Dean Ornish
Encyclopedia
Dean Michael Ornish, M.D., (born July 16, 1953) is president and founder of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California
, as well as Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco
.
Ornish, a native of Dallas, Texas
, is a graduate of Hillcrest High School
of the Dallas Independent School District
. He holds a Bachelor of Arts
from the University of Texas at Austin
and earned his M.D.
from the Baylor College of Medicine
. He served a medical internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital
.
, a low-fat vegan diet, smoking cessation
, and regular exercise could not only stop the progression of CAD, but could actually reverse it. He has acknowledged his debt to Swami Satchidananda
for helping him develop this holistic perspective on preventive health.
This result was demonstrated in a randomized controlled trial
known as the Lifestyle Heart Trial, with data published in the Lancet
in 1990, which recruited test subjects with pre-existing coronary artery disease. Not only did patients assigned to the above regimen fare better with respect to cardiac events than those who followed standard medical advice, their coronary atherosclerosis
was somewhat reversed, as evidenced by decreased stenosis
(narrowing) of the coronary arteries after one year of treatment. Most patients in the control group, by contrast, had narrower coronary arteries at the end of the trial than the start. Other doctors claim similar results with similar methods, for example: Caldwell Esselstyn
, and K. Lance Gould.
This discovery was notable because it had seemed physiologically implausible, and it suggested cheaper and safer therapies against cardiovascular disease than invasive procedures such as coronary artery bypass surgery
.
In 2010 after cardiac surgery, former U.S. president Bill Clinton
mostly adopted the plant-based diet recommended by Caldwell Esselstyn
, Dean Ornish and T. Colin Campbell
. In contrast to Esselstyn, Ornish recommends the consumption of fish oil supplements and does not follow a strict vegetarian diet
, allowing for the consumption of occasional animal products.
. He was appointed to The White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy and elected to the California Academy of Medicine. He has received several awards, including the 1994 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from the University of Texas, Austin, 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, a Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association, and the Beckmann Medal from the German Society for Prevention and Rehabilitation of Cardiovascular Diseases. He was recognized as “one of the most interesting people of 1996” by People magazine, featured in the “TIME 100” issue on alternative medicine, and chosen by LIFE magazine as “one of the 50 most influential members of his generation.”
Sausalito, California
Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California, United States. Sausalito is south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet . The population was 7,061 as of the 2010 census. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to...
, as well as Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco
University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco is one of the world's leading centers of health sciences research, patient care, and education. UCSF's medical, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and graduate schools are among the top health science professional schools in the world...
.
Ornish, a native of Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, is a graduate of Hillcrest High School
Hillcrest High School (Dallas)
Hillcrest High School, formerly Vickery Meadows High School is a public secondary school located in North Dallas, Texas . Hillcrest High School enrolls students in grades 9-12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District.- History :...
of the Dallas Independent School District
Dallas Independent School District
The Dallas Independent School District is a school district based in Dallas, Texas . Dallas ISD, which operates schools in much of Dallas County, is the second largest school district in Texas and the twelfth largest in the United States.In 2009, the school district was rated "academically...
. He holds a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
and earned his M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from the Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine, located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, USA, is a highly regarded medical school and leading center for biomedical research and clinical care...
. He served a medical internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
.
Career
Ornish is widely known for his lifestyle-driven approach to the control of coronary artery disease (CAD). Dr. Ornish and colleagues showed that a lifestyle regimen featuring Yoga, meditationMeditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
, a low-fat vegan diet, smoking cessation
Smoking cessation
Smoking cessation is the process of discontinuing the practice of inhaling a smoked substance. This article focuses exclusively on cessation of tobacco smoking; however, the methods described may apply to cessation of smoking other substances that can be difficult to stop using due to the...
, and regular exercise could not only stop the progression of CAD, but could actually reverse it. He has acknowledged his debt to Swami Satchidananda
Swami Satchidananda
Swami Satchidananda , born as C. K. Ramaswamy Gounder, was an Indian religious teacher, spiritual master and yoga adept, who gained fame and following in the West during his time in New York. He was the author of many philosophical and spiritual books, including a popular illustrative book on Hatha...
for helping him develop this holistic perspective on preventive health.
This result was demonstrated in a randomized controlled trial
Randomized controlled trial
A randomized controlled trial is a type of scientific experiment - a form of clinical trial - most commonly used in testing the safety and efficacy or effectiveness of healthcare services or health technologies A randomized controlled trial (RCT) is a type of scientific experiment - a form of...
known as the Lifestyle Heart Trial, with data published in the Lancet
The Lancet
The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is one of the world's best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals...
in 1990, which recruited test subjects with pre-existing coronary artery disease. Not only did patients assigned to the above regimen fare better with respect to cardiac events than those who followed standard medical advice, their coronary atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a result of the accumulation of fatty materials such as cholesterol...
was somewhat reversed, as evidenced by decreased stenosis
Stenosis
A stenosis is an abnormal narrowing in a blood vessel or other tubular organ or structure.It is also sometimes called a stricture ....
(narrowing) of the coronary arteries after one year of treatment. Most patients in the control group, by contrast, had narrower coronary arteries at the end of the trial than the start. Other doctors claim similar results with similar methods, for example: Caldwell Esselstyn
Caldwell Esselstyn
Caldwell Blakeman Esselstyn Jr., M.D., is an American physician, author, and former Olympic rowing champion.-Biography:...
, and K. Lance Gould.
