Is the Ornish diet really the most heart-healthy?

Pulmonary artery arrow is wrong

From Cardiovascular Business:

The Mediterranean diet has been eclipsed as the U.S. News & World Report’s best-ranked heart-healthy diet for the first time in a decade, nudged out of the top spot by the popular Ornish diet.

The Ornish diet—also ranked as the ninth-best overall diet in the 2020 report—was pioneered by physician Dean Ornish more than 40 years ago and restricts the consumption of fats, refined carbohydrates and animal proteins. It also emphasizes the importance of exercise and stress management in living healthfully.

Source: Ornish beats Mediterranean as best heart-healthy diet of 2020

I’ve always associated the Ornish diet with group therapy, meditation, and vegetarianism. But no mention of those in the linked article. I can’t remember the last time I met anybody doing the Ornish diet, it’s been that long. It was popular in the 1990s.

We don’t know how well he paleo diet ranks as a heart-healthy diet because it’s never been adequately tested as such.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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One response to “Is the Ornish diet really the most heart-healthy?

  1. We do know that the paleo diet is best at lowering serum markers of inflammation, and that inflammation is the cause of coronary artery disease.