Dean Ornish Books & Quotes

“In short, anything that promotes a sense of isolation leads to chronic stress and, often, to illnesses like heart disease. Conversely, anything that leads to real intimacy and feelings of connection can be healing in the real sense of the word: to bring together, to make whole.”

Health Mental Health Wellbeing Quotes Heart Health

Book:Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease: The Only System Scientifically Proven to Reverse Heart Disease Without Drugs or Surgery

Source: Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease: The Only System Scientifically Proven to Reverse Heart Disease Without Drugs or Surgery

“An educated patient is empowered; thus, more likely to become healthy.”

Healthy Patient Educated Empowered

Author:Dean Ornish

“Even more than feeling healthy, most people want to feel free and in control.”

People Want Feels Feelings Healthy

Author:Dean Ornish

“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.”

Found Felt Five Grew Eating Grew Up Meat Vegetarian Texas Eating Meat

Author:Dean Ornish

“We all know we're going to die one day, but who wants to think about it? What's sustainable is joy, pleasure and freedom.”

Thinking Knows Want Joy Dies Pleasure One Day

Author:Dean Ornish

“Whether it's by helping us search for health-related information, connecting us with doctors through online portals, or enabling us to store and retrieve our medical records online, the Internet is starting to show the promise it has to transform the way people interact with and improve their own health and wellness.”

“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.”

Thinking Important Done Bigs Research Agree Admirer

Author:Dean Ornish

“When most people think about my work, they think about diet. To me, diet has always been the least interesting part of it.”

People Thinking Interesting Diets

Author:Dean Ornish

“Whether you're six or sixty, if you go on a diet and lifestyle program and feel constrained, you're likely to go off it sooner or later. Offering a spectrum of choices is much more effective; then, you feel free and empowered.”

Ifs Feels Choices Goes On Six Program Lifestyle Diets Offering Sixty Sooner Or Later Empowered Spectrum

Book:The Spectrum: How to Customize a Way of Eating and Living Just Right for You and Your Family

Source: The Spectrum: How to Customize a Way of Eating and Living Just Right for You and Your Family

“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?”

People Helping Together Past Social Community Imagine Built Ties Interaction Familiarity Faded Fingertips Social Interaction

Author:Dean Ornish

“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.”

People Knows Dies Three Strong Community Degrees Lonely Sick Factors

Author:Dean Ornish

“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.”

Way May Important Loses Losing Weight Good Things Compromise Overweight Lose Weight

Author:Dean Ornish

“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.”

Ifs Want Feels Found Healthy Opposites Tendencies Helpful Counterproductive

Author:Dean Ornish

“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.”

Knows Answers Accepting Approach Scientist Medical Cards Quackery

Author:Dean Ornish

“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.”

Ideas Patient Dialogue Curious New Ideas Receptive Recommendations

Author:Dean Ornish

“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.”

Information Internet Daily Life Touching Shopping Transformed Family And Friends

Author:Dean Ornish

“Love and intimacy are at the roots of what makes us sick and what makes us well, what causes sadness and what brings happiness, what makes us suffer and what leads to healing...I am not aware of any other factor in medicine- not diet, not smoking, not exercise, not stress, not genetics, not drugs, not surgery- that has a greater impact on our quality of life, incidence of illness and premature death from all causes.”

“Stress is not so much what you do, but how you react to what you do.”

Stress

Author:Dean Ornish

“Over time, years of meditation gave me glimpses of the interconnectedness and interdependence of all life. I experienced that on one level we are alone, separate, apart from everyone and everything; on another level, we are the Self in different disguises, different names and forms, a part of everyone and everything. This experience of interconnectedness is part of spiritual traditions and the perennial wisdom in virtually all religions and cultures.”

Years Different Self Spiritual Form Culture Names Levels Meditation Tradition Disguise Glimpse Interdependence Interconnectedness Different Names

Book:Love & Survival: The Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy

Source: Love & Survival: The Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy

“Our survival depends on the healing power of love, intimacy and relationships. As individuals. As communities. As a country. As a culture. Perhaps even as a species.”

Country Culture Individual Community Healing Depends Survival Species Intimacy Power Of Love

Book:Love & Survival: The Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy

Source: Love & Survival: The Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy

“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.”

“When I talk about forgiveness, I mean letting go, not excusing the other person or reconciling with them or condoning the behavior. Just letting go of your own suffering.”

Mean Persons Suffering Letting Go Behavior

Author:Dean Ornish

“One of the reasons my father ... became a dentist was so he could always be home for dinner and spend weekends with his family. At one point he had thought about being a musician, but he said, I'm not going to do that because I'd be on the road all the time and I wouldn't be with my family.”

