I became interested in plant-based nutrition six years ago after my youngest Brother, David died of an MI. Shortly after that I read an article in the New York Times by Michael Ozner MD regarding excess coronary care. In that article, he discussed how one meal affects our blood vessel health for hours. I then began to read more on this topic and the idea of a plant-based diet to not only prevent, but also treat heart disease kept cropping up. Eventually, I discovered Dr. Esselstyn’s program at the Cleveland Clinic. He graciously invited me to attend his program. After changing to a plant-based diet, I lost 35 lbs and was able to stop my statin drug. My cholesterol fell to 130. This experience has opened my eyes to the role diet plays in the rheumatic diseases. There is a robust literature enumerating how diet and other lifestyle factors affect inflammation. Thus, I have incorporated lifestyle medicine into my medical practice, Harbor Arthritis Center PC (www.harborarthritis.com).