Thank you for the introduction. While I think we all know the basics of prevention, I didn't realize the same was true to reverse disease. It's interesting to think I could actually undo some of the damage my bad habits have done.

I work in a large medical center where his methods are followed by both patients and employees and have seen the remarkable difference his program can make in their lives.  It seems to be a great health advantage. 

Your newsletter today was wonderful and informative. I will get and read the book by Dr. Ornish! Thanks for recomending it.

Arlene

Very impressive article. I believe that we all are what we eat and have ever since first hearing that comment. I have an excellent book written by Shari Lieberman, PhD, CNS, FACN, The Gluten Connection and can not say enough about this book. It is wonderful and has given me a new lease on life. I thought I had irreversible arthritis and would have to suffer with the pain in my feet, ankles, & knees forever but simply taking this book to heart and cutting out the gluten, has made all the difference in the world. There is no more pain, I can walk again and enjoy life and I have lost 10 lbs and can even breath better. I highly recommend going natural and staying off the chemical poison that the Doctors so easily dish out. I also have much clearer thinking and reasoning powers and the "fog" is lifting. I will read Dr. Ornishs' book and see just what his thoughts are. I love your blog and read it faithfully and have for several months. Thank You!!! 

Dr. Hyman, I'm really looking forward to reading Dr. Ornish's new book.  I met him at a lecture when I worked for a natural foods grocer.  He's brilliant and very brave to talk about using food as medicine.

Do I believe disease can be reversed with lifestyle and diet changes?  ABSOLUTELY!!!  God didn't make these wonderful mechanisms we call bodies to fall apart the first or 200th time it faces a challenge.  Our bodies are the crowning achievement of His work and therefore perfectly capable of self healing if the mind and spirit are willing.

I am currently on the pre-detox diet and feel amazing.  I slept for the first time last night without any Melatonin or Tylenol.

Thanks for all your hard work. 

THL, Nashville, TN

I went to Amazon and read the 5 food groups. To me it's amazingly how you can group fruits and vegetables as on the whole being healthier than meat and dairy. Or lump fats into a bad catagory.

Fruits and vegetables grown under the same conditions as meat and diary have the same drawbacks. Organic fruits and vegetables and organic meats and diary are equally healthy.

Funny thing about fats; they slow absorbtion of sugar into the bloodstream and sugar that is quickly absorbed  is turned into saturated fat by the body.The biggest purveyor of sugars, fruits and vegetables.

I totally agree on stress management because that directly affects your gut and homeostasis.

The best things you can do for your health is practice stress management reduce or eliminate sugars and use common sense eating fruits,vegetables,meat and diary and fats.

Anyway that's my take.

-Robert

In 2006 I participated in your UltraSimple diet beta test.  I had great results.  Even though I wasn't ready to let go of my bad eating habits then, I remember how good I felt.

I recently decided to avoid sugar, plain old sugar...because I know that sugar causes my fibromyalgia pain.  Within two days, the muscle pain disappeared.

 Does it mean my disease was eradicated?  I think not, at least not YET.  This is a small but significant change, leading to better health for me.

My thanks to you Dr. Hyman

Sue Beadle 

I want to remind about the similar works of Dr John MacDougall who has for several years expressed this same teaching with books, classes, DVDs, a great monthly newsletter, etc....though he somehow never gets recognized.  He has long taught the same health/diet/lifestyle information

I have only read part of a previous book about reversing heart disease and liked it. I have also read Dr. Mcdougall's and Dr. Esselstyn's books, who also believe in plant based nutrition, and they both have had amazing success with healing or reversing chronic disease with their eating plans. Dr. Esselstyn practically brought heart disease patients back from the brink of death and Dr. Mcdougall has a whole list of people who have had a myriad of chronic health problems practically disappear while following his plan. It appears there is plenty of hope for the unhealthy to again be healthy--if they have a bit of gumption and determination and are open to learn a new way (or maybe I should say an old way) of eating.

God bless Dr Ornish, Dr Julian Whitaker and all the doctors like you.... we need more medical "heretics".

Yes you CAN reverse chronic disease. I got my life back from Lupus thru holistic changes I made in my life.  I am glad to hear about Dr Ornish's new book. IT sounds like a valuable resource to use with my clients along with your books Dr Hyman.

Wishing you wellness and joy,

Pam Murphy,B.S.,RRT                                       http://selfgrowth.com/experts/pam_murphy.html

Hi doc

16 years ago, I was suddenly gripped with a terrifying pain in my chest, and I swiftly jumped in my car, with my wife driving, and went to my nearby Kaiser hospital, where I was given emergency medical treatment to deal with what I later leared, was unstable angina.  A heart attack was ruled out, but I was urged to submit to bypass for serously clogged arteries, which the doctors theorized was what I needed to do.  I declined all surgeries, including angiogram.  After 5 days in the hospital, with prolonged obseravtion, tests and ongoing urgings for me to submit to bypass, they finally gave up trying and discharged me with appropriate heart meds.  For the next 4 years, I soon became an Ornish dieter.  I followed his heart diet as scrupulously as I could, achieving, at one point, 8% "total" fat, in my diet.  This diet may or may not have kept me alive, I dont know, but, after 4 grueling years of Ornish's diet, I failed to experiece the tiniest diminution of my angina.  The pain was as great at the end of this four year period as it was at the beginning. 