This discovery was notable because it had seemed physiologically implausible, and it suggested cheaper and safer therapies against cardiovascular disease than invasive procedures such as coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
.
In 2010 after cardiac surgery, former U.S. president Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
mostly adopted the plant-based diet recommended by Caldwell Esselstyn
Caldwell Esselstyn
Caldwell Blakeman Esselstyn Jr., M.D., is an American physician, author, and former Olympic rowing champion.-Biography:...
, Dean Ornish and T. Colin Campbell
T. Colin Campbell
T. Colin Campbell is an American biochemist who specializes in the effects of nutrition on long-term health. He is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, and the author of over 300 research papers...
. In contrast to Esselstyn, Ornish recommends the consumption of fish oil supplements and does not follow a strict vegetarian diet
Veganism
Veganism is the practice of eliminating the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate them from their diet only...
, allowing for the consumption of occasional animal products.
Accolades
Ornish is also a member of the boards of directors of the U.S. United Nations High Commission on Refugees, the Quincy Jones Foundation, and the San Francisco Food Bank. He is an advisory board member of HealthCorpsHealthCorps
HealthCorps is an American non-profit organization that responds to the obesity crisis through school-based health education and peer-mentoring in addition to community outreach to underserved populations – mostly Hispanic and African-American....
. He was appointed to The White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy and elected to the California Academy of Medicine. He has received several awards, including the 1994 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from the University of Texas, Austin, 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, a Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association, and the Beckmann Medal from the German Society for Prevention and Rehabilitation of Cardiovascular Diseases. He was recognized as “one of the most interesting people of 1996” by People magazine, featured in the “TIME 100” issue on alternative medicine, and chosen by LIFE magazine as “one of the 50 most influential members of his generation.”
Works
- Ornish, Dean, Fletcher, Janet, Fullsac, Jean Marc, Roe, Janet. Everyday Cooking with Dr. Dean Ornish, 150 Easy, Low-Fat High Flavor Recipes. Harper Collins, U.S. (1996) ISBN 0-06-017314-9
- Ornish, Dean. Love & Survival - 8 Pathways to Intimacy and Health. Harper Collins, 1998. ISBN 0-06-093020-9.
- Ornish, Dean. Dr. Dean Ornish's Programme for Reversing Heart Disease, Ivy Books, 1996. ISBN 0-8041-1038-7.
- Ornish, D., et al. Can lifestyle changes reverse coronary heart disease? The Lifestyle Heart Trial. Lancet (21 Jul. 1990) 336(8708):129-33.
- Ornish, D., Scherwitz, L. W., Doody, R. S., Kesten, D., McLanahan, S. M.; Brown, S. E.; et al. Effects of stress management training and dietary changes in treating ischemic heart disease. JAMA (1983) 249: 54.
- Ornish, D., Scherwitz, L. W., Billings, J. H., Brown, S. E., Gould, K. L., Merritt, T. A., et al. Intensive lifestyle changes for reversal of coronary heart disease. JAMA (1983) 280: 2001.
- Ornish, Dean. Eat More, Weigh Less. Collins, 2001.
- Dunn-Emke, S., Weidner, G., Pettengill, E., Marlin, R. O., Chi, C. and Ornish, D. Nutritional adequacy of a very low-fat vegan diet. J Am Diet Assoc. (2005) 105: 1350.
- Ornish, D. Intensive lifestyle changes in management of coronary heart disease. In: Harrison's Advances in Cardiology. Edited by E. Braunwald. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002
- Sumner, Michael D.; Weidner, Gerdi; Merritt-Worden, Terri; Studley, Joli; Ornish, Dean. Adherence to a multicomponent lifestyle modification program. Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation (Sep./Oct. 2005) 25(5):291.
- Ornish, Dean. High-fiber diet and colorectal adenomas. New England Journal of Medicine (7 Sep. 2000) 343(10):736-738.
- Ornish, Dean, Brown, Shirley Elizabeth, Kottke, Bruce A., Shea, Steven, Barth, Jacques D., Bryan, Gregory K., Hokanson, John E., Austin, Melissa A., Ginsberg, Henry N., Tall, Alan R., Deckelbaum, Richard J., Hunninghake, Donald B., Criqui, Michael H., Heiss, Gerardo, Sox, Harold C. Treatment of and screening for hyperlipidemia. New England Journal of Medicine (7 Oct.1993) 329(15):1124-1128.
- Gould, K. Lance, Ornish, Dean MD, Scherwitz, Larry, Brown, Shirley, Edens, R. Patterson, Hess, Mary Jane, Mullani, Nizar, Bolomey, Leonard, Dobbs, Frank, Armstrong, William T., Merritt, Terri, Ports, Thomas, Sparler, Stephen, Billings, James. Changes in myocardial perfusion abnormalities by positron emission tomography after long-term, intense risk factor modification. JAMA (20 Sep. 1995) 274(11):894-901.
- Ornish, Dean. The Spectrum: A Scientifically Proven Program to Feel Better, Live Longer, Lose Weight, and Gain Health. Ballantine Books, 2008. ISBN 0345496310. ISBN 978-0345496317.
External links
- Dr. Ornish at WebMD
- Lecture on the rise of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease at the 2006 TED Conference
- TED: Dean Ornish on healing
- Preventive Medicine Research Institute
- CNN Video - Caldwell Esselstyn and Dean Ornish Explain Healthy Way for Bill Clinton's Dramatic Weight Loss, September 22, 2010
- Dr. Ornish at Sharecare