Plant Strong in Black Mountain North Carolina

April 19-24, 2026                                                   Most Recent Posts:
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In late April I attended a retreat put on by the Esselstyn Family Foundation and Plant Strong based on the work of physician Caldwell Esselstyn at the Cleveland Clinic.   I had read his book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease some years ago and when following his protocol was able to reduce my Lipid Levels significantly and avoid medication. 

But then David got sick, things got difficult and I wasn’t able to maintain my numbers. Like many people, I took what seemed like the easier way with medication.   But now I’d like to get off the statins if I can and as far as I know, Dr. Esselstyn is the only one who has done research showing heart disease is reversible. .  I highly recommend his book and this PBS program.

It was a 6 day extremely well organized and presented retreat which included all meals so we could see how easy it is to eat this way.  Every day there were multiple exercise possibilities, hikes, yoga, fitness workouts.  The center of the program was the presentations of evidence based whys and how-tos.  These were given by physicians, psychiatrists, nutritionists, Esselstyn family members who have lived this life their entire lives and others whose stories of amazing change by becoming “Plant Strong” were incredible.

Here are some highlights of my 5 days and 5 nights at the gorgeous YMCA Retreat Center in Black Mountain North Carolina shown above on the left and at the end of this post..

Day 1

Meeting Fellow Participants.  Some had come from great distances, the west coast and Canada.

Not a great shot of the gorgeous dining area with round tables seating 6 so that we could ideally have meals with a different set of people each meal, each day   Check out the view.  I wish it were as boldly colorful in this picture as it was in person.

Cafeteria style dining except this food is Plant Strong with no SOS (sugar, oil or salt)

Many interesting choices every day.

I met Sky (close right)  from Tennessee on my first day and we had so much in common it was amazing.  We became good friends and keep in touch with each other nearly daily now.

The food was delicious and so filling.  We were encouraged to eat as much as we wanted despite the fact that many  people were here to lose weight which they did.

Rip Esselstyn (John Peter Esselstyn) talks about his experience asa  former professional Tri Athlete and then firefighter who changed the lives of the men in his firehouse by changing the way they ate and changed his own life publishing a best selling book about it.  The story in the book,  The Engine 2 Diet,  is very inspiring.  He went on to found the company Plant Strong which with the Esselstyn Family Foundation put on this retreat.

There were 96 participants from the US and Canada.  Some in their 30’s, some in their 80’s.

Day 2

The retreat center had been a serious victim of the devastation in the North Carolina Mountains from Hurricane Helene in late September of 2024.  Seeing the photos on display in the lobby, I found it amazing that they had come so far in a year and a half.

This is the perfect time to come to the North Carolina mountains to enjoy the beautiful rhododendron.

At 7am I took an excellent yoga class, then we checked out the menu for the day, had a delicious breakfast and the presentations began.

Today’s were The Seven Pillars of PLANTSTRONG Living and where you Stand”  at 9am.  I’ve included some of what I thought were the most interesting slides.

One Tablespoon of oil – butter, margarine, olive oil……..   Oil is 100% fat.

Of course you won’t eat a pound of any of these but comparatively even 6 oz is markedly different.

“Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease:  The Mechanism Explained” by Dr. Brian Asbill at 10:45.

At noon was a cooking demonstration by the multi cookbook author Jane Esselstyn:  Breakfasts of Champions followed of course by lunch since that made us all hungry.

After lunch, Dr. Elizabeth Winings talked about the Mind-Mood-Food connection.  the Brain on Plants.  SO interesting I took no pictures unfortunately.

At 3pm there was free time or planned hikes, pickleball, Restorative Yoga.

After dinner Adam Sud presented “From Pills to Plants: What Real Change Looks Like” which was his story of  depression, obesity, addiction, near suicide and recovery.  He changed his entire life after being hospitalized and going on a plant based diet upon release.  A Powerful and amazing story.  I am so sorry I did not get a picture of the slide he showed of himself at 350 pounds along with what he looks like now.  (picture below).   There are few things more powerful than a true life story.

The evening closed with a guided meditation.

Day 3

The format of the remaining days was the same – exercise, breakfast, 2 presentations, cooking demo, lunch, afternoon presentations, free time, dinner, evening presentation and guided meditation.

You would think so many presentations would be over kill but it really wasn’t.  They were all so amazingly interesting.

Presentation Topics for Day 3 were

T-Bones to Tofu: The Engine 2 Story – Rip Esselstyn

Sensation vs Education: How to Evaluate Nutrition Claims in a World of Noise-Adam Sud

The Psychology of Plant-Based Eating  Brian Hart

The Pleasure Trap – Why Change Feels hard  Dr. Doug Lisle

The evidence of the connections between the food we eat and all major western diseases including Alzheimers and Demntia was quite sobering.

And of course everybody’s favorite – cooking with Jane.   While we all really wish we could just stay here and have this amazing food prepared for us, we have to go home and do it ourselves.  Jane shows us how easy it is.

Day 4

We had 4 more interesting lectures, Jane’s Cooking Demo of her favorite dinners

And what was billed as a Top Secret Celebrity Surprise

We watched the video of 90 year old Ann Esselstyn breaking the Guinness Book of world Records for the dead hang.   Really incredible.  Have you ever tried to dead hang for even 15 seconds?   I wish they had had a bar for us to try and see just how difficult it is.  Ann is Caldwell Esselstyn’s wife and she has been Plant Strong for nearly 50 years.

Day 5

This was the last full day of the retreat. 

We learned how to really read food labels designed by corporations to confuse us,

We talked about Strategies for returning home where not everyone eats this way and almost no restaurants cook this way.   

We watched How Not to Die Documentary which I definitely recommend if you haven’t seen it.   It’s available on U-Tube and numerous other places.

The day closed with a “Talent Show”.   Some of it was really hilarious but there were also some actually talented people.

This was such a fantastic experience, so well planned and executed.  I would love to do it again to be with such a wonderful group of people.

DAY 6

This was a half day with a group hike, breakfast and a closing gathering.

In the closing circle, we were all given bracelets to remind us to remain
PLANT STRONG and say KALE YES!     
I love it.

And what a perfect place for a retreat.   Hats off to the Esselstyn foundation and Plant Strong.   They even gave us each a bag lunch for our trip home.