Family Medicine/Lifestyle Medicine MD
Plant-based diets & deprescribing
Longevity & chronic disease prevention
Wife & mother of 5 Health & Wellness Website
11/19/2025
Something new that I recently learned at the PlantStrong retreat!
Did you know your mouthwash might be messing with your nitric oxide levels?
Nitric oxide (NO) is a powerful molecule that helps keep your blood vessels relaxed and your blood pressure healthy. Your body makes a lot of it through good oral bacteria… the same bacteria that many antiseptic mouthwashes wipe out.
When we use strong antibacterial mouthwash daily, we can reduce those bacteria → lower nitric oxide → higher blood pressure and reduced cardiovascular protection.
Better options:
🦷 Stick with the old fashioned toothbrush
🥗 Eat leafy greens (your body converts their nitrates into nitric oxide!)
💧 Rinse with water after meals instead of antiseptic mouthwash
❤️ Save strong mouthwash for when your dentist actually recommends it
Your mouth isn’t meant to be sterile; it’s meant to be balanced.
Your microbiome is part of your cardiometabolic health!
- Dr. Beth
Rip Esselstyn ripesselstyn goplantstrong
11/18/2025
Sunflower Pasta Salad 🌻
1 box whole wheat pasta, cooked
Lots of veggies chopped:
Celery
Cucumber 🥒
Red paper 🌶️
Tomato 🍅
Chickpeas
Red onion (I didn’t have on hand!) 🧅
Sunflower Seed Ranch Dressing
Blend together:
- 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
- ¾ cup water (add more to thin)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- a few cloves of garlic, chopped
- ½ tsp salt, or to taste
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard (I always use extra in my sauces!)
Mix and enjoy! As you know, there is nothing I love more than a one pot meal that covers all the bases… Whole grain, bean, and lots of veggies! Plus, kids love pasta, so I know there won’t be any resistance!
Recipe inspired by one of my Pear Down members!
Join us if you haven’t yet! www.Skool.com/pear-down
😋
11/18/2025
Tonight! An inspiring discussion with Dan Haas OD. Hope you can join!
It’s fun to work in the office and hear everyone’s different stories. What inspired you to adopt a more plant-based eating style? 🌱
11/14/2025
My local people! If you haven’t checked out Asia Pacific on Pleasanburg… add it to your list! 🍲
Noodles, tofu, and a ton of veggies. 😋
Plus the grocery has those Japanese sweet potatoes, which are hard to find and so delicious!
11/13/2025
What’s on the menu for Thanksgiving this year? Time to start planning! 🍛🥧🥦🥕
Sweet potato dish here looks great, although I’m not sure about the raw oats next to it. 🤔
11/11/2025
Nothing I love more than a double batch of whole wheat pasta… one pot, tons of flavor, and plenty of veggies! 🌱
This Sesame Broccoli Noodle dish from the Fiber Fueled Cookbook packs 10 different plants into a single pot (…although I’m not sure if the sauce counts separately since I used a blender 🤔 ).
Simple. Satisfying. Plant-powered. Plenty for dinner and next-day lunches. 💚
11/06/2025
What’s one piece of health advice you’d give your past self, and why?
For me, it would be this: don’t underestimate walking. 🚶♀️ It’s powerful for both body and mind, lowering stress, boosting mood, and improving blood pressure and blood sugar. “Exercise” doesn’t have to happen in a gym. Every bit of movement counts. 🌳
11/05/2025
Deprescribing isn’t about ditching every medication. It’s about using lifestyle and evidence to reach the lowest effective dose that supports true health. 🌿
11/04/2025
🍫 Outrageous Black Bean Brownies 🍫
Fudgy and rich. No one will guess they’re made with black beans!
You’ll need:
• 1 can black beans (rinsed)
• 1½ cups date paste
• ¾ cup plant milk
• 1 tsp vanilla bean powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ¾ cup rolled oats
• optional: 1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips or ½ cup chopped raw pistachios or walnuts
Blend everything until smooth, pour into a 10″ square baking pan, top with chocolate chips/nuts if desired, and bake 30–35 min at 350°F. Cool completely before cutting.
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I am a Family Medicine/Lifestyle Medicine physician with Greenville Health System in Greenville, SC. Originally from Acton, MA, I was a figure skater growing up, and became interested in nutrition as a means of optimizing performance. I then moved on to study biomedical engineering at University of Virginia. It wasn’t until my medical training that I made nutrition my main focus, and dedicated my elective time to working with various Lifestyle Medicine doctors around the U.S., including John McDougall MD, Neal Barnard MD, Ron Weiss MD, and Caldwell Esselstyn MD. After these experiences, I had no doubt that Lifestyle Medicine is the key to addressing our chronic disease. I thought I was giving up engineering when I switched to medicine, but in fact, Lifestyle Medicine is engineering. We are reframing the question. Rather than asking “how do we treat the symptoms?”, we must ask why the disease state developed in the first place, our root cause analysis. I am a clinical assistant professor at USC School of Medicine Greenville, a leader of the Lifestyle Medicine Education Collaborative, and an active member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
WHAT IS LIFESTYLE MEDICINE?
Lifestyle Medicine is the medical subspecialty focused on using lifestyle modalities to prevent and reverse chronic disease. Why, today, is healthcare so focused on "controlling" disease and treating symptoms, rather than addressing the root cause of disease, and reversing the process entirely? Heart disease, diabetes, and cancer are all prime examples. Lifestyle changes - in particular, a move to a more plant-based diet - are far more powerful than any pharmacotherapy for managing chronic disease and ensuring long term health. We don't "need more research"; we need to start applying what we already know to our communities.
WHAT IS A WHOLE FOODS PLANT-BASED DIET?
“Whole foods” means unprocessed or minimally processed foods, as they exist in nature, i.e. single-ingredient foods. Strict individuals will avoid added salt, sugar, and oil as well.
“Plant-based” in its broadest interpretation means >95% of calories coming from plant-based foods: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. However, most individuals who follow a plant-based diet aim for 100% in order to maximize potential health benefits.
This diet has been shown to prevent, slow, and in many cases reverses chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, etc.
APPOINTMENTS
Dual board certified in Family Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine, with a focus on dietary prevention and reversal of disease. If interested in the latter, please specify that you are a "Lifestyle Medicine" patient when calling.
GHS Greenville Family Medicine
2A Cleveland Ct.
Greenville, SC 29607
We accept insurance. Appointments: 864-271-7761, option 1.
