3.85

5

Jul 20, 2010

I highly recommend this book for anyone who has heart disease or is wanting to prevent heart disease. When my husband had two blocked arteries and needed a bypass, we were in shock. When, a year later, another artery became severely blocked and he had to have a stent placed, we realized this problem wasn't going away. We bought this book and began following Dr. Ornish's plan. After a few months, my husband's cholesterol had drastically changed -- 125 for his total cholesterol -- 51 for LDL. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has heart disease or is wanting to prevent heart disease. When my husband had two blocked arteries and needed a bypass, we were in shock. When, a year later, another artery became severely blocked and he had to have a stent placed, we realized this problem wasn't going away. We bought this book and began following Dr. Ornish's plan. After a few months, my husband's cholesterol had drastically changed -- 125 for his total cholesterol -- 51 for LDL. Wow!!! He had been on a statin for a year, but had very minimal reduction until changing his diet. Just following this plan, we were both able to lose 25 pounds each, without changing anything else. ...more

5

Apr 30, 2015

Five years ago, this book changed my life, and probably saved me from an avoidable early death. Dr. Ornish put me squarely on track for a mindful approach to looking after the only body I'll ever have. Not only did I lose 30 pounds in 3 months, I lost chronic back pain and regained a lost plateau of overall health at the same time. I can't prove these matters are all related, but it sure felt that way.

5

January 18, 2019

We opted out on my husband's quadruple bypass. 1 yr without meds for cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure, etc. because they all have bad side effects. Tests show he doesn't need them. He lost 120lbs with 80lbs to go to reach 165. Your book is awesome!

5

Sep 01, 2008

Learned how to think, breathe, inter-relate, eat, and exercise in the best interest of my heart health. This is a book I keep on my shelf and I read it from time to time when I need to remember what matters (and what doesn't matter) for my heart's health. Get ready to read real science. Get ready to read that you need to stretch and meditate. Get ready to believe that you are capable of taking care of your heart.

5

Mar 28, 2008

Reversing Heart Disease means no meat, no fat or oil, no milk, cheese or egg yokes. If you are willing to do this you will fortify yourself against heart disease. Following his regimen, I lost about 40 pounds and got my cholesterol in the normal range without drugs. He also discusses the benefits of exercise and relationships. Those following his recommendations will be blessed with good health and save a great deal of money because there will be fewer drug bills and doctor visits.

4

Jun 24, 2010

A lot of helpful information was packed in this whopping 631 page paperback. Unfortunately, I felt I had to do a great deal of sifting through justifications/ explanations, and the author wrote too much about his personal life and experiences when I just wanted to get to the "meat" of the book. Cut all that out and this would have been a 5 star. The Foreword was nearly 20 pages! Good grief. Just the facts, please and put the reins on the personal stories.

The author mentioned that he wanted the A lot of helpful information was packed in this whopping 631 page paperback. Unfortunately, I felt I had to do a great deal of sifting through justifications/ explanations, and the author wrote too much about his personal life and experiences when I just wanted to get to the "meat" of the book. Cut all that out and this would have been a 5 star. The Foreword was nearly 20 pages! Good grief. Just the facts, please and put the reins on the personal stories.

The author mentioned that he wanted the book to be titled, "Opening Your Heart." The publishers, however, wanted the current title. After reading it, I believe the title should have been what the author had in mind. This was about opening your heart, "A central theme of this book is learning how we can feel more free--from physical pain, emotional distress, and spiritual isolation."(page 253)

The book is divided into three parts:

Part One: Opening Your Heart

This part had a lot of justification for what was coming. I felt this was more for the author's colleagues. I had to sift through a lot of verbal diarrhea to find pertinent info. But it was there.

The importance of being a member of a club, church, etc. was stressed here. Studies show that those of us that have social connections experience less risk of heart disease. Holding feelings in puts the body in a state of stress. Social isolation ranked right up there with smoking in health! Also, athletes and others that thrive on winning keep their bodies in a stressful state--regardless of their physical fitness. "Exercise will make you fit, but fitness and health are not synonymous." (page 326)

Part Two: The Opening Your Heart Program

This held the bulk of the information with less personal stories from the author, though there were a few. Topics covered: how to manage stress, yoga (techniques with pictures), meditation, very low fat diet, cholesterol, a chapter on how to stop smoking, and how to exercise.

If a person walks 2 miles a day, 5 days a week, they can expect to burn about 2,000 calories!

There was a mention of Raquel Welch's book that talked about her yoga beliefs. :-) The overall theme in this part was the body and mind function most efficiently and effectively when a person is relaxed.

