Letter to President Clinton Sparks My First Interview!

Recently I noticed a Letter to President Clinton trending on many vegan and vegetarian Facebook pages, which immediately piqued my interest.

When I opened it, my eyes caught a glimpse of a large, unhealthy looking man named Eric. Off to the right of the page; however, was a photo of a very different looking man, also named Eric. This Eric was fit and lean and strikingly good-looking. Could it be the same man? Of course you know the answer. It certainly was.

Eric had penned an open letter to former President Bill Clinton, accrediting him with helping to change his life. Eric saw the now-famous interview with CNN reporter Wolf Blitzer, in which Clinton spoke candidly of his transition to a vegan diet. “You looked great, better and more presidential than I’d ever seen you look before. The jowls and large bags under your eyes were gone, and your face was oval rather than round. In the interview, you talked about getting back to your high school weight and reversing your heart disease by following a whole-food, plant-based diet based on The China Study and other research by Doctors T. Colin Campbell, Caldwell Esselstyn and Dean Ornish,” wrote Eric in his letter.

At the time of that interview, Eric was 51-years young and taking more than $1000 in medications per month. He had Type II Diabetes and a staggering cholesterol count of 300. At 280 pounds, his blood pressure was 160/100. Eric describes sleeping 10 or more hours a day, feeling lethargic and exhausted all the time and suffering from constant joint pain. “I was not able to tie my shoes, let alone walk up a flight of stairs without feeling out of breath,” he said.

Eric adopted a whole-food, plant-based diet in September 2011. In just eight months, he lost 100 pounds, saw his cholesterol drop from 300 to 130 and his blood pressure decrease from 160/100 to 100/60. Additionally, his glucose and all other medical stats were in the normal or optimal range. Best of all, he no longer showed any signs of Type II Diabetes!

I was so moved by Eric’s story and his journey to take back control of his health that I reached out to him for an interview to learn more about his transition to a healthful vegan diet. Click here to learn more from Eric … in his own words.