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philocrates's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
5.0
Kept my other half alive for 10 more years than he should have had
mnh's review against another edition
5.0
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.
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