It’s no secret that diet and lifestyle play an important role in health, but what exactly can you do to help protect your body from disease? Dr. Dean Ornish, one of the pioneers of functional and integrative medicine for clinicians, founder and president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute, discovered in a randomized clinical trial that the combination of diet, exercise, social support, and stress reduction could help reverse coronary heart disease… and he believes that these same lifestyle factors and following the Ornish diet could also play a role in preventing and/or reversing other chronic diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
“What’s good for your heart is good for your brain, and vice versa,” Ornish said. Previous studies have shown that modest lifestyle changes can slow the rate of progression of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. So my hypothesis is that more intense lifestyle changes could halt or even reverse the decline. »
The Ornish diet and lifestyle changes
Through his research over the years, including the Coronary Heart Disease Reversal Study, Ornish has seen the dramatic effects of healthy lifestyle changes in preventing chronic disease. Here are the four main factors of the Ornish Diet and Lifestyle Protocol:
1. Diet
In the Ornish diet, specifically in the study of heart disease, people eat a diet that is primarily plant-based, low in fat, and rich in fruits and vegetables. These are the principles of the Ornish diet:
It eats mainly plants in their natural form.
Limit foods with bad carbs
Consume only four grams of healthy fats per day.
Prioritize plant-based proteins
Moderate sodium intake
Limit caffeine intake, especially from tea.
Supplement with multivitamins, B12, fish oil, and possibly calcium.
The main foods to eat for this diet are fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, some nuts and seeds, and a very limited amount of egg white and skimmed milk or yogurt, as well as green tea.
Foods to avoid are those that are high in fat, especially unhealthy fats, as well as excess caffeine and refined oils and carbohydrates.
2. Physical exercise
The interventions implemented in this plan include various forms of exercise, including the following:
Yoga
strength training
Walking and other aerobic exercises for at least 30 minutes a day (three to five hours a week).
Ornish recommends following what he calls the FITT exercise principle:
F – Frequency (how often to exercise)
I – Intensity (exercise intensity)
T – Time (duration of exercise)
T – Type (the type of exercise)
For aerobic training, the Ornish Diet and Protocol recommends the following
Frequency: Several times a day, three to six times a week.
Intensity: Determined by treadmill test, 45% to 80% of maximum capacity.
Duration: 30 to 60 minutes at a time, three to five hours per week.
Activity type: Walking, jogging, dancing, cycling, swimming, rowing, cross-country skiing, etc.
For strength training:
Frequency: Two to three times a week with a rest day in between.
Intensity: A weight you can comfortably do 12-15 repetitions with fairly light to fairly heavy effort during the lift.
Duration: One set of each exercise to start, with 30 to 90 seconds of rest between sets, then increase to 10 to 15 repetitions of eight to 10 resistance exercises that target large muscle groups.
Exercise Type: Free weights, dumbbells, anklets, heavy hands, weight machines, resistance bands, bodyweight exercises, etc.
3. Stress management
Daily stress management is an important part of this protocol. To keep your mind intact and help your body, use common pain relievers for at least an hour a day, including:
Yoga
stretching
breathing exercises
Meditation
Relaxation techniques, such as progressive muscle relaxation
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4. Love and social support
This is an underrated aspect of health, but one that the Ornish diet and protocol emphasize.
Love and intimacy, our ability to connect with ourselves and with others, are the source of what makes us sick and what heals us, what makes us sad and what makes us happy, what makes us happy. suffering and what leads us to healing. If a new drug had the same impact, virtually every doctor in the country would recommend it to their patients. It would be professional misconduct not to prescribe it.
Awareness is the first step to healing, both individual and social. Part of the value of science is raising the level of awareness about the importance of the decisions we make every day. Not just a little, but a lot, and not just for the quality of life, but also for the quantity of life, for our survival. When we understand the importance of these issues, we can take action. These include in particular:
spend more time with our friends and family
communication techniques
support group
confession, forgiveness and redemption
Compassion, selflessness and service.
psychotherapy
touch
commitment
meditation
When we increase love and intimacy in our lives, we also increase health, joy, and meaning in our lives.
One of the keys to success is communication. To be a good communicator and listener, Ornish says you should:
Identify your feelings
Express feelings
show empathy instead of sympathy
Recognize the feelings of others and practice fluent listening.
Advantage
What are the benefits of the Ornish Diet and Protocol? These are some of the main effects on chronic diseases, supported by research:
Positive effects on blood sugar
Reduced risk of heart disease for people with diabetes
Slow the growth of prostate cancer cells
Improved Depression Markers
Lowering of cholesterol level
Positive changes in gene expression
Telomere lengthening to promote longevity.
Conclution
Dr. Dean Ornish is at the forefront of functional and integrative medicine. Through his Ornish diet and protocol, he found ways to reverse and prevent many chronic diseases. By focusing on a healthy, primarily plant-based diet, daily aerobic and strength training, managing stress, and having a positive circle of social support, people can limit their risk of disease and even reverse certain conditions. Research shows that the Ornish Protocol may have positive effects on blood sugar, heart disease risk, prostate cancer cells, markers of depression, cholesterol levels, gene expression, telomeres, and longevity etc
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