"Heart Disease Risk and Plant-Based Diet" with Brian Asbill, MD

Brian Asbill, MD is originally from Columbia, SC.  He graduated cum laude from Davidson College in 1990 with a BS (Biology major), and received the MD degree from the Medical University of SC (valedictorian) in 1994. Dr. Asbill completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine (and met his wife) at University of Virginia in 1997, completed his cardiology fellowship training at MUSC in 2001 and subsequently joined Asheville Cardiology Associates where he served as an invasive, non-interventional cardiologist until 2020.

While working at ACA, he additionally completed board certification in clinical lipidology in 2008, received his certificate in plant-based nutrition from eCornell in 2013 and completed board certification in lifestyle medicine in 2017.

Dr. Asbill co-founded Ruckus Health in 2020 whose vision it is to support people holistically in uncovering their innate ability to live in physical, mental, emotional and spiritual balance.  Also serves as the medical director of the cardiac rehab program for Mission Health and the medical director for the Plantstrong immersion programs. 

Dr. Asbill is married with two boys, ages 20 and 16.  Enjoys cooking (and eating), reading, hiking and spending as much time outside as possible.  

Currently he serves as the medical director of the cardiac rehabilitation program for Mission Health and has also co-founded Ruckus Health whose vision is “To support people holistically in uncovering their innate ability to live in emotional, mental, physical and spiritual balance.”

Dr. Asbill is a return guest (first appearance Episode 45, where we talked about reversal of cardiovascular disease). Today we talk about heart health risk and plant-based diet. First, what are the assessment methods of heart health and heart disease risks? Dr. Asbill talks about the ASCVD and MESA scores, their reliability and value. We discuss the role of statins, and how they compare to dietary interventions such as switching to plant-based diet. Dr. Asbill explains calcium scores, cholesterol and other measure of heart health. We also discuss the role of exercise and the impact of stress. Tune in to learn more!

Links to explore:

• ruckus health
• Previous Episode of The Whole Health Cure: Episode 45
• Mission Health Website
• Plant-Based Prevention of Disease
• Plantstrong Podcast

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