Tag Archives: Intensive Cardiac Rehabilitation Program

Clinton, Eastwood and the Father of Lifestyle Medicine

When I met Dean Ornish for the first time, he was honored at our foundation’s fundraising event together with Eckhart Tolle and Christiane Northrup MD for his achievements in medicine.

Around that time I remember receiving a letter from Clint Eastwood with a donation and a note reflecting how grateful he was for Dr. Ornish’s guidance. He said: “I’ve been following Dr. Dean Ornish’s program for more than a decade, and I feel younger now than I did ten years ago. Dr. Ornish’s style of eating and living is always delicious and never boring.”

A few years later I interviewed Dean Ornish for the film TITANS OF YOGA. He showed my pictures from his last meeting with the Clinton’s and how Bill Clinton was equally grateful because he lost 20-30 pound and improved overall vitality and wellness drastically by following Dean’s proven diet and lifestyle changes.

Why am I mentioning this?

Well, Dean Ornish is considered by many experts as the “father” of Lifestyle Medicine and that is why he the lead expert featured in my new inspirational short-film ‘Lifestyle Medicine. His ground-breaking 37 years of research has scientifically proven that integrative and comprehensive lifestyle changes can:

  • improve chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and prostate cancer
  • change gene expression, turning on health-promoting genes and turning off disease-promoting genes
  • lengthen telomeres (the ends of chromosomes) and in turn begins to reverse aging on a cellular level

Since 2011, Medicare has been covering Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease® under a new benefit category, ‘Intensive Cardiac Rehabilitation’ and thousands of patients benefited already.

In Dr. Ornish’s program includes 4 components:

  • Diet (mostly plant-based diet)
  • Fitness (yoga, walking or other moderate type of exercise)
  • Stress Management (yoga and mindfulness)
  • Social Support (increase connection and love)

It is clear now that what we eat, how we exercise, how we deal with stress and how much love and support we feel in our life is affecting our health. Lifestyle Medicine is addressing exactly these issues. By treating the root-cause and making comprehensive lifestyle modifications we can not only stop most chronic health issues but even reverse them.

Suddenly, improve our health, vitality and living longer and better is within our reach.


You’ll love what Dr. Ornish has to say in the inspirational short-film ‘Lifestyle Medicine. Watch here.