What is missing in Moyers article is the clinical experience that comes from helping people change their diet and lifestyle. A paper was presented from Tufts University titled One Year Effectiveness of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diets in Decreasing Body Weight and Heart Disease Risk. The researchers concluded All diets resulted in significant weight loss from baseline and all but the Ornish diet resulted in significant reductions in the Framingham risk score (45). 1998;339:12-20. Dean Ornish, in full Dean Michael Ornish, (born July 16, 1953, Dallas, Texas, U.S.), American physician and author whose approach to treating heart disease through radical diet modification and exercise generated significant debate in the medical community and attracted a popular following. Another meta-analysis of 21 studies found no association between saturated fat intake and heart disease. The data suggest that reducing fat intake is one effective strategy for also reducing total energy consumption Given the increasing rates of obesity in the United States at an earlier age, dietary-fat reduction may be an effective part of an overall strategy to balance energy consumption with energy needs (8). Dr. David Perlmutter is on the cutting edge of innovative medicine that looks at all lifestyle influences on health and illness. And although no one likes to be falsely accused that almost everything they say is wrong, the bigger concern I have is that people who otherwise might have been motivated to make these highly beneficial diet and lifestyle changes may be discouraged from doing so by reading this essay by Ms. Moyer in which, unfortunately, almost everything she writes about my work is wrong. Harrisons Advances in Cardiology. Founder and president, Preventive Medicine Research Institute Am J Clin Nutr. Science. If his diet worksand again, we dont know for sure that it doesis that because it reduces protein or fat or refined carbohydrates? The recent multicenter PREDIMED trial also supports the notion that fat can be good rather than bad. Whole foodssuch as whole grain products and fruits and veggiesare healthy, but I think that dairy products, fish and lean cuts of meat or poultry can also be part of a healthy diet, Steffen says. Saunders; 1998. 2002;76:535-540. She wrote about the reasons that autoimmune diseases overwhelmingly affect women in the September 2021 issue. History tells us its not going to be spinach. This is especially incongruous when, as mentioned earlier, the only study to examine blood flow on the Atkins diet found that it actually worsened (35). I wrote: For example, in the OmniHeart trial she cited, the group that was asked to consume 10 percent more protein emphasized plant proteins, not animal protein. 1999;277:F813-F819. WebIn this video, we are comparing the new Atkins Protein Chips to the Quest Protein Chips. The American Cancer Society 1996 Advisory Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer Prevention. Dean Ornish, MD In educating patients in an evidenced-based practice, it may be helpful to summarize an optimal diet as one that is high in good carbohydrates (complex carbohydrates), good fats (n-3 fatty acids) (62), and good protein (plant based) and low in ones that are less healthful. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Even better would be to reduce the intake of simple carbohydrates and most fats, which results in losing even more weight while enhancing health rather than potentially harming it. Companies such as McDonalds consulted him on the formulation of healthier foods, and he held lucrative positions on the advisory boards of PepsiCo and Safeway. Prev Cardiol. 1999;84:339-341A8. Ornish D. A diet rich in partial truths. Mean 12-month weight loss was as follows: Atkins, -4.7 kg (95% confidence interval [CI], -6.3 to -3.1 kg), Zone, -1.6 kg (95% CI, -2.8 to -0.4 kg), LEARN, -2.6 kg (-3.8 to -1.3 kg), and Ornish, -2.2 kg (-3.6 to -0.8 kg). Corrections? J Cardiovasc Risk. 1997;337:562-563. HDL returns cholesterol to the liver for metabolism, a pathway known as reverse cholesterol transport. A related study by this group looked at 85,168 women and 44,548 men without heart disease, cancer or diabetes from the Nurses Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. Second, as I made clear in the oped as well as in my books and journal articles, the diet I recommend is low in refined carbohydrates and high in good carbs such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products in their natural, unrefined forms (which tend to have low glycemic loads). It is all about energy balance. These include JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association, The Lancet, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, The Lancet Oncology, The New England Journal of Medicine, The American Journal of Cardiology and others. Pounds lost on Atkins diet may quickly return. Spady DK, Dietschy JM. Losing weight is important, but the history of medicine is replete with examples of weight-loss approaches that were harmful to health (eg, amphetamines, fen-phen). Only patients following the Atkins diet showed a worsening of each CVD risk factor (LDL-C, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL-C, total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio, homocysteine, Lp(a), and fibrinogen), despite achieving statistically significant weight loss. Some scientists think so. For 37 years he has been touting the benefits of very low-fat, high-carbohydrate, vegetarian diets for preventing and reversing heart disease. Not exactly. If we start fearing protein, too, what will we fill our plates with instead? American Dietetic Association. Here's a blog in which I addressed this issue: As Attilio Maseri, MD, an internationally known and respected cardiologist, wrote: My colleagues and I conducted a demonstration project of 333 patients from four academic medical centers and four community hospitals. Omissions? INTERVENTION: The Lifestyle Heart Trial. New York: HarperCollins Publishers; 1996. Reductions in total cholesterol, LDL-C, triglycerides, and total-to-HDL cholesterol ratios were significant only in patients who were following either a 10% fat diet or a 15% fat, calorie-controlled diet. Effects of diet and exercise in men and postmenopausal women with low levels of HDL cholesterol and high levels of LDL cholesterol. A food or nutrient can be healthy without requiring that all other foods or nutrients be unhealthy. WebDr. The decrease in the percentage of calories from fat during the period 1971 to 1991 is attributed to an increase in total calories consumed; absolute fat intake in grams actually increased. Atkins A diet high in whole grains was associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in 42,898 men followed for 12 years. Functional foods: Position of the American Dietetic Association. All three diets reduced blood pressure, total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and estimated coronary heart disease risk. Effect of whole grains on insulin sensitivity in overweight hyperinsulinemic adults. 