America's Top 10 Healthiest Diets

The Spectrum
Ballantine

Famous in the 1990s for advocating a program to combat heart disease, Dean Ornish, MD, has been criticized for prescribing nutritional edicts that are just too hard to sustain. The Spectrum, Ornish’s newest diet, both broadens and softens his program by moving along four separate paths to health—nutrition, exercise, stress management, and personal relationships.

Our panelists liked the plan’s holistic approach, particularly rewarding its counsel on reducing stress and giving it high marks for including a meditation DVD with the book. And our nutrition judges were glad to see that Ornish has tempered his tough stance on fats to a more sustainable level, but one panelist feels he’s still too strict. “There’s no reason not to eat nuts, seeds, and avocados; use maple syrup and honey; or have a glass of wine, periodically,” panelist Heller says. She notes, though, that Ornish’s whole-body approach, which includes a vegetarian lifestyle, stress management, and exercise, is on target in terms of health, disease prevention, and reaching a healthy weight.

Judge Palumbo awarded Ornish’s plan some of her highest scores. “This ‘diet’ plan addresses the lifestyle diseases of the 21st century,” she says, “such as diabetes, certain cancers, and cardiovascular disease. This book is ideal for people who are looking for an intelligent, thoughtful, science-based weight-loss program.”