Dean Ormish's most popular book, is the best investment a person with heart disease can do.
I recommended this book and others by Dean Ormish for healthy people and people with risk of heart disease. All the technics and suggestions have been proven effective in scientific trials worldwide.
I do want to add that if you have heart disease you should be in a Cardiac Rehabilitation Program to benefit from the ideas of this book.

I bought this book after having 5 way bypass surgery in 2001. This book encouraged me to change my diet and develop an exercise program. Now, seven years later, I am 50 pounds lighter, my LDL cholesterol is ~80 and I run 5K's at 61 years of age. I'm in the best shape I've been in in 30 years. It would have been nice to have read this book before I had surgery so I could have avoided the surgery, but I seldom do things until I am really motivated.

This is a great book. Everything everyone should know to add extra years to their life. Very well written and a book that we can all understand.

Yikes! What is about Dr. Ornish that makes reviewers run on so? I've never read such long vehement, screeds, pro and con. We bought this book to help us lower a slightly elevated "bad" cholesterol and tryglyceride problem in the family, and it has done that. IMHO, recipes contain a little too soy for post-menopausal women, but an informed reader need not work in a vacuum. Use common sense and modify the diet as needed. Add cold water fish, for example. Expect a good outcome even if you adopt only 80% of Ornish's menu.

I wish I had followed this book when I had my first heart attack in 1989. It's good, well-written, easy to understand. Highly recommend it.

I purchased this after starting a copy a Dr. friend loaned me. Really liked the orignal book's content and found very helpful. This copy however is half the origional's size,vary hard to read,and I felt compermised what I belived I was ordering.

I am so glad to have gotten this book! My mother has survived both a heart attack and a stroke leaving her in my care. I have had chest pains and went to the doctor for him to tell me that I am following in her footsteps. Since using this book both my mother and I as well as my daughter have been using the diet and exercise plans and meditate and do Yoga and we have never felt better. It is simple and easy to follow. Meat=Bad SatFats=Bad and Oils=Bad.....simply don't buy them anymore and it won't be such a tough problem. This book should be placed in every school in America to teach our children how to take care of themselves so that they do not end up with arteries as clogged as our generations have due to not being informed of what the right foods are to eat and what foods to stay away from. We used to eat a lot of meat without even knowing what it was doing to us inside. Now we eat veggies and fruit and don't miss the meat at all. And the real plus is my daughter is learning how to pick the right foods from a young age to protect her health while she grows up. I plan to live over 100 years of age and now this may just become a reality for me! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

I am a 46 year old dentist. I worked as a lab tech in a cardiology lab at Washington University in St. Louis as an undergraduate. While there I published two abstracts, as first author, in the American Journal of Cardiology in 1980 & '81. All this does not make me an expert by any stretch of the imagination. However I do hold more knowledge about the science relating to the ornish diet than most people not involved in the field of healthcare. The professor, Dr. H, I worked under in St. Louis often talked about his days of residency, 30 years earlier, at a large hospital in Mexico. Whenever a patient experienced a heart attach, all the residents were called in to observe because it was such a rare occurance. Dr. H said that he made similar observations in Asia. Yet by the time I met Dr. H heart attacks had become routine events in the hospitals where he previously worked. Dr. H firmly believed that the single overwhelming factor of diet caused this dramatic shift from rare to frequent cardiac arrests in those populations. The people there had shifted from very low fat, high complex carb, near-vegetarian diets to a more carnivorous, high fat, western-style diet. Then the arteries started clogging. When I realized that my own total cholesterol was extremely high, I became quite concerned. My physician prescribed Lipitor. I did not like the side effects, and, generally, I dislike taking any medication. So I looked for a diet that resembled that described by Dr. H. Dr. Ornishes diet (as well as that of John McDougall) fit the bill. After 2 months on the Ornish diet my total cholestrol dropped from 310 to 156. After 6 months I had lost weight from 187 lbs. to 154 lbs. and I felt great. I have read some of the concerns about risks involved in the Ornish diet. Frankly, I find them absurd. Were you worried about the risks of eating chicken, beef, fried foods, sauteed foods? Did you ever eat fast food? I think some folks may have analysis paralysis because the Ornish diet is unsual. That's understandable. But get over it. This diet will not only prolong your life, it will prolong your Healthy life. Enjoy the foods; become creative in the kitchen; set yourself free from the horrible diets we've been sold all our lives.

