The Breslow-Ornish Behaviors
A bodily disease, which we
look upon as a whole, may be but a symptom
of an ailment in the spiritual part
Nathaniel Hawthorne
What do you think health is?
The Seven Breslow Behaviors
The Seven Ornish Behaviors
How to be Healthy
What do you think health is?
At the very least it's the absence of the five d's...
1. disease
2. discomfort
3. dissatisfaction
4. disability
5. death
It's also...
1. a feeling of whole and complete well-being
2. feeling in balance with yourself
3. having enough energy to do what you want to do
4. being confident to approach life enthusiastically
5. feeling in harmony with your social and physical environment
6. feeling that life is worthwhile
It's Up To You
If you want to be healthy and well, it's up to you. The medical care system -- doctors and other
medical providers, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, clinics, insurance companies, and to
some degree the government -- can help you deal with the five d's, but only you can...
1. make it a life goal to be healthy and
2. take responsibility for how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors affect your life
3. provide you with the desire to care for rather than harm yourself
4. choose to learn and adopt health-promoting behaviors
The Seven Breslow Behaviors
In the 1930s, scientists at the Human Population Laboratory of the University of California at Berkeley began a study of residents of Alameda County, California (the county of the city of Berkeley). The researchers wanted to know "what happens to people as they live a life?" Their methods were to measure nearly everything about the lives of the people in the study over the next few decades and see how things change over time: who gets sick and why, who dies, who gets married, who gets divorced, who has children etc.
What personal behaviors contribute to health? was one of the research questions. The
answer...
1. no smoking
2. getting 7-8 hours sleep per night
3. body weight not less than 10% and not more than 30% of recommend for height and body
frame
4. regular exercise
5. little or no alcohol consumption (1-2 drinks per day)
6. eating breakfast regularly
7. little between-meal snacking
Researchers also found better health to be associated with having social ties such as
being married, having contracts with friends and relatives with whom one feels emotionally close,
belonging to a church or other community organization.
The Seven Ornish Behaviors
In the 1990s, Dr. Dean Ornish, a cardiologist (heart doctor) in San Francisco, discovered that
adopting certain behaviors could reverse the damage to the heart in people who'd had a heart
attack. These behaviors are...
1. no smoking
2. no more than 10% of daily calories from fat
3. daily exercise
4. daily meditation
5. daily yoga
6. vegetarian diet
7. support group meetings two times a week
How to be Healthy
The results from the Breslow and Ornish studies show that each of us is capable of being healthy
and well. As much as you are able...
1. don't smoke cigarettes
2. quiet your mind for 20 minutes each day
3. engage in regular physical activity (20 minutes per day; 3-4 days a week)
4. interact regularly with people you care about
5. get sufficient sleep (for most people, about 7-8 hours per night)
6. eat according to the Healthy Eating Pyramid
7. consume no more than 10% of daily calories from saturated fat
8. do yoga or stretch every day
9. eat breakfast regularly
10. limit snacking on junk foods
11. drink no more than 1-2 drinks of alcohol per day
12. maintain body weight not less than 10% and not more than 30% of recommend for height
and body frame
That's it. Twelve health practices.
Notice that to be healthy and well, you don't need tons of scientific knowledge; you don't need to adopt unusual or bizarre behaviors; you don't need a doctor or other practitioner; you don't need insurance; you don't need a hospital; and you don't need drugs, supplements, or tonics.
Health is a precious gift that you give yourself by maximizing your potential to live meaningfully and in harmony with your inner self and all that surrounds you.
