ICP 35: Dr. Stephan Esser- Plant-Based Athletics, Transitioning and Myths & Misconceptions

  This Episode of the Ian Cramer Podcast is sponsored by Health IQ, an insurance company that helps health conscious people like runners, cyclist, weightlifters, vegetarians and vegans get lower rates on their life insurance. Health IQ can save their customers up to 33% off of traditional life insurance because physically active people have a 56% lower risk of heart disease, 20% lower risk of cancer and a 58% lower risk of diabetes compared to people who are inactive.  To see if you qualify, get your free quote today at healthiq.com/Ian. Again that’s HealthIQ.com/Ian. Hi, I’m Ian Cramer and I’m the guy who makes these podcasts. Why do I do it? Because the information is life-changing. Why do I interview only doctors and scholars? I enjoy learning, I like evidence, I’m inquisitive, I appreciate people who are smarter than me and I enjoy helping others. We all have something to learn from one another, and in this podcast, I curate and compile these conversations on plant-based and lifestyle medicine to hopefully inspire you to get healthier in some way. I’m a big picture kind of guy…and recently I was thinking about the larger implications of this podcast. Beyond ‘people getting healthier’ I hope this podcast motivates you to starts conversations, makes you more apt to ask questions and think critically with the end goal of “Being Better” in whatever you’re passionate or interested in. In Episode 35, I’m speaking with Dr. Stephan Esser, a non-operative orthopedic physician practicing in Point Vedra Beach, Florida, just outside of Jacksonville. Dr. Esser certainly has this plant-based nutrition in his blood, as his great grandfather and grandfather were some of the first pioneers teaching people about how they could live healthier lives and heal their bodies from the inside out with diet and lifestyle changes. Although one may assume that Dr. Esser is in the wrong field or subspecialty, he uses his orthopedic office to identify patients who may see a benefit from diet and lifestyle. He says no matter what kind of physician you are, we all, to some degree, see the side-effects of poor diet, lifestyle and chronic disease. In our 1-hour conversation, we speak about 3 main topics. Sports performance and plant based nutrition, transitioning to a PB diet and myths and misconceptions about plant-based lifestyles. I get particularly excited when a doctor refers another doctor and says “This guys good”, which is exactly what happened here, so I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did, on Episode 35 with Dr. Stephan Esser. I’m very excited to welcome a new patron family and newest members to the board of directors, Erik and Mollie Walnum from the great state of Montana. I’ve known Erik for a period of time through Instagram. He and his wife are passionately plant-based and are trying to encourage change. And their starting with their local school, trying to make lunches healthier and teach kids what it means to eat and live a healthy life. Big thank you to Erik and Mollie for your support, I really appreciate it. Until next episode, which if you didn’t realize comes out every other Saturday, Keep eating more plants, continue to be respectful ambassadors for this lifestyle, and stay healthy.