This program works as my father is living proof. You have to be very dedicated to be able to follow it. My father refuses to have any kind of surgery, meds etc and has followed Dr Ornishs program in this book and has lost weight, and his cholesterol is down and he feels great. His Dr says to keep doing what he is doing.

Dr Ornish just skips over mountains of research on the healing benefits of various oils and essential fatty oils.He substitues his own "clinical trials" for independent research.I will wait for the independent research to come out before I make an evaluation of his diet.

I am unhappy to report that the presentation of Dr. Ornish's book makes it impossible to absorb the information.

The font in the paperback is uncomfortably small, and the typesetting is scrunched leaving minimal space, making it impossible for the eye to rest comfortably and stay with the text.

Consequently it is a frustrating read and difficult for the reader to take advantage of Dr. Orinish's expertise.

Had I been forewarned I would not have purchased this edition.

I purchased this book in Spring of 2004 for my father who had just suffered from a moderate heart attack and he started following the diet almost immediately; within a year his arteries were completely free of any signs of buildup. His cardiologist who had never even mentioned a modification to his diet was impressed and told him that most people aren't willing to change their eating habits that much. He is currently healthier than ever and no longer takes any prescription medications, only daily vitamin E to keep his blood thin as well as "regular" vitamin and mineral supplementation. I would suggest this book to anyone who wants to reverse their heart disease in a non-traditional way!

I purchased this book in Spring of 2004 for my father who had just suffered from a moderate heart attack and he started following the diet almost immediately; within a year his arteries were completely free of any signs of buildup. His cardiologist who had never even mentioned a modification to his diet was impressed and told him that most people aren't willing to change their eating habits that much. He is currently healthier than ever and no longer takes any prescription medications, only daily vitamin E to keep his blood thin as well as "regular" vitamin and mineral supplementation. I would suggest this book to anyone who wants to reverse their heart disease in a non-traditional way!

Dr. Ornish's excellent book is readable, entertaining, and full of valuable information on how to prevent heart disease.

I got this book when I was facing by-pass surgery and was looking for the answers to long term healing. I beleive that this book has lots of great wisdom and sage advice. It is well worth your time reading it from cover to cover several times. Keep it on our personal book shlef for ready reference.

Drugs and operations are over used and can be unhealthy!

Looking at other reviews, I see a lot of critics of the Ornish diet; however, it certainly seems as if Dr. Ornish presents a lot of data to document the results and support the promotion of the Ornish diet. However, it's not just about diet, it's about life-style. That said, I would suggest reading Dr. Dean Ornish's book and also would strongly suggest reading Dr. Julian Whitaker's book on reversing heart disease. I think that the Whitaker book provides a much more practical view and also displays what may be a good diet (and life-style, etc) for (1) a healthy person that wants to prevent possibility of heart disease, referred to in the book as a "preventative" approach, and (2) a person who has heart disease and needs a "reversal" approach. Distinguishing between preventative and reversal is important because if reversal is the goal, Dr. Ornish's book is an eye-opener and brings focus on the level of discipline and the focus required for a "reversal" diet and life-style.

Dr. Dean Ornish's prescription for overall health and well-being includes a dose of diet, exercise, meditation, and communication. He first began formulating his Open Your Heart program while he was a medical student at Baylor college of Medicine in Texas in the 70's. He truly believes that heart disease can be reversed. In this new book he takes on 'emotional and spiritual' issues. His actual diet recommends avoiding all meats, avocados, olives, nuts, seeds, dairy products (other than egg whites and nonfat dairy products), sugar and simple sugar derivatives (honey, corn syrup, high fructose syrup), alcohol and coffee. He recommends eating beans, legumes, fruits, grains and vegetables.

