Ornish Spectrum Review

 

Dr. Dean Ornish is an author and researcher who believes lifestyle change alone can reverse heart disease without invasive surgery or medication. More recent research has also convinced Dr. Ornish that his program for reversing heart disease could be applied to weight loss with similar success.

The Ornish Spectrum is an outline for optimum health, consisting of extremely low fat vegetarian diet, exercise, stress management using Eastern philosophies of yoga and medication, and nurturing more positive relationships with friends and family.

You start his program by finding where you fit on the spectrum and how quickly and how far you want to move along. The "Spectrum" divides foods into 5 groups. As you move down the spectrum from 5 to 1, the diet becomes healthier and more restricted. The ultimate goal for all is to consume as much of Group 1 as possible and as little of Group 5 as possible.

Group 1: Fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nonfat dairy, egg whites, soy products.
Group 2: Avocados, seeds, nuts, oils, canned vegetables, low-fat dairy, decaffeinated beverages.
Group 3: Seafood, refined carbs, concentrated sweets, oils higher in saturated fats, margarine.
Group 4: High-fat animal products, whole-fat dairy, mayonnaise, pastries, cookies, pies.
Group 5: Red meat, egg yolks, fried foods, hot dogs, organ meats, butter, cream, tropical oils.

One of the main principles discussed in the book is "nutrigenomics", the science of how foods interact with your genes and affect your health. Ornish explains how healthy food, closest to Group 1, is one of the most important things you can do to map your genes to better health. Even predispositions to certain diseases can be compensated for by a healthier diet, rendering those predispositions less of a problem.

The Spectrum is a interesting study on healthy eating and represents some pretty smart advice about diet and exercise. Certainly such a focus on eating better would lead to weight loss and an overall improvement in general health. But, in my opinion, this plan doesn't address the fundamental problem with long-term sustainable weight loss: highly restrictive food plans are not very successful in the long-term. It is difficult enough to make small changes in your diet, but a comprehensive and fundamental shift in what you consume? Balanced nutrition with portion control, recommended by most registered dietitians and daily exercise is what works in the long-term. I am a much bigger fan of lifestyle exercise activities such as tennis, hiking, walking, cycling, dancing, climbing, etcetera... These are the types of activities that you don't think of as exercise and sustain themselves in the long-term.

The Spectrum: Another View