TED2006
Dean Ornish: The killer American diet that's sweeping the planet
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Forget the latest disease in the news: Cardiovascular disease kills more people than everything else combined -- and it’s mostly preventable. Dr. Dean Ornish explains how changing our eating habits can save lives.
Dean Ornish - Physician, author
Dean Ornish is a clinical professor at UCSF and founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute. He's a leading expert on fighting illness -- particularly heart disease with dietary and lifestyle changes. Full bio
Dean Ornish is a clinical professor at UCSF and founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute. He's a leading expert on fighting illness -- particularly heart disease with dietary and lifestyle changes. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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With all the legitimate concerns
about AIDS and avian flu --
about AIDS and avian flu --
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and we'll hear about that from the
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brilliant Dr. Brilliant later today --
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I want to talk about the other
pandemic, which is
pandemic, which is
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cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, hypertension --
diabetes, hypertension --
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all of which are completely
preventable for at
preventable for at
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least 95 percent of people
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just by changing diet and lifestyle.
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And what's happening is that there's a
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globalization of illness
occurring, that people
occurring, that people
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are starting to eat like us,
and live like us, and
and live like us, and
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die like us. And
in one generation, for example,
in one generation, for example,
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Asia's gone from having
one of the lowest rates of
one of the lowest rates of
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heart disease and obesity
and diabetes to one
and diabetes to one
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of the highest. And in Africa,
cardiovascular disease
cardiovascular disease
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equals the HIV and AIDS deaths
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in most countries.
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So there's a critical
window of opportunity we
window of opportunity we
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have to make an important
difference that can
difference that can
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affect the lives of literally
millions of people,
millions of people,
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and practice preventive
medicine on a global
medicine on a global
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scale.
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Heart and blood vessel
diseases still kill more
diseases still kill more
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people -- not only in this
country, but also
country, but also
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worldwide -- than everything
else combined, and yet
else combined, and yet
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it's completely preventable
for almost everybody.
for almost everybody.
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It's not only preventable; it's actually
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reversible. And for the last
almost 29 years,
almost 29 years,
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we've been able to show
that by simply changing
that by simply changing
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diet and lifestyle, using
these very high-tech,
these very high-tech,
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expensive, state-of-the-art
measures to prove how
measures to prove how
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powerful these very simple
and low-tech and low-cost
and low-tech and low-cost
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interventions can be like -- quantitative
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arteriography,
before and after a year, and
before and after a year, and
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cardiac PET scans.
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We showed a few months
ago -- we published the
ago -- we published the
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first study showing you
can actually stop or
can actually stop or
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reverse the progression
of prostate cancer by
of prostate cancer by
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making changes in diet
and lifestyle, and 70 percent
and lifestyle, and 70 percent
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regression in the tumor
growth, or inhibition of
growth, or inhibition of
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the tumor growth, compared
to only nine percent in the
to only nine percent in the
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control group.
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And in the MRI and MR
spectroscopy here, the
spectroscopy here, the
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prostate tumor activity
is shown in red -- you can
is shown in red -- you can
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see it diminishing after a year.
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Now there is an epidemic
of obesity: two-thirds of
of obesity: two-thirds of
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adults and 15 percent of kids.
What's really concerning
What's really concerning
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to me is that diabetes has
increased 70 percent in the
increased 70 percent in the
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past 10 years, and this may be the first
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generation in which our kids
live a shorter life
live a shorter life
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span than we do. That's pitiful, and it's
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preventable.
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Now these are not election
returns, these are the
returns, these are the
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people -- the number
of the people who are obese
of the people who are obese
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by state, beginning in '85,
'86, '87 -- these are
'86, '87 -- these are
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from the CDC website --
'88, '89, '90, '91 -- you
'88, '89, '90, '91 -- you
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get a new category --
'92, '93, '94, '95, '96,
'92, '93, '94, '95, '96,
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'97, '98, '99, 2000, 2001
-- it gets worse. We're
-- it gets worse. We're
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kind of devolving. (Laughter)
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Now what can we do about this?
Well, you know, the
Well, you know, the
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diet that we've found
that can reverse heart
that can reverse heart
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disease and cancer is an Asian diet.
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But the people in Asia
are starting to eat like we
are starting to eat like we
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are, which is why they're
starting to get sick
starting to get sick
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like we are.
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So I've been working
with a lot of the big food
with a lot of the big food
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companies. They can make
it fun and sexy and hip
it fun and sexy and hip
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and crunchy and convenient
to eat healthier foods,
to eat healthier foods,
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like -- I chair the advisory
boards to McDonald's,
boards to McDonald's,
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and PepsiCo, and ConAgra,
and Safeway, and soon
and Safeway, and soon
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Del Monte, and they're
finding that it's good
finding that it's good
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business.
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The salads that you see
at McDonald's came from
at McDonald's came from
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the work -- they're going
to have an Asian salad. At
to have an Asian salad. At
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Pepsi, two-thirds
of their revenue growth came
of their revenue growth came
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from their better foods.
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And so if we can do that,
then we can free up
then we can free up
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resources for buying drugs
that you really do need
that you really do need
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for treating AIDS and HIV
and malaria and for
and malaria and for
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preventing avian flu. Thank you.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dean Ornish - Physician, authorDean Ornish is a clinical professor at UCSF and founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute. He's a leading expert on fighting illness -- particularly heart disease with dietary and lifestyle changes.
Why you should listen
Dr. Dean Ornish wants you to live longer, and have more fun while you're at it. He's one of the leading voices in the medical community promoting a balanced, holistic approach to health, and proving that it works. The author of Eat More, Weigh Less and several other best-selling books, Ornish is best known for his lifestyle-based approach to fighting heart disease.
His research at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute (the nonprofit he founded) clinically demonstrated that cardiovascular illnesses -- and, most recently prostate cancer -- can be treated and even reversed through diet and exercise. These findings (once thought to be physiologically implausible) have been widely chronicled in the US media, including Newsweek, for which Ornish writes a column. The fifty-something physician, who's received many honors and awards, was chosen by LIFE Magazine as one of the most influential members of his generation. Among his many pursuits, Ornish is now working with food corporations to help stop America's obesity pandemic from spreading around the globe.
Dean Ornish | Speaker | TED.com