The main reason he wrote Love & Survival was to show that he is aware that love has the power to heal. He doesn't believe we value them enough in our society. He says: 'When you look at the scientific data, the need for love and intimacy is as important and basic as eating, breathing and sleeping.'

Everyone knows love and intimacy are great, but not many people realize how important they are to our well-being and our basic survival. He recommends spending time with friends and family (and I recommend giving them all a hug every time you see them :). He also recommends that we find a place where we can feel a connection to our community. This could be a community center, a church or synagogue or anyplace where people meet on a regular basis, e.g. clubs, leagues, games.

People who don't draw strength from their religious faith or are not a member of a group of people who meet on a regular basis have seven times the death rate compared to those that did. Now, that is something to think about if you want to extend your life.

Marina Kushner
Author
The Truth About Caffeine: How Companies That Promote It Deceive Us and What We Can Do about It

After my older brother suddenly died of coronary artery disease at age 40 due to genetically high cholesterol, I needed to learn everything possible on the subject so that I could avoid suffering the same fate. I read all the books on the shelf, among them Dr. Ornish's. I disliked this book because it is rather narcissistic and is focused more on Dr. Ornish himself than on educating us about how to avoid heart disease. Take a look at chapter 1 and you'll see what I mean: "I was trained to treat hypertension..."; "I first became interested in conducting research on heart disease in 1975..."; "I began to wonder..."; "I went to the medical library and began reading extensively"; "It seemed like an exciting opportunity, so in 1977 I decided to take a year off..."; "I hadn't had enough clinical experience to be jaded..."; "I was unwittingly giving many of them hope for the first time since their illness had been diagnosed"; "I went back to medical school and graduated in 1980"; "From 1981 to 1984, I completed my internship and medical residency in Boston."; "In July 1984, I moved to San Francisco..." This is just the tedious first six pages. Trust me, it goes on and on like this. Do you want to learn about how the heart works? You'll finally get a few sentences on that subject when you get to page 42, squeezed in between more "I did this and I did that." You'll get a little info on LDL and HDL when you get to page 51. Sure, there is useful information within the 672 pages of this book, but you'll be forced to become an expert on Dr. Ornish and his life story to find it. And remember, this book is more than 15 years old. Perhaps back in 1990 he needed to devote 300 pages to convincing people that he was correct in believing that diet, exercise, and stress affect your risk of heart disease, but that that is common knowledge and not controversial now. The research is far more advanced in today's world. If you are interested in Dr. Ornish personally and the history of the study of heart disease in the 1970s and 1980s, you'll probably enjoy this book. But if you are serious about educating yourself on heart disease and how best to avoid it, I would recommend Dr. Robert Superko's "Before the Heart Attacks : A Revolutionary Approach to Detecting, Preventing, and Even Reversing Heart Disease" (2003) or Dr. Harlan M. Krumholz's "The Expert Guide to Beating Heart Disease: What You Absolutely Must Know" (2005). These books are more up to date and provide far more useful information.

I have been very impressed with this book and am so excited that am recommending it to anyone I meet... there is a wealth of wisdom in this book ; it is a very honest, sincere, wholesome book that can transform our lives irrespective of whether we are heart patients or not.Dr Ornish should be given the award of a "True Humanitarian" for having taken so much effort, dedication, sincerity and pain in studying alternate sciences, experimenting them successfully and opening up his vast expanse of assimilated knowledge by way of a program for the benefit of the entire human race. What is even more commendable is the fact that despite being from the medical profession, Dr Ornish has shown great vision and open mindedness in testing alternate methods that can change our lives ; he throws light into a new art and science of living and must be commended by his honest references to the old Indian practices of Yoga and Vegetarianism. There is man of strong convictions and character who has done great service to humanity by writing this book. I think his book is a masterpiece . From - Darshana Bhatt
I'm at the airport posting this review and looking forward to my long flight now that I have this book. Halfway through I simply cannot put it down. Just like my other book called "The Truth About Caffeine: How Companies That Promote it Deceive Us and What We Can Do About It" My doctor recommended it to all of his patients and I can tell why, its got me off my red bull fix. Available on Amazon so buy it. Oh, gotta run or I'll miss my flight!.

