A bizarre testimonial
Looks like Dean Ornish has taken time out from pimping for McDonald’s (and KFC and Pepsi Co.) to write a new book out titled The Spectrum: A Scientifically Proven Program to Feel Better, Live Longer, Lose Weight and Gain Health.
I haven’t read the book, but I assume it’s a recycling of all the Dean Ornish stuff we’ve seen before. Although, he does have a photo of a piece of salmon on the cover, so maybe he’s graduated from vegan to beady-eyed vegitarianism.
It’s been awhile since ol’ Dean has hit the hustings with a new book, so I figured he would be coming out with one soon. So, I’m not surprised. What I am surprised about is the very first testimonial on the Amazon.com link to his book.
It’s true that Hillary asked Ornish to consult with the White House chefs. I know because my sister-in-law met Ornish there and was told by Bill that Hillary had invited him for that purpose.
What I find interesting is that Ornish would use as a testimonial to his healthful advice someone who had left office overweight, unhealthy and soon thereafter underwent multiple bypass surgery due to an incipient heart attack. I’m not sure I would want that kind of testimonial.
“Group 1 with predominantly plant-based whole foods that are very low in fat, sugar, salt, and calories.”
Wow….just like Kimkins! (and we all know what a nutritional disaster that is)
And what “balanced diet” really means is that you balance your health with the ability to pay for expensive prescription drugs designed to keep you sick, but alive long enough to buy more drugs.
Excellent definition of a balanced diet.
Cheers–
MRE
Jimmy Moore has reported a few times that Mike Huckabee lost weight eating low-carb. Maybe we should decide who to vote for based on who follows the most intelligent diet. If it’s a choice between a candidate eating low-fat and a candidate eating low-carb, really, what more do we need to know?
Hi Ethyl–
I don’t know if Huckabee followed a low-carb diet or not, but I kind of doubt it. According to the diet book he wrote, I think portion control and exercise are what did it for him. And it looks like he’s starting to put it back on now. When on the campaign trail, it’s hard to follow a portion-control diet. He would be much better off with low-carb.
Cheers–
MRE
Art Smith has also cheffed for Oprah and, last I saw him, is overweight. I’ll stay right here in Spectrum 5, thanks!
Will Ornish ever actually test his dietary plan apart from the rest of his plan (seperate from stress reduction, etc) to see if it actually makes a difference? Doubtful.
I wonder if that is the same Art Smith who authored Kitchen Life: Real Food for Real Families – Even Yours!, one of the cookbooks in my “to donate” pile. This Art Smith in the cover photograph is whale-sized and looks like he would do well on a lower carb diet. He also authored Back to the Table.
And though the cover photo shows primarily nonstarchy veggies and a roast chicken being prepared (with an entire family involved), many of the recipes (billed as “meals the whole family will love!”) are generally too high in carbs for me to make without modification. And since they are designed to appeal to kids, they are heavy on options like mac & cheese, pasta, potatoes, starchy casseroles, and sweet sauces.
To be fair, there appear to be some good recipes in here that aren’t high in carbs or could be easily modified to be low carb, and Art doesn’t spare the butter nor is the focus on low fat or preachy about nutrients. And I really like the focus on tips and techniques for more homecooked family meals with real food. But I haven’t used the book enough to justify the shelf space. And I guess I don’t need instructions on how to cook real food or gathering the family for dinner.
So it’s a shame that Art Smith has teamed up with Ornish. It looks like he has a talent for family cooking, but he could use some de-carbing.
Hi Anna–
I think it’s the same Art Smith.
Best–
MRE
When I saw this book listed on Amazon and read the synopsis, the first thing I thought of was this blog. I was going to mention it but I figured why ruin a pleasant holiday season. When I read the Prez testimonial I thought the same thing. Kinda like Keith Richards promoting AA. I bet items in “group 1″ (grains, lf dairy, soy) have caused more death and suffering than “group5″, despite the fried foods. How about HFCS is in group 3 and egg yolks and red meat are in group 5 ..ouch! Now I can see why the only words you respond with at times are “Jesus Wept” . Thanks for enlightenment.
15 or so years ago I was working in cardiac rehab (as an occupational therapist) and I read all of Ornish’s books I liked his approach that you could avoid surgery through changes in lifestyle.
In 1997 Ornish wrote a book called Love and Survival, about the importance of love and emotional support in heart health. I saw him on a talk show promoting the book and he was asked why he wrote it. He said, if I remember correctly all these years later, that he’d written it because people thought of him as the diet police, and he actually believed, after doing the research for the book, that the biggest risk factor for heart disease was lonliness, even bigger than diet, or even smoking.
I had a lot of respect for him, at that point, because he was one of the only western doctors I’d heard of who did more than pay lip service to that.
Now he seems to have committed himself to defending the low-fat cause and I think it’s a shame because he had so much more in him.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste.
Even a mind as closed as his.
Cheers–
MRE
Wasn’t Clinton famous for jogging past McDonald’s and stopping for a deep fried apple pie while doing so?
Yep, but that supposedly changed once he got in the Oval Office and had Ornish as his diet guru.
Cheers–
MRE
So Ornish is basically saying that high fructose corn syrup,
pastries, cakes, cookies, and pies are healthier than red meat, egg yolks, organ meats, butter, cream, and tropical oils. Wow. The vegetarian bias could not be more evident.
Also, I thought it was funny that he wrote: “egg whites in their natural forms.” Natural forms? Huh? Sorry, Dean, I’ll take my eggs the truly natural way: with their yolks.
Yeah, old Dean has to be a real contortionist to try to make sense out of these recommendations.
