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.

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.

What others say

“Instead of trying to motivate [patients] with the 'fear of dying,' Ornish reframes the issue. He inspires a new vision of the 'joy of living' -- convincing them they can feel better, not just live longer.” — Fast Company

Dean Ornish’s TED talks

More news and ideas from Dean Ornish

A heavy education for New York City commuters

October 8, 2008

Many of us don’t know how to eat. (And it’s making us fat, sick and disconnected.) This poster and three more like it are turning up in New York subways, confronting us with the vagueness that goes into our food choices. If you really knew that a fast-food burrito meal was 1170 calories — more […]

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Your genes are not your fate: Dean Ornish on TED.com

June 24, 2008

Back online: Dr. Dean Ornish shares new research that shows how adopting healthy lifestyle habits can affect a person at a genetic level. For instance, he says, when you live healthier, eat better, exercise, and love more, your brain cells actually increase. And new findings show that a healthier lifestyle can turn off disease-provoking genes […]

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Transcript

Dr. Dean Ornish on TED.com

April 21, 2007

Stop wringing your hands over AIDS, cancer and the avian flu. Cardiovascular disease kills more people than everything else combined — and it’s mostly preventable. Dr. Dean Ornish explains how changing our eating habits will save lives. NEW: Read the transcript>> With all the legitimate concerns about AIDS and avian flu, and we’ll hear about […]

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