When I follow the diet and work on the other aspects of the program I feel better, lose weight, am happier and have better test results. The book is easy to read and understand. The program is not for the die hard meat lover. It takes commitment to follow. From the reviews I have read and comments from coworkers and friends, it also takes an open mind and balanced attention. I am currently purchasing this book for my adult son. It all depends on what a reader is looking for. Dr. Ornish does not give a quick fix. I am a believer.

Dr. Ornish is a very respectable name in the cardiology field. In my line of work, I look to promote my cardiologists who are based in four major hospitals in the New York City metro area. Dr. Ornish should always be commended for his books. Another cardiologist who is also excellent is Dr. Richard Stein at Beth Israel Medical Center in NY. His new book, "Outliving Heart Disease" is another great read.

It is important to read and reread this book carefully. You may be thinking you are following the diet....but not as carefully as needed. For example, I tended to focus on saturated fat rather than total fat: Ornish limits total fat to about 25-28 grams per day for a 160 lb. person. This means all nuts are out of this diet (nuts range from 14 to 25 grams of total fat per one ounce!) Read over labels carefully: a low fat imitation butter product may be 1 gram of saturated fat per tablespoon, but 5 grams of total fat!! Ornish takes a broad view of heart disease (exercise, isolation, stress, fat, etc.) The recipes are delicious: the potato soup was great when I prepared the soup stock beforehand. Hearty dishes that can be used for a complete meal are also in the book. I recommend this book and his other books. I just purchased his "Everyday Cooking" to obtain more ideas for recipes, etc.

The average person would probably not be able to follow the diet recommended in this book. However, I usually try to take some of the ideas from one diet, and combine it with good parts of others, to come up with something workable.

Dr. Dean Ornish is a quack, plain and simple. He is on the advisory board of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which is just a front for PETA. Do an exact phrase google of "The Dietary Delusions of Dean Ornish" to get the skinny on this fool. If you want to save your life don't waste your time on this book.

I was very satisfied with the book, the time it took to get here and the price.

I have just finished reading the reviews on this book and am quite concerned at some of the negative descriptives used. I can certainly understand that for some people, the program may not be effective and might even possibly be life threatening. However, to go as far as "warning" people to stay away from a program all together that may ultimately prove life altering and life saving to them is irresponsible and irrational.

I am assuming from the negative reviews that those persons may have expected the Ornish program to be a "fix all" for anyone and everyone that comes across it, yet all over his book he is quite specific about the kinds of people who the program was tailored for. Still, everyone is different and his suggestions throughtout that it may be helpful to many more also are logical. All person's genes and chemical make-up are not the same. That is why BEFORE going on any specific program, one should ALWAYS consult with their personal doctor and after deciding on a program, continually be monitored afterward.

This is still NO guarentee that any specific program will work or wont work.

So what if the people in the studies were "hand picked" by Ornish? Please point out even one medical study where participants WERENT handpicked by their respective researchers?

So what if much of what is published in this book might be teachings handed down from Ornish's "spiritual" guide? Ornish writes about his own personal experiences which is a responsible thing to do since the book is about HIS program and HIS studies about it. Nowhere does it state in the book that you cant fit your own in.

After reading this book and following the program I can state that for myself it has been very helpful to me. Being a person who has suffered from reduced circulation in my legs due to smoking and having been overweight as well as pre-diabetic, the benefits of this program have been substantial in a relatively short period of time. However, I can also see where any change in diet, quitting smoking and raised activity level might benefit me. I just happened to chose to follow this one and it has worked for me.

I especially enjoyed that I didnt have to buy other program items or pay for weekly meetings although the option does exist online since the publication of the book.

