Hi, all. I've heard about Dr. Dean Ornish's Reversing Heart Disease for years, but I just stumbled across the actual book at the thrift store Friday (3 moths after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure). I've read almost half of it so far, and I hope to follow it to one degree or another.

Since one of the main components is building your involvement with others, I'm looking for other people who are following the program or something similar. This program calls for staying below 10% fat in the diet (I haven't actually read the diet section yet; as always, that's at the end of the book), practicing meditation, yoga, walking and stress management as well as the connection with others component.

So how about it: Anyone out there doing this?

Great, Atomizer; I look forward to that!

A few years ago, I stumbled across Reversing Diabetes and it literally saved my life. But I've slipped and, with all the stress after my hubby's stroke, I'm developing some heart problems, so I'm trying to take care of all of it at once. The two programs (by two different people) are very similar, so I have hig h hopes for this one, too.

The other half is on it. After 4 years since her last cath, there has been NO progression of the disease. When I was on it with her, I lost 100 pounds in 6 months and was eating like a horse. I didn't know I was losing until my shorts fell off me while I was cooking.

Ornish has a site on the net at Preventive Medicine Research Institute Forum - Powered by vBulletin He also has a support forum there. He can be found at WebMD also: Ornish Lifestyle: Support Group Message Board at WebMD

McDougalls cookbooks as well as his site are usually Ornish acceptable. You can find it here: McDougall Program & Dr. McDougall's Health and Medical Center His newsletters on the site have recipes in them also/ The ones that aren't are usually easy to modify.

His new book is called The Spectrum. I wouild also recommend picking up Eat More Weigh Less as well as Everyday Cooking with Dean Ornish because recipes and cooking tips are included in the books. They actually teach you how to cook FF.

FFVegetarian archive is all recipes: FATFREE: The Low Fat Vegetarian Recipe Archive
The FF Vegan is also very good: Fatfree Vegan Recipes
Most are acceptable but many that aren't can be modified without too much trouble.

See if you can also find or if your library has Sarah Schlesinger's books 500 fat free recipes and 500 More FF recipes. The older Bryanna Grogan books which state FF or Almost No Fat are good. VEGAN RECIPES, RESOURCES AND COOKING KNOW-HOW; INNOVATIVE AND USER-FRIENDLY

It will take a bit to get use to not having the salt and fat you are use to. I would suggest raising the amount of seasonings you use because fat simply carries the flavors and without it, you need to increase the amount. Also if you can make the food a bit hotter why? Because you won't miss the fat. You can't taste heat and fat at the same time.

Tofu? Mainate the daylights out of it. If you have never ate it before soak it for at least 24 hours in something. It can be your favorite dressing to something the recipe uses that tastes good to you. Otherwise you'll spit it across the room. I did the first time I tried it and it didn't have any flavorings. It's extremely bland. For Westerners it needs that soaking.

There is also a group in Google groups that is Ornish recipes. It has about 2400 recipes right now. Google Groups It's called Heart Friendly.