Dean Ornish Tips to Reverse Heart Disease

There has been a lot of controversy lately over whether or not it is healthy to eat a diet that is high in saturated fats, including butter and steak.  While some diet gurus, such as Dr. Atkins and Nina Teicholz, have insisted that people can lead a healthy life while eating a high fat, meat-based diet, renowned cardiologist Dr. Dean Ornish has touted his more austere diet regimen for decades and has been able to show impressive results.

Benefits of the Dean Ornish Diet and Lifestyle

In the June, 2014 AARP Bulletin, the "Your Health" column discussed the results of recent research that was reported in the journal Lancet Oncology which showed that men who were on the Dean Ornish regimen increased the length of the telemeres, the DNA on chromosomes that regulates how fast your cells are aging.  The longer your telemeres, the longer you are likely to live.  Until recently, scientists did not believe that anything could be done to make your telemeres longer.  This is the first research to prove that aging can be reversed on the cellular level and lives can be extended.

In other research, the Ornish program has also been shown to reverse type-2 diabetes, heart disease and some early stage cases of prostate cancer.

The most significant effect of the program has been the one it has had on heart disease.  The results are so dramatic that Medicare and some other health insurance plans will pay for patients to go through the Ornish 72-hour lifestyle intervention program.  Blue Cross/Blue Shield estimates that they save about $17,600 over a three year period on the medical care of every heart disease patient that has gone through the program.

Basics of the Dean Ornish Program

If you wish to try to change your own lifestyle so that it conforms more closely to what Dean Ornish recommends, here are the basics of the program:

Eat a plant based diet that is low in sugar
No more than 10% of your calories should be from fat
Exercise at least 30 minutes a day
Take the stairs when you can
Accept that some days it will be easier to stick with the program than others
Eat mindfully - Pay attention to what you are eating
Practice Yoga or Meditate - Even if it is just a few minutes a day
Build connections to your family and friends
Volunteer to help others - You will feel better about yourself

In other words: slow down, get a little exercise, reduce your stress through yoga or meditation, spend time with friends, help others, eat less meat and more fruits and vegetables.

Those are the keys to a longer, healthier life.

If you want to know more about the Dean Ornish program, you may also want to order his book from Amazon using this link:  Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease.

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