 During this time, I learned of an experiment being conducted at UCLA.  A Dr. Karpman, was forming a group of volunteers with heart problems, to find out if Ornish's dietary recommendations had any validity.  We were fed an Ornish meal, preceeded by a period of yoga, another period of aeorbic exercise, and a session of group therapy.  After this trial had gone on for some months, Dr. Karpman came eventually to tell us, that he was forced to reduce his expectations for any evidence of arterial clogging.  We were tested periodically, to see if any progress was being made.  Eventually the experiment was discarded as a failure.

Ini desperation, I tried, probably, bogus "chelation" treatments;  they did nothing.  I next tried EECP, an approach with slightly more scientific support, but which did absolutely nothing for my angina.  Now it's been 16 years since diagnosis.  My angina remains a constant source of pain in my life.  But I've learned to accept this pain, for what reason, I have no idea.  I simply endure it.  I dream of being able  to exercise robustly.  i dream of losing weight.  But, as I reach my 70th year in August of '08, I've all but given up, and continue to contemplate, but also continue to refuse bypass.

 I know that there are a thousand questions that could be asked about what I've been through, but I've wearied of all of them.  The reality, is that angina has all but robbed me of "the good life."  I wish I could report better news, but this is the tale I have truthfully to tell you doctor.  I've reconciled myself to my fate, and try to make the best of it.

best wishes

JP

I haven't read Dr. Ornish's new book, but am interested after reading Dr. Hyman's synopsis. I'm encouraged to hear that Dr. Ornish's research shows that approaching health & wellness with good nutrition and a balanced lifestyle can reverse the disease process. I was suprised to read, however, how he categorizes some foods. Group 5, the least healthy in his scale, includes "bad fats" such as butter and tropical oils. Many respected nutritionists, Sally Fallon, Liz Lipski, and Donna Gates to name a few, include organic (preferably raw) butter and organic coconut oils in their recommendations. I've read alot about the healing qualities of organic raw butter and organic coconut oil and have incorporated both into my diet. Why would Dr. Ornish consider them a poor choice?

Yes, I am sure it can.  Jut by following Dr. Hyman's ideas in Ultrametabolism,  I am no longer  plagued by constant allergies.

At 66 years of age, I have just recently retired after 40 years of providing "functional" medicine for my patients - only I didn't call it by that name. I called it "Total Health" - living healthfully in all aspects of life: physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual. My career started about the time of Dr Ornish, Dr Pritikan and others who were seen as "way out there" but whose teachings made sense to me. One cannot make a "fast buck" by slowly educating people how to live a healthy lifestyle, but the compensation was in observing these individuals become healthier as they grew older.

The basis of my patient education was personal responsibility - each individual is responsible for the choices they make in life. I am their advisor. Nutrition was plant-based, activity was important and needed to be enjoyable, positive attitude was vital, and moderation in all GOOD things was necessary.

One of my medical school professors later became involved with a NEW START program in N California where many persons from the Bay Area underwent a reversal of their disease and they were able to avoid surgery for heart disease and other conditions. By the way, NEW START consists of: Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunshine, Temperance(moderation), Air, Rest, Thoughts/Trust in God.

The "old" saying, "The way to a man's heart in through his stomach" is unfortunately so true these days, with heart disease, diabetes and other killers so rampant in our society, and caused, or contributed to, by our very poor eating habits partially due to our fast-paced mentality - read "stressed."

Dr Hyman, I applaud you for your work in this area. Please keep it going and growing.

B V Ahlers, MD

Graham WA

I did all I could to enter medicine school because of Dean Ornish. I read all his books and I'm impressed how he can manage his time between college, students, patients and writing.

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drug treatment

http://www.casapalmera.com

I started to see a doctor a year ago last November who put me on "The Paleo Diet".  I did this for almost 8 months, lost only 25 pounds, worked out almost every day and lost the joy of eating.  The diet was/is very rich and the fact that you do not get to eat grains was very hard.  I have read both Dr. Hyman's book, "UltraMetabolism", and now Dr. Ornish's book, "The Spectrum" and am left very confused.  "The Paleo Diet" is mostly protein, fruits and veggies, fats, and "The Spectrum" is plant and grain based, hardly any fat.  Paleo says "NO GRAINS" and Dr. Ornish says "grains, grians, grains".  HELP!!  I am scared and don't know what to believe even though I have read and done almost all the diets at one time or another and that is hard to admit.  I am 55, overweight, heart disease runs in the family/genes, was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2005 with a total hysterectomy in 1/2006.  I am just trying to do the right thing and I don't know who to believe, PROTEINS or GRAINS.  Help!!!