Cheers–
MRE
Surprise — Cholesterol May Actually Pose Benefits, Study Shows
I wonder if Ornish et al will respond to this research with the predictable “Despite the fact that cholesterol lowering drugs have been shown to reduce muscle strength and can cause other serious side effects, patients should not discontinue their use because the benefits outweigh any risks which should be considered minor” statement? Bets down.
“ScienceDaily (Jan. 10, 2008) — If you’re worried about high cholesterol levels and keeping heart-healthy as you get older, don’t push aside bacon and eggs just yet. A new study says they might actually provide a benefit.
Researchers at Texas A&M University have discovered that lower cholesterol levels can actually reduce muscle gain with exercising. Lead investigator Steven Riechman, assistant professor of health and kinesiology, and Simon Sheather, head of the Department of Statistics, along with colleagues from The Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, have recently had their findings published in the Journal of Gerontology.
Hi David–
A couple of readers have commented on this study already. It would be interesting to see Ornish’s comments. I suspect they would be as you predicted.
Cheers–
MRE
The biggest fear is that Bill Clinton will be right…. The world’s in a sad place if 5 to 10 years from now we as a populace are still embracing Ornish.
At least the social security problem will be solved – people won’t live as long.
Cheers
Tracy, you asked whether Ornish will ever actually test his dietary plan. Why should he? Everyone knows it’s true and based on sound medical fact.
Walt, “eggs in their natural form” is not such a odd statement. The grocery store sells powdered egg white in the bakery aisle, and there’s even “Eggbeaters” of just whites.
Also, could someone please summarize the thing about Lipitor and the Jarvik ad? The link is to a site where you have to register as a medical professional which I, alas, am not.
I also wanted to mention that I’ve been on Dr. McCleary’s “cocktails” and Vitamin D3 for about a week now, and things seem to be improving mentally and physically. Of course, I’ve also gone back to solid VLC eating. “Do you choose to simply know the path, or do you choose to walk it?” I choose to walk it.
Thanks once again for a great blog!
Hey Kathy–
Fixed your winks for you.
Glad you’re doing well on the McCleary cocktail and vit D3. Just keep walkin’ that path.
Cheers–
MRE
I’m with Tracy Bradley. I’ll stay in Spectrum Group 5, thanks, Dean. The only foods in Group 5 that are potentially bad are “fried poultry, fried fish, hot dogs.” The rest are great foods IMO. And an occasionaly hot dog won’t kill you, though I’d get the kosher ones. The problems with fried fish and fried poultry are from the breading, batter, carbs, sugar, and hydrogenated or polyunsaturated oils being used. In general, I believe that Ornish’s “spectrum” is upside down and backwards. I suspect that most here would agree.
What a surprise. Years ago, when you wrote the first PP, you displayed the u-shape graph that showed that as cholesterol was lowered past the optimal range (180-200), cancer, depression, accidents, etc, increased. It seems related to me that it would be easier to gain muscle mass in the optimal range, and easier to lose it as cholesterol gets lowered.
Hi LC–
It would seem that way to me, too.
Cheers–
MRE
I did not believe many things that Bill Clinton said when he was President. So why start now?!
We saw a TV spot the other day with Huckabee going for a run… my daughter remarked that he sure has tacked a few pounds around the waist. Semi-starvation and yo-yo dieting is what it looks like… not serious low carbing.
I am an Asian Indian, was proudly a ‘pure’ vegetarian until the age of 30 .. not even eggs. But born with a great love for rice, vegetables, fruits and potatoes.. loved it. The food pyramid in the US reinforced these beliefs in the superiority of the ‘simple’ Indian way of life and the glorious holistic stuff. Bottomline, I am a type2 now at age 51 and my wife will attest that it is all due to the quantity of rice that I ate twice every day.
Low carb is the only way I want to live now. I honestly have no desire for rice anymore. My BG is normal only with diet and metformin. I lost 40 lbs in 9 months and am at normal BMI for the first time in my life. Finally (and thankfully) I am in control. I travel a lot, but manage on the road quite easily and actually is no hardship.
So, I do not need Ornish. Been there, done that. Thank you very much.
Hey Guru–
Thanks for the med/diet history. I’m glad you found low-carb and are doing so well on it. Maybe with a little time at your normal weight you’ll be able to ditch the metformin as well.
Cheers–
MRE
when i was a very fat 17 year old girl (225 pounds on my 5’8″ frame!) i made up my own diet of eggs, meat, poultry, fish and vegetables. i never read a diet book, it just seemed to make sense to give up “fake” foods and only eat foods found in nature. i got down to 145 by the time i was in my early twenties and have stayed there ever since. last year, at the wise old age of 47, i read dean ornish’s books and decided i had done everything wrong…that non fat vegan was the only way to go. i GAINED 30 pounds, lost my sex drive, my energy and developed a crippling sugar addiction within in 6 months! needless to say i have gone back to foods found in nature and my shape is slowly coming back (and i’m chasing the boyfriend around the house again!)
and thank you sir, your blog is a true delight to read!
best,
ida
Hi Ida–
Thanks for the great comment. And thanks for the kind words about the blog.
Cheers–
MRE
“CONSULTING: If you’re not a part of the solution, there’s good money to be made in prolonging the problem.”
Larry Kersten (American Sociologist and Author. )
Having consulted in the past, I could take umbrage at Kersten’s quote… but I KNOW the kind of consultants he’s talking about.
LOL!!!
after my 3rd heart attack dec 04 I quit the veggie/ornish just plant food eating and now with type 2 this yr am still doing great with no carbs. also off BP drugs and since May have stopped all lipitor and crestor (7 days of crestor was enough) still getting stronger and no more brain fog feeling, wish I knew then what I know now…LOL great blog and hope you keep it going
I’m glad to hear you’re doing so well. You were the inspiration for my post today.
Cheers–
MRE