Photo Credit: Dr. Dean Ornish
Few names in health and wellness have had the staying power of Dr. Dean Ornish. With a litany of accolades too vast to name here and fans including past U.S. presidents, celebrities, and ordinary folks, Ornish pioneered what has become the revolutionary field of lifestyle medicine. While becoming more accepted today, his approach of using lifestyle changes to treat patients (initially with chronic heart disease) without medication or surgery was mostly unheard of 40 years ago. Although he has had some detractors in the past debating his science and brand of nutrition, he has stayed on course, driven by a broader mission and passion for reaching as many individuals as possible to prevent and reverse chronic disease.
Thanks to a collective body of evidence-based research, Ornish succeeded in getting Medicare and insurance companies to cover his program. He holds it at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito and distributes through select physician practices and hospitals nationwide. This month, the program comes directly to you as Random House/Ballantine Books releases his new book UnDo It! written in collaboration with his wife Anne Ornish whose contributions are informative and integral. Recognized by Forbes as one of the world’s seven most influential teachers, Dr. Ornish provides a step-by-step in-depth and comprehensive account of how-to follow his lifestyle medicine program. An important theme throughout is life balance with deep dives focused in four key areas: eat well, move more, stress less, and love more.
The book’s depth and detail is impressive—it’s complete with easy-to-understand scientific explanations of leading areas discussed in health today, lots of recipes for the cooks and foodies including shopping lists and resources, and suggestions on supplements (it’s a misconception that he is completely no fat as there are suggestions for healthy fats such as nuts and Omega-3s). Plus, you’ll find recommendations on exercises, meditation, and relaxation and breathing techniques complete with detailed instructions. There are also strategies for bringing in more love and intimacy. The book is a surround-sound prescription for healthy living, healing, and longevity, and, if needed, reversing chronic disease.
Even if you are not committed to a whole-food plant-based diet as Dr. Ornish strongly advocates, there is a take-a-way here for every reader seeking to understand wellness and how to lead a more balanced life in a busy world. For those who might not have followed the healthiest of lifestyles in the past, Dr. Ornish and Anne insist it’s not too late. The Ornishs are hugely optimistic about the possibility of reversal of chronic states and share anecdotes of folks who have visited death’s door only to spring back and enjoy a productive life.
Photo Credit: Dr. Dean Ornish
Many teachers have an insatiable appetite for continual learning and study themselves. So, it was not surprising when Dr. Ornish having just completed this vast manual for living, over dinner recently proceeded to enthusiastically tell me about his new research pursuits focused on lifestyle changes and reversing Alzheimer’s. It sounds like we will hear a lot more from the Ornishs.
Learn more here: https://www.ornish.com/undo-it/
