’s approach. I enjoyed his in-your-face approach and invited him to speak at a Rochester meeting. His book made a lot of sense. If you think about it, how could a substance that has growth hormones in it, which nature intended to grow an 80 pound calf into a 2,000 pound behemoth be good for you. To make matters worse, the milk industry adds additional growth hormones to help cows produce more milk. Does it really surprise anyone that milk helps cancer cells to grow? Let’s not confuse mothers milk with cows milk. Mothers milk is the greatest thing for infants, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is still good for us. However, it is not available in our local supermarkets.

I asked Bob about the background of his later book, "Milk A – Z". He said it was a fun project to do and he had lots of research on the many diseases that milk causes. He said it was a little bit of a stretch to match up a few letters. I loved his book. With twenty-six diseases, even if three or four are stretches, it is still a lot of diseases, which shows how bad cows milk really is for us.

On the card where I have all three researchers, I listed just the letter with a disease to give people a flavor of how bad milk is for us. The card that has all the diseases listed, and a quote from a prestigious medical or science journal is a test for our eyesight. I wanted to get a lot of information on a fold over card. On the card we used only one quote per letter. In Bob’s book he lists about a half dozen quotes for each letter and one gets a better flavor that milk is truly a Deadly Poison.

In Summary

This project was conceived to share information and thoughts that I have about diet. I am reasonably convinced that diet can help reduce pain and suffering for us, our animal friends, and the planet.

Feel free to make copies of these cards and information to share with others. I would like to thank my friend, computer consultant, and Webmaster, Dave Lum, for helping me with this project. If you are looking for computer support, he can be reached at www.cinchlink.com, or at email dave@cinchlink.com.

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Easily Download Wallet Cards Here for Printing

For detailed printing directions, refer to the "How to Print" section above. 

Reminder, these are in Microsoft Word format, for ease of printing, and distribution to those who could benefits from these powerful reminders.  If you do not have Microsoft Word on your computer, you can download a viewer free from Microsoft, here. A new window will open.

Click Here to download the "Milk A-Z Card". 

Click Here to download the "Basic Ornish Card"

Thanks for helping share this vital information!

Edward Ehlers - Webster, NY - July 2007