Can chronic disease be reversed?
Absolutely.
Today, I'm going to introduce you to my friend and
colleague, Dr. Dean Ornish. Thirty years ago, he bravely
made the radical suggestion that heart disease, cancer, and
other chronic illnesses can be reversed with diet and
lifestyle changes.
That's reversed -- not just prevented or treated.
In his breakthrough book, Reversing Heart Disease, Dr.
Ornish explained just how this is possible: Eat a
high-quality diet, get regular exercise, manage stress, and
connect to a community -- and you can actually unclog your
arteries.
In fact, he proved that his program works better than
conventional approaches like drugs or surgery -- and
without dangerous side effects.
Now Dr. Ornish has published a new, even more compelling
book, The Spectrum -- and it's filled with scientific
details about why the program works and how to make it your
own.
What's the secret?
Nutrigenomics.
That's the name for the way that food talks to your genes
and controls your health. When your genes are expressed
well, you're healthy. Disease occurs when your genes are
expressed poorly.
And the quality of the food you eat has huge effects on
your health.
It matters whether you eat whole, real food, or processed,
high-sugar, and high-fat food, for example.
In The Spectrum, Dr. Ornish tells you how and why choices
like these can make a difference in whether we're healthy
or sick.
But it isn't a one-size-fits-all approach.
Dr. Ornish believes -- as I do -- that the future of
medicine is personalized medicine. And in The Spectrum, he
explains how to match your genes and your health needs by
customizing your diet and lifestyle.
If you were a 25-year-old athlete with no family history of
heart disease, your approach would be different from a
65-year-old man who has type-2 diabetes and has had two
heart attacks.
He also shows us that there's a spectrum of choices for
being healthy and feeling great. There are no "good" or
"bad" foods -- it's the overall way that we eat and live
that matters.
Dr. Ornish gets past all of the nutrition confusion out
there and tells you the truth: that our genes were meant to
be fed a diet of whole, unprocessed foods.
A Groundbreaking Pioneer
He didn't know it, but Dr. Ornish was the first researcher
and practitioner of functional medicine, more than 30 years
ago.
He was the first person to suggest that addressing the
roots of illness not only helps prevent disease, but
reverses it -- and more effectively than conventional
treatment.
That's just what functional medicine is. It's a system that
addresses the underlying causes of illness by understanding
the interaction between your genes and your environment.
And it's what Dr. Ornish talks about in The Spectrum.
His roadmap for good health shows us how to increase
energy, lose weight, improve mood, feel more connected to
your own life's purpose and meaning, and even have better
sex.
It's a recipe for feeling your best.
I have a lot of respect for Dr. Ornish. He wanted to make
his program accessible for everyone, but for that to
happen, it has to be reimbursed by insurance.
So he asked Medicare to fund a demonstration project based
on the research in major medical he'd already published in
major medical journals.
But it wasn't so easy.
They told him that, before they'd find the project, he
needed approval that it was safe.
Of course, Dr. Ornish's lifestyle plan is much safer than
heart surgery or angioplasty or medications with severe,
damaging side effects -- and much less expensive.
Still, he needed a letter from the National Heart, Lung and
Blood Institute saying it was safe to eat fruits and
vegetables, walk, meditate, and quit smoking!
But he persevered and his program is now approved. Dr.
Ornish is also creating an international research
collaboration to grain even more understanding about why
food is the best medicine.
And his book isn't just helpful, it's enjoyable.
He shares his story with wit and humor, keen intelligence,
and lots of tools for successfully implementing his ideas.
These tools include clear nutrition guidance, guided
meditations by his wife Anne (with an additional DVD
included), an exercise prescription, and more than 100
wonderful, delicious life-giving recipes by a master chef.
So I urge you to get your hands on The Spectrum now and see
what you think. It truly is life-changing.
----------------------------------------------------
Mark Hyman, MD is a pioneer in functional medicine,
practicing physician and best-selling author. A sneak
preview of his book "The UltraSimple Diet" is available.
See The UltraWellness Blog for more on Heart Disease:
http://ultrawellness.com/blog/
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