On the negative side, the book has not been updated since 1996 and there are important updates that I feel a new printing could/should address (see below). I would have also liked to have seen "negatives" discussed such as the increase in flatulence and increase in bowel movements. These practical negatives arent really "negatives". However, finding out all of a sudden that the new way you are eating has "side-effects" and you are standing in front of 10 members of the board when you figure it out is very embarassing. I would love to have seen more discussion on these types of things.

As for updates;

Some people cannot have soy and certain vegetables in their diets and the issue was never brought up in the book that I can remember (please correct me if I am mistaken). I am not one of these people however my sister and father cannot ingest soy at all. Many people that take certain heart/blood medications CANNOT have soy and/or must avoid certain fruits and vegetables (cranberries and blood thinners dont mix). This is a critical update I think should be addressed.

I would also like to see discussion on weaning/coming off of meats and refined carbs. During my first week, I would become "lightheaded" during this adjustment. Having some apples and peanut butter around during the first week or two just in case is highly beneficial and could be life-saving, especially if you are in a safety sensitive occupation such as I am (truck driver). When this "withdrawal" period is over, the peanut butter can go. I think that this also is a critical update that needs to be addressed.

Despite the very few negatives I experienced, I cannot say that this program/book is "bad" and to be avoided. On the contrary, it is a choice that you must make and to not consider it might be cheating yourself out of something that could possibly save your life. You must do the research and take into consideration that you might know yourself best (unless you have lived in ignorance and denial of yourself). No doctor, book author, researcher and/or any kind of medical professional could ever replace the knowledge you have of yourself.

Be responsible, use your head and think objectively. Everything is not for everyone.

I started to read this book due to my elevated cholesterol found in annual check-up. This book promotes vegetarian style eating habits such as eating more carbohydrate than animal products and is backed up by many scientific research data and seems very promising. It limits your calorie intake from fat up to 10% daily.

After reading Dr. Dean's book, I found Dr. Whitaker's book "Reversing heart disease", which has a similar diet plan and increases calorie intake from fat to 20%. Dr. Dean recommends Canola oil in that it contains Omega-6 and -3 and contains less saturated fat than oliver oil, while Dr. Whitaker is in favour of Oliver oil as Canola oil might contain processed components.

After searching the google and yahoo again, I found Dr. Atkins diet plan that cut down your carbohydrate significantly and requires more eating on proteins and other animal products. It also claims it has the same effect on cholesterol and again backed up by many scientific evidence. Obviously, Dr. Atkins plan is completely different from the previous two.

After more yahooing and goolging, I have found more diet plans and each of them claims they are good on cholesterol and heart disease. To make matters worse, the more I read, the more worries that I have. As some symptoms described on medical sites are exactly what I am experiencing, after reading a whole week of these information, I have identified myself to possibly have liver failure, diabetic (although my glucose reading is within the normal range), blockage in my arteries and possibly kidney failure. So if I continue to read, I guess I might not die of heart attack due to elevated cholesterol rather I might be over-concerned and stressed to death.

If you are just a normal people like me without any real problems yet, I would say calm down and read no books at all as these books have contradicting arguments and methods. One book tells you to use Oliver oil and yet another recommends Canola oil. One book tells you no egg yolk, only egg white since egg yolk contains high cholesterol, and yet another book recommends taking 7 eggs a week as egg yolk contains many nutrients required by your brain. One book says no meat, lots of carbs and yet another book says lots of meat, no bread. Moreover, their arguments are all backed up by seemingly solid scientific studies. You, as a layman as I am, stand in between, leave you only one reasonable choice that satisfies all criteria: eat nothing and go starvation. Only by doing this, you will not overeat meat as well as carbs. Clearly, this is not an option. So all in all, I would say continue your own life, eat less saturated fat as most doctors suggested; More fish, no trans fat, more beans and vegetables; Exercise regularly. And most importantly, forget about all these books and have fun in your own life.

