Diet for Health, Not Weight

Article: Eating for Health, Not Weight by Dean Ornish Sunday Review New York Times September 24, 2012 Key Ideas: Being thin and being healthy are not the same thing. Loosing weight does not mean that you are eating correctly. Conversely being overweight is not necessarily linked with disease or premature death. Ornish has found numerous benefits to patients who ate mostly plant based meals (black bean vegetarian chili, whole wheat penne pasta, roasted vegetables etc) were able to achieve reversal of severe coronary artery disease and when combined with exercise and stress reduction, effected less inflammation. Beneficial genes were "turned on" and harmful genes were "turned off." Telomere length was increase, a factor thought to control how long we live. A healthy diet is low unhealthful carbs and low in fat as well as in red meat and processed foods. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, soy products in natural, unrefined forms and some fish, like salmon. Ornish states about 75 percent of the 2.8 trillion in annual health care costs is the result of diseases that could be reversed with a healthy lifestyle.