Said Reason Home Father Musician My Family Dinner Performing Weekend Dentist

Author:Dean Ornish

“Because the biological mechanisms that affect our health and well-being are so dynamic, when people change their diet and lifestyle, they usually feel so much better, so quickly; it reframes the reason for changing from fear of dying to joy of living. Also, the support that patients give each other is a powerful motivator.”

People Giving Feels Wells Reason Joy Change Powerful Support Dying Patient Lifestyle Well Being Diets Mechanism Joy Of Living Fear Of Dying

Author:Dean Ornish

“Poor health is not caused by something you don't have; it's caused by disturbing something that you already have. Health is not something you need to get, it's something you have already if you don't disturb it.”

Ifs Needs Care Poor Health Health Care Disturbing Inspirational Health Poor Health Health Is Wealth

Author:Dean Ornish

“I don't understand why asking people to eat a well-balanced vegetarian diet is considered drastic, while it is medically conservative to cut people open and put them on cholesterol lowering drugs for the rest of their lives.”

“Meaning is malleable: take it out, you get nihilism and despair. Put it in, you get sacredness and something most special.”

Special Despair Nihilism Sacredness

Author:Dean Ornish

“Awareness-mindfulness-is the first step in healing. In Counterclockwise, Dr. Ellen Langer eloquently describes how becoming more aware of our beliefs and expectations allows us to powerfully transform our lives for the better. A pioneering, beautifully-written book.”

Firsts Book Belief Healing Steps Our Lives Written Awareness Becoming Mindfulness Expectations First Steps Drs Becoming More Pioneering

Author:Dean Ornish

“We all have an inner teacher, an inner guide, an inner voice that speaks very clearly but usually not very loudly. That information can be drowned out by the chatter of the mind and the pressure of day-to-day events. But if we quiet down the mind, we can begin to hear what we're not paying attention to. We can find out what's right for us.”

Ifs Mind Speak Voice Attention Teacher Events Information Quiet Pressure Intuition Guides Pay Attention Day To Day Inner Voice Chatter

Book:Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease: The Only System Scientifically Proven to Reverse Heart Disease Without Drugs orSurgery

Source: Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease: The Only System Scientifically Proven to Reverse Heart Disease Without Drugs orSurgery

“Eating a vegetarian diet, walking (exercising) everyday, and meditating is considered radical. Allowing someone to slice your chest open and graft your leg veins in your heart is considered normal and conservative.”

Heart Walking Exercise Normal Eating Everyday Conservative Legs Radical Diets Chests Allowing Vegetarian Veins Meditating Vegetarian Diet

Author:Dean Ornish

“Although scientists can often be as resistant to new ideas as anyone, the process of science ensures that, over time, good ideas and theories prevail.”

Ideas Process Theory Scientist Good Ideas New Ideas Often Is

Author:Dean Ornish

“When I use the word spirituality, I don't necessarily mean religion; I mean whatever it is that helps you feel connected to something that is larger than yourself.”

Feels Mean Helping Use Spiritual Spirit Spirituality Connected

Author:Dean Ornish

“I usually find that the process of discovery is more interesting than the answers.”

Process Answers Interesting Discovery

Book:Love & Survival: The Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy

Source: Love & Survival: The Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy

“Joy of living is sustainable; fear of dying is not.”

Joy Dying Joy Of Living Fear Of Dying

Book:The Spectrum: How to Customize a Way of Eating and Living Just Right for You and Your Family

Source: The Spectrum: How to Customize a Way of Eating and Living Just Right for You and Your Family

“Real power is not given to us or even created; real power is realized. It comes from realizing an inner sense of peace, self-worth, and happiness.”

Real Self Given Realizing Power Self Worth Real Power

Book:Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease: The Only System Scientifically Proven to Reverse Heart Disease Without Drugs or Surgery

Source: Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease: The Only System Scientifically Proven to Reverse Heart Disease Without Drugs or Surgery

“At a time when 20% of people in the US go to bed hungry each night and almost 50% of the world's population is malnourished, choosing to eat more plant-based foods and less red meat is better for all of us-ourselves, our loved ones, and our planet.”

People World Night Planets Bed Red Plant Population Hungry Meat Loved Ones Our Planet Red Meat

Author:Dean Ornish

“The healing power of love and relationships has been documented in an increasing number of well-designed scientific studies involving hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world.”

People World Wells Has Beens Numbers Healing Study Involving Power Of Love Love And Relationship

Book:Love & Survival: The Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy

Source: Love & Survival: The Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy

“People tend to think of breakthroughs in medicine as a new drug, a laser, or a high-tech surgical procedure. They often have a hard time believing that the simple choices that we make in our lifestyle. What we eat, how we respond to stress, whether or not we smoke cigarettes, how much exercise we get, and the quality of our relationships and support can be as powerful as drugs and surgery. And they often are.”