Dr. Ornish builds a strong case for his diet and stress reduction plan, both in his review of the research that preceeded his study and in regard to the results of his clinical trial. I think the reason his work is often misunderstood is that he calls for major dietary and life style changes in order to REVERSE cardiovascular disease, something that had not been demonstrated prior to his research.

I am cooking a soup inspired by one of his recipes right now in my kitchen: chick peas, leeks, and tomato juice soup seasoned with sage and thyme.

As I read some of the negative reviews of his book I began to realize that many readers may have confused the mediators for cardiovascular disease with the actual disease process. Thus his diet does cause weight loss, does reduce cholesterol, does reduce high blood pressure but these are all mediators for cardiovascular disease. A person might try other diets for weight loss or to lower blood pressure, but reversing cardiovascular disease requires more effort. The amazing accomplishment was that he actually demonstrated a reduction in cardiovascular disease in his patients with this approach.

I can not immagine a single heart attack victim in this country not going on this diet immediately. I was convinced by his data and the logical consistency of his approach.

Why does one have to be a strict veggan on Ornish? Why can't one have a low-fat diet without abstaining from fish and poultry? Is there any proof that Yoga, Meditation, and "Breathing Exercises" are really necessary for Ornish program to work?

Few know this. But Dean Ornish is a longtime disciple of Swami Satchidananda. And the Ornish Regimen is an exact replica of his guru's Integral Yoga. Which emphasizes breathing, meditation, and of course yoga.

In his book "Eat More, Weigh Less," Ornish admitted "Much of what is in this book is a direct outgrowth of twenty years of study with Swami Satchidananda...for whom I have the deepest respect and appreciation."

So if you want to adopt a Hindu "Integral Yoga" lifestyle hatched by Ornish's Swami, fine. But if you just want what works without the Hinduism, then I recommend The Elixxir Progam.

This is based on the best way to slash your risk for dying from heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. It can dramatically lower your cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar.

The body of scientific research supporting the basis of The Elixxir Program stretches all the way back to the thirties. Much better documented than Ornish's regimen. And you won't have to be a veggan and abstainer from alcohol for life.

Get a copy of "The ImmorTalist Manifesto: Stay Young & Save the World." (Available on Amazon) At back, in excerpt, you will read about The Elixxir Program.

Then go search for the website of Elixxir and The Elixxir Program.

P.s. If you main goal is weight loss, Ornish is not exactly slim. As the New York Times, I believe, and others have noted. But Elixxir is fabulously slim.

Dr. Ornish is great. His book(s) have lots of information to help improve heart conditions and overall health in the process. He was on Oprah talking about meditation the other day and did a nice job, but I want to tell everyone that the BEST book I have ever used to reduce stress and learn what is called meditation (though this book is very non-mystical) is EFFORTLESS WELLBEING by Evan Finer. Not only does it cover how to calm your mind and relax your body and breathe properly, but also tells other profound and super simple exercises to do while performing "meditation"! Simply the best and a SUPER compliment to any and all of Dr. Ornish's books. Don't miss this one! A Gem!

Dean Ornish's (1995) clinical medical research, for example, shows that heart disease, the biggest cause of death presently in the United States and in many developed countries, and potentially many other conditions - e.g. he's doing clinical trials presently on prostate cancer with positive results so far - are reversible through lifestyle changes, especially a nutritionally-sound, low-fat, grain-, vegetable-, bean- (including soy bean products) and fruit-centered diet; exercise, e.g. 30 minutes of walking per day; relaxation; and community.

His work originates from a yoga perspective.

People in the U.S. consume 30% of their calories in the form of fat, which contributes to putting a significant part of the population at risk for heart disease. By contrast, a heart disease-reversing diet involves consuming about 10% of one's daily calories in the form of fat, - aim for very, very little fat intake using the very useful Food and Drug Administration labels on all U.S. food (labels in the UK are not nearly as informative), get exercise and have fun with friends. In general, try to eat less than 3 grams of fat per serving.