Credit: TED Talks
Dean Ornish Talks Truth About Stress, Carbs & The Atkins Diet
Our body has a natural healing ability and it’s something we can fully take advantage of according to Dean Ornish, clinical professor at UCSF and founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute.
There are simple things we can adopt into our daily lives. One of those is changing our diet in order to lose weight. “One way to eat fewer calories is to eat less food,” Ornish said. “The other way is to change the type of food. And fat has nine calories per gram, whereas protein and carbs only have four. So, when you eat less fat, you eat fewer calories without having to eat less food.”
Foods to avoid are sugars, white flour, white rice and alcohol—all which can cause our blood sugar level to increase. When this happens our pancreas creates insulin and lowers our blood sugar level, which then accelerates the conversion of calories into fat…the unhealthy kind.
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The recommended foods to heal our bodies are whole foods or unrefined carbs, including fruits, vegetables, whole wheat flour, brown rice in their natural forms. These are all rich in fiber, which fills you up without an excessive caloric intake.
When it comes to fats, it’s important to consume the healthy kind. As Ornish says, “If you don’t remember anything else from this talk, three grams a day of fish oil can reduce your risk of a heart attack and sudden death by 50 to 80 percent. They come in one-gram capsules; more than that just gives you extra fat you don’t need. It also helps reduce the risk of the most common cancers like breast, prostate and colon cancer.”
Check out the video above to hear what Ornish has to say about emotional stress, cigarettes and the truth behind the Atkins Diet.
