Quotes by Dean Ornish

I dont 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.

I dont understand why asking people to eat a well-balanced, vegetarian diet is considered drastic, while it is medically conservative to cut people open.

When I use the word spirituality I dont necessarily mean religion I mean whatever it is that helps you feel connected to something that is larger than yourself.

In business, when you can meet an unmet need that is this primal, even meeting it in a superficial way can create a multi-billion-dollar business - e.g., the chat rooms in AOL when it first came out, or the lounges in Starbucks, or the billion people who are on Facebook - even though these are hardly the most intimate of life experiences.

I never give up hope.

In an era in which war and terrorism - at home and abroad - are often based on racial, religious and ethnic differences, rediscovering the wisdom of love and compassion may help us increase our survival at a time when an increasingly divided country and world so badly need it.

One of the reasons Im 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.

No one has a monopoly on truth, and science continues to advance. Yesterdays heresies may be tomorrows conventional wisdom.

When we understand the connection between how we live and how long we live, its easier to make different choices. Instead of viewing the time we spend with friends and family as luxuries, we can see that these relationships are among the most powerful determinants of our well-being and survival.

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 youve done, the stuff you put on your resume. You know theyve seen you in your dark times, when youve messed up - but theyre still there.

The need for connection and community is primal, as fundamental as the need for air, water, and food.

The need for love and intimacy is a fundamental human need, as primal as the need for food, water, and air.

The power of the Internet is also its limitation - it provides access to large amounts of information without providing guidance on how to sort out what is credible and what is not.

Knowledge and engagement are a powerful antidote to forces that often work against our kids being healthy.

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.

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.

If youre at high risk or are trying to reverse heart disease or prevent the recurrence of cancer, you probably need to make bigger changes in diet and lifestyle than someone who just wants to lose a few pounds and is otherwise healthy. If you just want to lower your cholesterol, weight or blood pressure, begin by making moderate changes.

Although many people believe that the primary emphasis of my work is about diet, its not. What we eat is important, of course, but what comes out of our mouth may be more important than what goes into it.

As a veteran of the diet wars, I think its time to call a truce. Rather than hear experts argue, most people want practical information they can use.

In 2010, I consulted with President Clinton after his bypass grafts occluded and encouraged him to make healthy lifestyle changes including a whole-foods, plant-based diet low in refined carbohydrates.