- Dr. Dean Ornish has worked for the last 30 years on research to prove that healthy lifestyle choices not only prevent, but also reverse heart disease. He is the founder of the Preventative Medicine Research Institute (see link below) and a clinical professor of medicine at University of California, San Francisco. His success with this research led to Medicare paying for clients to participate in his program. His research suggests that certain lifestyle choices can "turn on" genes that prevent disease an "turn off" genes that promote disease. He is the author of 6 books and has been published in many medical journals.
- Dean Ornish's program groups food into a spectrum of five categories. When first starting the program, you rate yourself on the spectrum based on your current food choices. The goal is to move to eating foods from level one. Group one foods consist of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, soy products, and healthy fats and carbs. It advocates a balance of different foods and controlling portion size. These foods should also be as close as possible to their natural state. One main benefit of this program is that it is not a diet. Diets are programs that people often follow for a short time, and then return to normal eating. Unfortunately for most people, as soon as they go off the diet, old health problems just return. In contrast, Dr. Ornish's plan is a food program that you will follow for the rest of your life to remain healthy and reduce your risk of disease.
- Regular exercise like the types recommended in Dean Ornish's program has been shown to play a large role in the prevention and management of heart disease. On this program you are encouraged to do moderate aerobic exercise for at least 30 minutes 3 to 5 days per week. This needs to be balanced with a full body strength training program 2 to 3 days per week. An appropriate level of exercise has been shown to improve the strength and functioning of your heart. It lowers blood pressure and cholesterol levels, keeping your blood vessels clear and free of plaque buildup. It also helps you lose weight.
- Smoking increases your risk of developing fatty deposits in your arteries, which is the major cause of atherosclerosis, the leading cause of heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, smoking raises your blood pressure, increases the tendency for the blood to clot and decreases exercise tolerance. It has also been shown to lower your levels of good cholesterol.
- Stress has been linked to heart disease. Feeling stressed can lead to overeating, drinking and smoking, all of which can negatively affect your health. If you constantly feel under stress, your body responds by elevating you heart rate and blood pressure. If this occurs over a long period, your heart muscle will become overworked. Learning to relax and reduce stress through the practice of yoga and meditation, can help you to manage the symptoms of heart disease. According to studies done at Yale University, yoga helped to improve heart health in both healthy individuals and those who had heart disease (see link below).
