Influential Health Authors and Experts
Nutrition and Disease
Dr. Colin T. Campbell
Dr. Joel Fuhrman
Dr. Esselystyn
Dr. Ornish
Vaccinations
Dr. Paul A. Offit, M.D.
Dr. Bob
In my search for the truth (behind such things as nutrition and disease; health impacts of vaccines and environmental toxins), I have sought out experts who are qualified to study and analyze the existing scientific data. Below are the backgrounds of authors / experts whose books have significantly shaped my evolving perspective and value system and who have inspired much of the content on this blog.
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Dr. T. Colin Campbell
Dr. Campbell is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University and Project Director of the China-Oxford-Cornell Diet and Health Project — The China Study, to which it is commonly referred. ”The China Study” was the culmination of a 20-year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. It is the most comprehensive study of health and nutrition ever conducted.
For more than 40 years, T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. has been at the forefront of nutrition research. Dr. Campbell received his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Cornell, and served as a Research Associate at MIT. He spent 10 years on the faculty of Virginia Tech’s Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition before returning to the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell in 1975 where he presently holds his Endowed Chair (now Emeritus).
From Healthy at 100 by John Robbins, page 125:
“[Dr. Campbell's] credentials were impressive: As well as being co-author of the National Academy of Sciences report, he was author of more than three hundred scientific papers, and he was the senior science advisor to the American Institute of Cancer Research / World Research Fund.
Funding for this massive enterprise was shared by the nations involved. Much of the initial funding came from the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health. The Chinese Ministry of Health pitched in by paying the salaries of more than 350 health workers who, armed with computers and faxes (the China Study introduced the first fax machine into China in 1985), proceeded to generate the most comprehensive data base ever compiled on the multiple causes of disease.
“When the China Study was at last finished, researchers had a study that was utterly unmatched in its quality and comprehensiveness. They had what The New York Times described as “the Grand Prix of epidemiology.” (page 127)
In his book, The China Study, Dr. Campbell shares his findings from not only his China study, but also the consistent findings from that of his peers.
Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D.
Joel Fuhrman M.D. is a board–certified family physician who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional and natural methods. His private practice is located in Flemington, New Jersey.
He is the author of Eat To Live: The Revolutionary Plan for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss in 2003 and has gone through eleven printings in hardcover and six printings in paperback. Foreign editions of Eat To Live are available in the U.K., Turkey, and Israel. Dr. Fuhrman’s first book, Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor’s Program for Conquering Disease, was published in 1995. Dr. Fuhrman’s next book, Disease–Proof Your Child, was published in April 2005. His most recent book, published in 2008, Eat For Health (a two volume set) is acclaimed as a medical breakthrough for weight loss, disease reversal and prevention.
In addition, Dr. Fuhrman is widely published, from medical journals such as the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Orthopaedics and Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, to consumer publications such as Mothering Magazineand Health Science.
He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and has received the St. Joseph’s Family Practice Resident’s Teaching Award for his contribution to the education of residents. In addition, Dr. Fuhrman provides nutritional education to other physicians, and is a guest lecturer at Cornell University Graduate Program in Human Nutrition.
Dr. Fuhrman is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Health Association; Advisory Panel, The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine; Diplomat, American Academy of Family Physicians; Sports Medicine Committee, Professional Skaters Guild of America; and PwC Health and Performance Advisory Panel, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
As one of the country’s leading experts on nutrition and natural healing, Joel Fuhrman, M.D. has appeared on hundreds of radio and television shows including: ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, Today, Good Morning America, the Discovery Channel, TV Food Network, CNBC and many more.
Joel Fuhrman is a former world class figure skater and member of the United States World Figure Skating Team. In 1973, he placed Second in the United States National Pairs Championships. In the World Professional Pairs Skating Championship in Jaca, Spain in 1976, he placed Third. His dedication to sports medicine, health and fitness, preventive care and medicine speak to these lifelong interests.
“When children are repeatedly or chronically ill, today’s doctors treat patients as they were taught to — with antibiotics and other drugs. I see things very differently. If a child is repeatedly or chronically ill, with one infection after another, I see that there is a problem with immunity — a problem that likely comes from an inadequate diet. I know that rather than antibiotics and other drugs, nutritional excellence must be the first choice in recovery and prevention. I have seen it work in my own practice. After seeing me and making dietary adjustments, almost every chronically ill child recovered and is able to maintain good health without resorting to more drugs and antibiotics.”
– Disease-Proof Your Child: Feeding Your Kids Right by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D..; page xxi
Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr.
The best medical center for cardiac care is located in Cleveland, Ohio, according to US News and World Report. Patients fly in to the Cleveland Clinic from all over the world for the most advanced heart treatment available, administered by prestigious doctors.
