Low-Fat Lunatic Ornish Has Finally Met His Match

"Loco Low-Fat Lunatic" Dr. Dean Ornish vs. "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Man" Jimmy Moore

The Washington Post reports on a suspicious new study that claims a diet very low in fat combined with exercise will help prevent the onset of prostate cancer.

The partially-funded government study conducted by ultra-radical low-fat advocate Dr. Dean Ornish found that some of the 93 men in their research who had non-aggressive prostate tumors and were placed on the Ornish diet saw their prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels decrease by 4 percent compared to a 6 percent increase in those who ate as they normally do.

So what about the effects of a low-carb program on prostate cancer? Has anyone looked at this as a possibility for research? Ornish missed a golden opportunity to prove his low-fat diet is better at preventing prostate cancer than a low-carb plan. I wonder what he was afraid of finding out if he had used low-carb in the other group instead. Hmmm...

The Ornish diet consists of an extremely strict fat intake of 10 percent of total calories and no meat, regular exercise and stress management such as yoga. The results of this study will be published in the September issue of The Journal of Urology.

Ornish theorizes that fat consumption leads to a greater risk of prostate cancer and that consuming lycopene-rich foods such as broccoli and tomatoes will help ward off the disease.

In response to critics of the very low-fat diet prescribed by Ornish, the controversial doctor exclaimed in response to people who say his diet is hard, "Compared to having your prostate removed? ... The only side effects are you feel better and it helps prevent heart disease."

Okay, talk about being just a wee bit melodramatic! I personally do not have a problem with anyone who wishes to tortute themselves on a low-fat diet. I've been down that road one too many times to ever risk doing it again. But since I started livin' la vida low-carb and learning even more about this so-called healthy low-fat way of living, I have to disagree vehemently with Ornish and his low-fat cronies.

Here are the top ten reasons why I would not want to be on a low-fat diet as outlined by Ornish:

1. You can't stay on them long-term because you are constantly hungry.

2. Your food choices are very limited and are mostly disgusting imitations of the real thing.

3. It is commonly heralded by the media, government and medical professionals as the only way to lose weight and get healthy.

4. You consume way too much sugar and salt in the foods you eat on a low-fat diet.

5. You don't lose as much fat mass on a low-fat diet.

6. Low-fat diets have been scientifically proven to make you fatter!

7. It has failed to provide people with a permanent way to maintain their weight over the long haul.

8. I don't know anyone who has lost a lot of weight and kept it off on a low-fat diet.

9. I didn't like the way I felt when i was low-fat dieting because I lacked concentration and energy.

10. DID I MENTION YOU STARVE ON A LOW-FAT DIET?!?!?!?!?!

As much as I dislike a low-fat diet like the one prescribed by Ornish, this Pittsburgh Post Gazette story shows the feeling is mutual with him in regards to livin' la vida low-carb.

Boasting about how he just knew "eventually the truth comes out" in regards to the news about Atkins filing for bankruptcy, Ornish said people should shun all meat, eat very little fat and manage the stress in their lives better as a "way of living."

That doesn't sound like any kind of lifestyle I want for myself other than the stress management part. Even a doctor quoted in the story proclaims that the Ornish diet is not sustainable over the long term.

The neverending battle between those who promote and support a low-fat diet versus those of us who are livin' la vida low-carb and telling the whole world about it will continue on as long as those on both sides of the issue have breath. Ornish may have finally met his match. Or, as radio talk show host Ralph Bristol recently described me, "The number one defender of the Atkins diet in the universe!"