ORNISH DIET
Dr. Dean Ornish authored the diet book, “Eat More Weigh Less” using his expertise in heart disease to create a low-fat and heart-healthy diet. He is well-known in the medical community because of his success with non-surgical heart blockage reversal. His entire health and diet plan can be found online at webmd.com. He recommends exercise and multivitamins, such as B, Omegas, Folic Acid, C, E, and Selenium to complement his health program.
Foods Emphasized: Fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, and non-fat dairy
Foods Discouraged: Meats, oils, avocadoes, nuts, and alcohol
Premise and Guidelines: Dean Ornish was concerned with creating a heart-friendly diet. This low-fat, high carbohydrate diet should only include 10% or less fat as part of your total caloric intake. The majority of the food choices on this diet are vegetarian-based with plentiful whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, while meats and nuts are not recommended.
This diet is based on the premise that fat causes us to be fat because it contains more calories per gram than carbohydrates or protein. Therefore, it should be allowed only in limited amounts as part of a diet plan. Foods are categorized as banned foods, foods to be eaten within moderation and foods to be eaten freely. Ornish believes that following this diet not only helps with losing weight, but provides essential benefits to our general health.
Ornish is well-supported in the medical community for his sensible approach to health maintenance. Ornish's plan is simple: eating a high-fiber, low-fat vegetarian diet will help you stay healthy. However, fat is still an essential and healthy part of a healthy diet. We need to remember to only consume fats that are heart-healthy. Ornish's health regimen does eliminate many protein sources including meat and eggs, because of their fat content. A better suggestion might be to eliminate saturated fats and trans-fats from your diet and keep modest amounts of heart-healthy fats such as olive oil, avocadoes and nuts!