1968;2:702-703. But what about the claims Ornish makes about the success of his own dietdo they hold up to scrutiny? This argument raises two interesting points: First, it contradicts Ornishs claim that hes not really against fat, just certain types of fat. 1998;280:2001-2007. In assessing the health effects of different diets its important to measure the disease process itself, not just risk factors such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Thus, dietary fat is not responsible for obesity. In fact, per capita consumption of fat has risen by 10 Ib/year since 1975, whereas per capita consumption of simple carbohydrates has increased even more, by 20 Ib/year (5). J Am Coll Nutr. Gould KL, Ornish D, Scherwitz L, et al. That only supports my thesis, because I recommend that people eat less harmful fats and fewer refined carbohydrates. The decrease in HDL-C and apo A-I levels correlated with the decrease in apo A-I transport rate but not with the increase in apo A-I FCR. I have no horse in this race. David Perlmutter, MD, FACN is a board-certified neurologist, Fellow of the American College of Nutrition, and five-time New York Times bestselling author. Southern Med J. Wing RR, Vazquez JA, Ryan CM. This site is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or related in any way to In practice, someone trying to lose weight may begin by moderately reducing their intake of simple carbohydrates and fat and moderately increasing their level of exercise. Am J Kidney Dis. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Dean Ornish, MD, is founder and president of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute and is Clinical Professor of Medicine at the To compare 4 weight-loss diets representing a spectrum of low to high carbohydrate intake for effects on weight loss and related metabolic variables. 1990;322:1053-1059. Ornish was a physician consultant to U.S. Pres. Im not cherry-picking data; Im looking at the preponderance of evidence from many studies by leading investigators such as those at Harvard School of Public Health. Both are written by doctors and have many successful followers but Total cholesterol decreased much more on the Ornish diet than on any of the other diets. One reason that people often lose weight when they reduce their intake of carbohydrates is that they are usually reducing their intake of fats as well. In other words, the diet I recommend causes weight loss, not weight gain. Popular diets, particularly those low in carbohydrates, have challenged current recommendations advising a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet for weight loss. 2nd ed. HDL-C is predictive of relative heart disease risk only in populations in which everyone is eating a similar high-fat diet, such as the Framingham population. Am J Physiol. 1987;76:504-507. Bazzano and her associates concluded that going on a low-carb diet is better than a low-fat one for those wishing to lose weight. These include a whole foods, plant-based diet low in refined carbohydrates, moderate exercise, stress management techniques and social support. Fourth, the Gardner study did not really test very much of anything, other than its hard for many people to change their dietsany dietfrom just reading a book. The title is confusing and potentially harmful to many readers. DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN RISK FACTORS AND ACTUAL MEASURES OF DISEASE. Hunninghake DB, Stein EA, Dujovne CA, et al. (An adult who consumes two tablespoons of olive oil in, say, a portion of salad dressing has already exceeded getting 10 percent of his days calories from fat if hes eating 2,000 calories daily.). The effects of weight loss on the activity and expression of adipose-tissue lipoprotein lipase in very obese humans. Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics. Also, C-reactive protein and creatinine clearance were significantly lowered only on the Ornish and Weight Watchers diets. Melinda Wenner Moyer, a contributing editor at Scientific American, is author of How to Raise Kids Who Arent Assholes: Science-Based Strategies for Better Parentingfrom Tots to Teens (G. P. Putnams Sons, 2021). Insulin stimulates 3-hydroxy-3-meth-ylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (which statin drugs inhibit), increasing lipid production, which may help to explain why high-protein diets do not always exacerbate hypercholesterolemia (26). If ones looks at the right data, he says, its clear that our countrys metabolic ills can be blamed on our increasing consumption of red meat and bad fatsboth of which, he says, are proved to be unhealthy. 2002;40:265-274. N Engl J Med. An easier way to consume fewer calories is to eat less fat because fat (whether saturated, monosaturated, or unsaturated) has 9 kcal/g, whereas protein and carbohydrates have only 4 kcal/g. At Pennsylvania State University, researchers found that healthy women instinctively ate about 3 lb of food a day, whether high or low in calories. Unfortunately, most studies of the Atkins diet and other highprotein diets measure only risk factors for CHD such as weight and lipids. All consumption estimates are imperfect, of course, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data he cites. If they stop eating bagels, they may also stop eating the cream cheese.