Words matter. These are the best Dean Ornish Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
When we forgive someone, it doesn’t excuse their actions; it frees us from our own chronic stress and suffering, so it’s in our own self-interest.
Science is simply a powerful way of understanding what’s real and what isn’t, what’s true and what’s not. It can help us determine what works, what doesn’t, for whom, and under what circumstances.
Parents and kids know they should pass up the fries for an apple and exchange the video game for a game of tag – but knowing and doing are certainly different things.
It’s true, you can lose weight on these high-animal-protein, Atkins-type diets, but you’re mortgaging your health in the process.
Telomeres are the ends of our chromosomes that control how long we live. As telomeres become shorter, then cells age and die more quickly. In simple terms, as your telomeres get shorter, your life gets shorter.
When the U.S. claims the right to invade any country unilaterally and then defines a country like Iran or North Korea as ‘evil,’ then it is a rational response for these countries to develop nuclear weapons as the only military deterrent to invasion. We create what we most fear.
I’m a big admirer of Walter Willett’s work. I think he’s done some really important research. He and I agree on most things.
I strongly believe that the Founding Fathers of our country got it right: power corrupts, and any time you have too much power concentrated in one place, it tends to get abused, so checks and balances are always needed.
One of the reasons I’m excited by what visionary Elon Musk has done with the Tesla is to show that you can reduce global warming and drive a powerful, fun car. A cool car helps make a cooler planet.
Getting through the day becomes more important than living a long life when you have no one else to live for.
Rediscovering the wisdom of love and compassion may help us survive at a time when an increasingly balkanized world so badly needs it.
Curious patients are more receptive to new ideas, and those who engage their health practitioners in a dialogue are much more likely to adhere to these recommendations.
Fear leads to more fear, and trust leads to more trust.
Multinational food companies can play a large role in helping to prevent chronic diseases around the world by offering healthier choices in the United States and abroad.
I’m as deeply suspicious of big government as anyone. I’m strongly in favor of universal coverage but not single payer.
No one has all the answers, so whatever a woman who has the BRCA mutation chooses to do requires courage and an element of faith. And a lot of love and support.
Knowledge and engagement are a powerful antidote to forces that often work against our kids being healthy.
Our emotions resonate with each other – for better and for worse.
I appreciate the power of a White House bully pulpit – but kids listen and learn primarily from other kids. If your son’s friend tells him that the apple is better than the fries, he’s more likely to listen.
Too much power in any institution tends to stifle innovation.
Lifestyle changes may help reduce risk, but no study has shown that lifestyle changes alone can eliminate the risk of breast cancer, especially in those carrying the BRCA mutation.
Although many people believe that the primary emphasis of my work is about diet, it’s not. What we eat is important, of course, but what comes out of our mouth may be more important than what goes into it.
No one has a monopoly on truth, and science continues to advance. Yesterday’s heresies may be tomorrow’s conventional wisdom.
I’m first and foremost a scientist.
Just like navigating in the open sea, triangulating the information you collect from media with your doctor’s advice and some common sense will help map a sound path to safety.
With everything that you can imagine at our fingertips, many of the social interactions that help tie people together in a community have faded away. Are communities traditionally built on relationships, trust and familiarity a thing of the past?
In general, losing weight is a good thing for those who are overweight, but it’s important to lose weight in a way that enhances your health rather than one that may compromise it.
Reimbursement is a major determinant of how medicine is practiced. When reimbursement changes, so do medical practice and medical education.
‘I resolve to eat less food’ sounds good in theory, but it’s often hard to sustain. And if you believe that it’s all willpower, then you’re likely to be upset with yourself if you don’t succeed.
Knowing that changing lifestyle changes our genes is often very motivating – not to blame, but to empower.
Lifestyle changes may slow, stop, or even reverse the progression of early-stage prostate cancer.
I grew up in Texas, eating meat five times a day, and I liked meat. But I began being a vegetarian when I was 19 because I found that I felt better.
How you eat is as important as what you eat. If I eat mindlessly while watching television, I get all of the calories and none of the pleasure. Instead, if I eat mindfully, paying attention and savoring what I’m eating, smaller portions of food can be exquisitely satisfying.
If I eat mindlessly while watching television, reading, or talking with someone else, I can go through an entire meal without tasting the food, without even noticing that I’ve been eating. The plate is empty but I didn’t enjoy the food – I had all of the calories and little of the pleasure.
The reason I spend so much of my time doing science is that the whole point of science is to help people resolve conflicting claims by saying: ‘Show me the data.’
People who are lonely and depressed are three to 10 times more likely to get sick and die prematurely than those who have a strong sense of love and community. I don’t know any other single factor that affects our health – for better and for worse – to such a strong degree.
A little humility goes a long way.
Think about it: Heart disease and diabetes, which account for more deaths in the U.S. and worldwide than everything else combined, are completely preventable by making comprehensive lifestyle changes. Without drugs or surgery.
Smaller portions of good foods are more satisfying than larger portions of junk foods, especially if you pay attention to what you’re eating.
While the digital age has done so much to improve our world, it has dramatically changed our social structure, often further isolating us from each other.
You can meditate on almost anything: a prayer, song, image or word. Close your eyes; sit in a comfortable position. Take a breath, and say the word out loud, emphasizing the humming sound at the end. When you come to the end of the breath, take another one and say the word again. And so on.
I’ve found that if I tell somebody ‘Eat this and don’t do that,’ it’s not only not helpful, it’s counterproductive because even more than being healthy, we want to feel free and in control, and as soon as somebody tells us to do something, there’s a tendency to do just the opposite.
Let’s all be more humble about the evidence behind medical advice but also respect the challenges to providing accessible lifestyle guidance.
The Internet has transformed many parts of our daily lives, touching everything from how we find information to how we go shopping, get directions, and even stay in touch with friends and family.
Preventing cardiovascular disease can help free up critical resources for treating HIV/AIDS and other illnesses.
There’s no point in giving up something you enjoy unless you get something back that’s even better, and quickly.
Your body has a remarkable capacity to begin healing itself, and much more quickly than people had once realized, if you simply stop doing what’s causing the problem.
If we’re not careful, we become that which we most fear.
If you’re with a close friend, your anger may raise his blood pressure as well as your own, whereas loving feelings may lower blood pressure in both of you.
The diets and lifestyles in many other countries are much healthier than in the United States.
If you indulge yourself one day, you can eat more healthfully the next. To the degree you move in a healthful direction on the food spectrum, you’re likely to feel better, lose weight, and gain health.
I am as non-accepting of medical quackery and unscientific approaches as anybody else. I’ve grown up as a card-carrying scientist, and I know the power of science to answer questions, and for many questions I don’t know of anything better than scientific approaches to answer them.
When you grow up in an extended family, or in a stable neighborhood with two or three generations of families who live there, you feel seen. Not just the good things you’ve done, the stuff you put on your resume. You know they’ve seen you in your dark times, when you’ve messed up – but they’re still there.
Even more than feeling healthy, most people want to feel free and in control.
Intimacy and community buffer stress.