One of the doctors at the Clinic, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr. has quite a resume. As a student at Yale University, Dr. Esselstyn rowed in the 1956 Olympics, winning a gold medal. After being trained at the Cleveland Clinic, he went on to earn the Bronze Star as an army surgeon in the Vietnam War. He then became a highly successful doctor at one of the top medical institutions in the world, the Cleveland Clinic, where he was president of the staff, member of the Board of Governors, chairman of the Breast Cancer Task Force and head of the Section of Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery. Having published over 100 scientific papers, Dr. Esselstyn was named on of the best doctors in America in 1994 – 1995.
From knowing this man personally, I get the feeling that he has excelled at virtually everything he has done in his life. He reached the pinnacle of success in his professional and personal life, and did it with grace and humility. The quality I find most appealing about Dr. Esselstyn, however, is not his resume or awards; it is his principled search for the truth. Dr. Esselstyn has had the courage to take on the establishment.
Eleven years into my career as a surgeon, I became disillusioned with the treatment paradigm of U.S. medicine in cancer and heart disease. Little had changed in 100 years in the management of cancer, and in neither heart disease nor cancer was there a serious effort at prevention. I found the epidemiology of these diseases provocative, however: Three-quarters of the humans on this planet had no heart disease, a fact strongly associated with diet.
– Dr. Colin T. Campbell of The China Study (2006), page 125
Over the past fifteen years, Dr. Dean Ornish has been instrumental in bringing diet to the forefront of medical thought. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, he has been featured prominently in popular media, succeeded in having his heart disease treatment plan covered by a number of insurance carriers and written several best-selling books. If you have heard of the diet / heart disease connection, chances are that it may well be because of Dr. Ornish’s work.
Dr. Robert W. Sears, MD, is a father of three, board-certified in Pediatrics, and a co-author in the Sears Parenting Library. “Dr. Bob”, as he likes to be called by his little patients, earned his medical degree at Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1995. He did his pediatric internship and residency at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, finishing in 1998. Dr. Bob is the proud father of three active boys, Andrew, age 15, Alex, age 12, and Joshua age 6. He and his wife, Cheryl, reside in Dana Point, CA. In his spare time Dr. Bob enjoys surfing the California waves, mountain biking, playing bass guitar with his teenage son guitarist, and trying to keep up with his three children.
Dr. Bob enjoys a very unique approach to pediatrics by providing a combination of alternative and traditional medical care. He has a passion for healthy natural living and incorporates this knowledge into a style of disease treatment and prevention that you won’t find in most doctors offices. By limiting antibiotic use, using science-based natural treatment approaches whenever possible, and focusing on good nutrition and immune system health, Dr. Bob takes preventative medicine to a whole new level. His commitment to breastfeeding success for all his patients also helps babies get a right start in life.
Dr. Bob has a particular passion for helping parents understand childhood vaccines and the options open to them in choosing the safest possible vaccine schedule for their child. As the solo author of The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child, his in-depth knowledge of vaccines and the diseases they prevent has helped parents nationwide get a better understanding of this complex and confusing issue.
Having had the privilege to help raise three active boys, Dr. Bob has grown fond of the “parenting” side of pediatrics. He especially enjoys talking to parents in his practice about the joys, and trials, of watching their little babies and toddlers thrive through the first several years of life.
Dr. Bob has appeared on the Dr. Phil show to offer advice on child behavior and parenting issues. He has also appeared on the Ellen DeGeneris show, CNN’s House Calls with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the CBS Early Show, and PBS’s “A Place of Our Own”.
Dr. Bob is a frequent speaker at La Leche League conferences, including Colorado, Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, California/Nevada and the International LLL Conference 2007 as well as various parenting health Expos. He has written for Contemporary Pediatrics, Newsweek Japan, and dozen’s of regional parenting magazines across the nation. Dr. Bob is co-author of The Updated Baby Book, The Premature Baby Book, The Baby Sleep Book 2005 and Father’s First Steps: 25 Things Every New Dad Should Know and author of The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for your Child and an active contributor to the content of AskDrSears.com and several other parenting websites. He is also a regular contributor to Working Mother magazine.
Paul A. Offit, M.D.
Dr. Offit is the chief of Infectious Diseases and the director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as well as the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He has received numerous awards, including the J. Edmund Bradley Prize for Excellence in Pediatrics from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the Young Investigator Award in Vaccine Development from the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and a Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health. An international expert on rotavirus-specific immune responses, Dr. Offit is the coinventor of the rotavirus vaccine RotaTeq, for which he received the Jonas Salk Award from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, the Gold Medal from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the Stanley A. Plotkin Award in Vaccinology from the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.
Dr. Offit authored Autisms False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure
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