There was a great deal of information on cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, etc. Very informative. It was mentioned in several places that controlling heart disease isn't "just" about proper diet. A body has to have inner peace, too. A healthy person can die of a heart attack because of the constant state of stress they put on themselves.

Part Three: Opening Your Heart Recipes

Some great recipes here. Most seemed to have common ingredients that can be found fairly easily.

There are two types of diets:

1) The Reversal Diet, which is more strict. Vegetarian. Very little fat.

2) The Prevention Diet, which allows more fat and some meat.

I was a tad disappointed in the lack of information on cholesterol and hormone changes in women when in perimenopause. ...more

3

Aug 11, 2011

Written 20 years ago, this is still the best diet and exercise book for those suffering from heart disease or high risk people wanting to prevent heart disease. Dr. Ornish has written more recent books that contain updated information on drug therapy and medical and surgical intervention, but for the basics on life-style changes this is fine.

1

September 20, 2017

I am reading this book among four others that is taking up my reading time.Full Review

5

Jun 24, 2012

OK, any program promising the hope of reversing coronary blockages sends chills down my spine...it helped convert me to vegan...just have to start meditating and hope for the best.

5

Jul 07, 2015

A life saving program for people that suffer from heart disease or heart related illnesses. A program that if you follow it to the letter will reverse your heart condition will give you back your heart and your health and save you thousands of money that you would spend on needless and life threading heart surgeries.
Anyone that really cares about his/her health should buy and read this book; it’s literally a life saver.
Highly recommended.

5

Feb 16, 2012

This is my go-to book for keeping heart disease at bay.
I'll mark it finished, but it is a reference book for me...I'm never finished.

5

Feb 06, 2011

Very good compliment to the China Study with practical advice, menus and testiominal evidence of the power of this type of diet.

4

Nov 06, 2012

I did not read through the recipes, but did read the rest. This has lots of interesting information on heart disease and diet, and lifestyle. I expect to make some dietary changes as a result of reading this book.

5

Feb 11, 2019

This book predates and mimics Dr. Neal Barnard's Reversing Diabetes book by a few decades and provides that solid reputation that lasts over time. The book includes diet, exercise, meditation, stress reduction, yoga as a comprehensive program to achieve results. Results include healthy to optimal levels of cholesterol, artery clearing of plaque build up, medication elimination to manage heart disease, healthy blood glucose levels, through diet, exercise and stress reduction.

In comparison Dr This book predates and mimics Dr. Neal Barnard's Reversing Diabetes book by a few decades and provides that solid reputation that lasts over time. The book includes diet, exercise, meditation, stress reduction, yoga as a comprehensive program to achieve results. Results include healthy to optimal levels of cholesterol, artery clearing of plaque build up, medication elimination to manage heart disease, healthy blood glucose levels, through diet, exercise and stress reduction.

In comparison Dr Barnard's Reversing Diabetes doesn't focus on the exercise, meditation, stress reduction or yoga, just diet. It would make sense to start out with Dr. Barnard's program and then transition/implement Dr. Ornish's program since the diet aspects are virtually identical though Barnard's is vegan and Ornish's is vegetarian. I deviate with including 98% fat-free chicken, fat-free fake lobster, fat-free feta cheese, and egg whites. So if you include those foods, it's fine for a chicken and fish eater. You don't have to become a vegetarian or vegan.

The most interesting part of the book was the studies on the clearing of the arteries of decades worth of high-fat eating in the research studies and photos provided via diet and exercise change. I think people believe that once those arteries become clogged, only surgery can remove the plaques but not according to this research. It's a natural form of plaque removal. ...more

4

Apr 07, 2008

Dr. Ornish's program helped me feel a lot more informed about the causes and prevention of heart disease. I also believe his premise that heart disease can be reversed, and have used some of his recipes in making changes to my family's diet.

5

Nov 20, 2015

SO MUCH INFORMATION!
Seriously, for a "dense" informational book that basically chronicles a medical study, I LOVED it. I firmly believe that Dr. Dean Ornish's studies began the revolution of current medical practice in relation to long term health maintenance.

3

Sep 22, 2012

Dean Ornish proved first that you can reverse heart disease by adopting a healthier lifestyle. This includes choosing to eat healthier foods, exercise more often, and incorporating meditation in your daily life.

This book first uncovered the idea that we don't need open-heart surgery to survive heart disease.

