COMM 506 The Engine 2 Diet

     The other night we attended a lecture at school about a complete plant-based diet, called the Engine 2 Diet. The creator of the diet, Rip Esselstyn, was the first presenter. He talked about how the diet has affected him, his coworkers, and people that he's helped with it. He was energetic, and definitely fully believed in the diet. Next, his father, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a physician, came on, and gave a lecture about the health benefits of the diet. He gave some good research and data about how the diet can reverse heart disease and lead to better overall health. Lastly, Rip's mother, Ann Esselstyn, showed what food and drinks you could buy, recipes for the diet, and where to find complete plant based foods.
     I liked a few things about this presentation. First, Rip was a fantastic speaker. He got the crowd engaged in what he was talking about, asked questions, and was humorous. He presented good examples of his diet working, and did not say anything about meat being "evil" or murder or anything along those lines. His father was also interesting, though a little boring. As a person with a heart defect, I was very interested in how the diet can help with heart health.
     One thing I did not like about the presentation was that none of the presenters talked about changing their lifestyle. They all talked about how good the diet is for their health, Rip showed examples of people whose health improved and they lost weight, and Dr. Caldwell showed evidence of reduced heart disease...but none of them talked about exercise, giving up bad habits, or other lifestyle changes that could have an impact on their health. Even if the diet is successful without lifestyle changed, it would have been a good thing to mention so that people don't have the expectation that they will lose a lot of weight by just changing to a plant-based diet. Another thing that bothered me was when Ann was talking about the different foods that we should eat and recipes we should use. The lecture was given at a university, and the crowd was a mix of the general public and students. She started talking about foods that could only be purchased online or in specialty food stores, and most students cannot afford to shop like that. I wish they had geared the food presentation more towards students; showing them cheap, healthy alternatives that they could buy at local supermarkets, and quick, easy recipes for the student on-the-go.