How to Eat Well According to the Dean Ornish Diet

Video Transcript

"My name is Christine Marquette and I'm a registered dietitian with the Austin Regional Clinic and I'm going to talk to you about how to eat well with the Dean Ornish Diet. Dean Ornish is a doctor who became very famous several years ago when he publish a book that was very beneficial for lowering heart disease. In his particular diet the goal is to limit your total fat to less than ten percent of your total calories. Now to do that, your fat has to primarily vegetarian you have to really limit your choices of meats because they do have a lot of fat however by the same token you have eat a limit of fat sources of fats including nuts and seeds because it is such a low fat diet. You can include them but in very small amounts. So the primary foods in this particular eating plan are fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains with very limited amounts of avocados, nuts, seeds, or even meat. Very, very small portions of meat. This diet is a very difficult diet for the majority of people because again you are restricting your fat to such a low percentage that it can be hard to maintain. It has been shown to show benefits in reducing heart disease but it is a very difficult diet for the majority of people to stay on long term. Some tips to take from this eating plan. Make sure you do include a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. When you are choosing grains make sure they are whole grain items things like brown rice, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, whole grain breads all of those options are very high in fiber. Can also choose lean protein sources such as beans or other lagoons. You can also still include some nuts and seeds just try to limit your portion size to no more than a quarter cup each time you're eating them. When you're choosing meat, choose the leanest varieties you can fish, chicken, lean cuts of beef or pork. Just really trim off all that visible fat and avoid the really fatty cuts of meat like bacon and sausage. So those are a few tips to take from the Dean Ornish Diet to try and eat healthy."