ornish diet

Ornish diet, also known as Eat More, Weigh Less diet, is created by Dr. Dean Ornish. He is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of California and is the founder of the non-profit Preventative Medicine Research Institute in California (PMRI 2010). He has written several books in which the two best-selling novels are Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease, and Eat More, Weigh Less: Dr. Dean Ornish's Life Choice Program for Losing Weight Safely While Eating Abundantly. Those books are long-standing New York Times bestseller. As Dr. Ornish continuously contributes to the medical field, he has received several awards, including the Jan J. Kellermann Memorial Award for distinguished contribution in the field of cardiovascular disease prevention from the International Academy of Cardiology, the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement, and the Linus Pauling Award from the Institute for Functional Medicine (PMRI 2010).

Dr. Ornish pointed out that diabetes and other diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and obesity are all preventable and reversible. He claimed that comprehensive lifestyle changes can begin to reverse severe coronary heart disease and prostate cancer without drugs or surgery and this has been implemented in some medical care nowadays. Comprehensive lifestyle changes in the Ornish program involves the combination of a good diet, moderate aerobic exercise, stress reduction practices such as yoga, strong personal relationships, smoking cessation, and nutritional supplementation (Ornish 1996).

The main concern of Ornish diet will not only help individuals to lose weight but also will help them to stay healthy (Dewell and Ornish 2007). Basically, Ornish diet is a high-carbohydrate, low-fat vegetarian diet. An average daily caloric intake is about 1,500 kcal where 70% of total energy from carbohydrate, 20% of total energy intake from protein sources, and 10% fat (with a ratio of polyunsaturated fat to saturated fat that is greater than one) (Ornish 1996). Instead of restricting calories intake, the diet restricts the consumption of both animal and vegetable fats as well as sugars. The fat recommendation is much lower than what is recommended by the American Heart Association, which recommends up to 30% of calories from fat. This is because the goal of Ornish dietary plan is to eliminate cholesterol and saturated fats in order to achieve weight loss and improve health without feelings of hunger and deprivation (Ornish 1996).