For our fourth opportunity with Dr. Carney again hired as Medical Director for Rip Esselstyn's Engine 2 Diet Immersions we rented a U-Haul truck and packed up much of the office on Friday September 16th to be transported to Austin's Travaasa Resort Hotel for the Health Retreat. Our temporary Medical Clinic at Travaasa Austin was set up with a large room for conducting blood draws, group medical appointments and private consultations with Linda Carney MD. The computer network was installed and configured on Friday by Sean, Dr. Carney's husband. We then returned home for a day of rest before the big event; returning to Travaasa on Saturday evening for the introductory welcoming meeting.
The following morning (Sunday) was the first blood draw. Our staff, with the help of some contracted helpers and volunteers, measured blood pressures and weights and then drew blood on 132 of the participants in just over two hours. Quite a whirlwind! The blood results will be compared to another blood draw six days later on Friday September 23rd. Historically the results show consistent improvements and are a great encouragement to the participants.
The meetings on Sunday were awesome as always. We never tire of hearing Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn present research from his best seller "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" and truly we learn something new every time we hear him speak. Dr. Esselstyn consistently presents the latest and greatest research! His book was recently the number one selling book on Amazon.com after President Bill Clinton mentioned Dr. Esselstyn along with Dean Ornish MD and T. Colin Campbell PhD in the CNN program by Dr. Sanjay Gupta called "The Last Heart Attack", as the people who influenced him to become plant-based. See "The Last Heart Attack" on the VegSource.com web site. And of course you do NOT want to miss the movie Forks Over Knives. with Dr. Esselstyn featured along with T. Colin Campbell (who was at a previous Health Retreat). If you have not yet seen Forks Over Knives yet it is available streaming on NetFlix or the DVD can be purchased at Forks Over Knives.com.
Jeff Novick, who we we affectionately call the "Dietician Magician" is always a source of great inspiration. His lectures are interspersed with more than a few good laughs. There is hardly a better voice out there today when it comes to "Simplifying the Complex" and enabling people to truly understand the science behind plant-strong nutrition. To learn more about Jeff Novick visit him at his web site at JeffNovick.com and if you are in the vicinity of our office we are happy to show you his five DVDs in our Patient Education room. Call first to make sure there is nobody already reserving the room. There is no charge for this service! His videos can also be purchased in the Amazon Online Storefront of AllMedPhysicians.
Another highlight was getting to know Michael Klaper MD whose DVD "A Diet for All Reasons" we have watched numerous times and shown to patients that are interested. Dr. Klaper presented an informative and convincing slide presentation which helped debunk major dietary myths. After his meeting we were thrilled to have Dr. Klaper visit us in our clinic-at-the-resort showing us a few of his slide presentations. We are so grateful for the information he so graciously shared with us!
On Monday afternoon Dr. Klaper gave a lecture on The Digestive System which was heartily received. He also participated in an informative Questions and Answers session along with Jeff Novick and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn and his wife Ann. Dr. Klaper and Doug Lisle PhD, who also began lecturing with these programs at this Health Retreats. Both Doug Lisle, PhD and Michael Klaper, MD work at True North Health Center in Santa Rosa California which has operated for over 25 years, helping many thousands of people regain their health. Doug Lisle, PhD is also the coauthor of the book, The Pleasure Trap.
Another blessing on Monday was the great privilege of Dr. Carney being asked by Jeff Nelson of VegSource to be filmed in an informal interview style in our resort clinic. We are excited for the possibility of Dr. Carney appearing in one of his DVD productions and/or online videos. If you want a great place to learn about the Plant-Strong lifestyle we highly recommend VegSource.com which invites an open and welcoming community. VegSource is your source for all things vegetarian. It is sort of like the Huffington Post of the vegetarian world. Visit VegSource.com for more information.
We had one very inspiring testimony at this retreat about Jacquie's Type II diabetes reversal that we would love to share with you here: