Dean Ornish

There's a tendency to dismiss anything having to do with love and intimacy in medicine because it's hard to measure. ”

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

Rediscovering the wisdom of love and compassion may help us survive at a time when an increasingly balkanized world so badly needs it. ”

In our experience, when people make comprehensive lifestyle changes, they usually can reduce or discontinue medications such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, anti-hypertensives, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, nitrates, insulin, and so on. ”

Meditation is the practice of giving something your full attention and awareness. When I eat a truffle, for example, I focus fully on it and involve as many of my senses as possible. ”

Earlier in my life, I had a tendency toward depression. ”

Connections with other people affect not only the quality of our lives but also our survival. ”

Reimbursement is a major determinant of how medicine is practiced. When reimbursement changes, so do medical practice and medical education. ”

Telomeres are the ends of our chromosomes that control how long we live. As telomeres become shorter, then cells age and die more quickly. In simple terms, as your telomeres get shorter, your life gets shorter. ”

What matters most is your overall way of eating and living. ”