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-
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.
About The Author: 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://ultrawellnes