5

Jun 13, 2019

The exceptional part about this program is that you have this physician coming out and saying that the way patients are treated in our health care system is abhorrent. Beginning in the 1970s, he recognized that the best way to deal with our growing incidence of cardiac heart disease was not by throwing BP pills at the problem or performing more bypass surgeries. This guy decided to try something completely unconventional. He took on less patients so that he could spend more one-on-one time with The exceptional part about this program is that you have this physician coming out and saying that the way patients are treated in our health care system is abhorrent. Beginning in the 1970s, he recognized that the best way to deal with our growing incidence of cardiac heart disease was not by throwing BP pills at the problem or performing more bypass surgeries. This guy decided to try something completely unconventional. He took on less patients so that he could spend more one-on-one time with them. He prescribed a vegetarian diet, yoga, meditation, group therapy sessions, and recommended that they stop smoking. Not only did his patients stop the progression of the disease, they actually reversed it! The blockages in their arteries had lessened considerably, but most importantly the FELT better. Their lives improved, and not just physically. Dr. Ornish learned that there are more risk factors for heart disease besides just the commonly known ones (high cholesterol, hypertension, smoking). Americans are also dealing with chronic stress, and loneliness was also another surprising risk factor. So much damage is done to our blood vessels by the chronic release of stress hormones, so learning about ways to handle our stress is paramount. There was one chapter in the beginning that was heavy on anatomy, but for the most part it was a much more enjoyable read than I was expecting. ...more

3

I will be enrolling in the program in September 2005. I wanted a heads ups on it the book seems well written and a good read.Full Review

3

May 31, 2013

This book is filled with great information about reversing heart disease but the no fat diet-- total elimination--is a little brutal. Still the information is useful in making lifestyle changes. Sometimes the text was boring, too many personal stories. Get to the point. The book could have been shorter. I loved the recipes, which come from various well known chefs, and I' ll definitely be using them again and again.

3

Jun 23, 2015

I'm not sure "liked it" is accurate, but it was an interesting read.
I had to read this (among other nutrition books) for work because we were trying to revise our company's menu to include "heart healthy" items. This and the McDougall diets were very trendy at the time. The book is clearly written. Apparently Dr. Ornish has had some success with patients that have had serious heart disease. It's a very restrictive diet, though. A person would have to be truly dedicated to stick with it.

4

Aug 12, 2008

Even if you don't have heart disease, and even if you disagree with his program of low fat, vegetarian fare, this book is a good read. There is a lot of thought provoking information, and some very helpful advice about opening our hearts and lives to physical and spiritual healing. The stories of changed lives are fascinating, none the less so is Dr. Ornish's own story of his struggle with low self worth and depression, told with such honesty and humility. It seems like a weird book to be Even if you don't have heart disease, and even if you disagree with his program of low fat, vegetarian fare, this book is a good read. There is a lot of thought provoking information, and some very helpful advice about opening our hearts and lives to physical and spiritual healing. The stories of changed lives are fascinating, none the less so is Dr. Ornish's own story of his struggle with low self worth and depression, told with such honesty and humility. It seems like a weird book to be hanging on to, reading over some chapters now and then, but it is actually one of the most inspiring books I've read. ...more

4

Jan 18, 2008

There's a reversal diet and a prevention diet. Dean Ornish ties in the wisdom of the ages with the scientific method of modern medicine. He writes with compassion and passion about the way he's found that people can improve their health and happiness when they're at severe, moderate, or no risk for heart disease. His way is remarkably similar to "The Way": live simply, eat simply, and manage stress, partly by erasing the petty cares in your life.

This is more difficult than it sounds, and many There's a reversal diet and a prevention diet. Dean Ornish ties in the wisdom of the ages with the scientific method of modern medicine. He writes with compassion and passion about the way he's found that people can improve their health and happiness when they're at severe, moderate, or no risk for heart disease. His way is remarkably similar to "The Way": live simply, eat simply, and manage stress, partly by erasing the petty cares in your life.

This is more difficult than it sounds, and many people can't motivate themselves to take these proven self-discipline measures rather than popping a pill. Additionally, it's not in the interest of large health organizations or food corporations to fund clinical studies of a simple therapy such as this, so Dean Ornish's advice is tested and proven, but unfortunately, it is largely ignored by the public. I urge everyone, as I've urged my dad, to give it a chance and try it... It will make us better people, physically and otherwise. ...more

5

Feb 14, 2017

Reversing heart disease

After having Atrial heart valve replacement, I have enrolled in Ornish's program at my local hospital and it is paid for by Medicare. I have found the book helpful and look forward to cooking the various recipes. I think this vegan approach can make me much healthier.

4

Sep 15, 2017

Two plans: One eat only 10% fat 75% complex carbs... to keep away heart disease. Two eat NO fat... to reverse heart disease. Makes a lot of sense, and is like other books out now that fat and meat are the killers. Also an interesting fact he gives, is that exercising like running more than 30 per day.. that one is actually wasting their time because what time you add to your life you are using in doing that extra exercise.