Dean Ornish is a professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and a practicing physician. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas, Austin, then attended Baylor College of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. He received further medical training at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is the founder and president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute located in Sausalito, California.
While Dr. Ornish was a medical student he became interested in heart disease. In 1978 he began doing research on patients with coronary artery disease (a common form of heart disease). He created a diet that was very low in fat and completely vegetarian and studied its effects on the symptoms experienced by these patients. The patients also learned a variety of stress reduction techniques. He discovered that for many patients this diet caused a significant lessening of their symptoms. This was the beginning of Dr. Ornish’s research on the effects of low fat, low or no-meat diets on weight loss, health, and heart disease. This original diet is the basis for his Eat More, Weigh Less diet, as well as his other related diets.
Over the years, Dr. Ornish has published many different books and articles, and has recommended diets with many different names. All his diets revolve around the same basic principles, with additions or changes in emphasis, based on the goal that the diet is intended to achieve. For example, Dr. Ornish’s heart disease prevention diet allows small amounts of lean meat or fish, while his heart disease reversal diet is completely vegetarian.
Dr. Ornish presents his Eat More, Weigh Less diet as more of a spectrum of choices than a set of hard and fast rules. He believes that because people have many different goals, from moderate weight loss to actual heart disease reversal, no one set of dietary rules will fit everyone. He also emphasizes overall lifestyle change, not just through what a person eats but also through stress reduction, moderate exercise, and if applicable, quitting smoking.
The main component of the Dr. Ornish diet is eating more vegetable products and many fewer meat products. For people trying to lose moderate amounts of weight this may mean eating small amounts of lean chicken or fish as well as some skim milk or egg whites. For those with more ambitious goals, the diet may be almost completely vegan (containing no meat or animal products at all).
The diet is also extremely low in fat, with fewer than 10% of calories coming from fat. The strictest forms of the diet do not allow any nuts, seeds, or avocados. The only oil Dr. Ornish allows is a small amount of fish oil.
each day because some research has shown it to be beneficial and may help prevent heart attack.
Foods that are encouraged include nearly all fruit and vegetable products. Especially recommended are leafy greens, soy products, and whole grains. Whole grains contain many vitamins and minerals that are removed when these grains are processed. Whole grains include things such as brown rice, oat bran, and wheat bran. They are broken down by the body more slowly than processed grains, meaning that energy is released more slowly and is available for a longer period of time.
A portion of food made up of processed foods and animal products usually contains many more calories and fat than a similarly sized portion consisting mainly of vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and soy. This means that a person can eat a larger quantity of food while still consuming fewer calories and fat if the foods are chosen correctly. This is the key to the idea that on Dr. Ornish’s diet a person may be able to actually eat more and still lose weight. Eating more foods low in caloric density (calories per quantity) means the stomach is fuller and helps prevent feelings of hunger.
Dr. Ornish’s diet does not just focus on food. It also makes recommendations for other lifestyle changes. He recommends moderate exercise of 20 to 30 minutes daily of at least a moderate walking pace. Dr. Ornish also suggests making small changes throughout the day to get more exercise, such as parking a few spaces further from the door, or even just walking up or down the stairs instead of taking the elevator. This kind of daily exercise adds up and is recommended over working out strenuously only occasionally.
Stress-reduction techniques are an important part of the total lifestyle plan. Dr. Ornish contends that doing even a few minutes of yoga, deep breathing, or meditation each day can have many positive effects on both the body and mind. Dr. Ornish also highly recommends that individuals quit smoking.
