Updated January 31, 2015
In my (Dr. McDougall’s) opinion, Dr. Dean Ornish stands out as the most important physician/scientist* of the past quarter-century for his contributions to medicine through proper human nutrition, and especially for his work on the epidemic diseases of obesity, heart disease, prostate cancer, and type-2 diabetes.
Dr. Ornish is distinguished because of his hard work, intelligence, and unwillingness to compromise the truth about proper patient care. His scientific research using the gold standard, randomized controlled trial method has achieved many publications in the top medical journal.
Dr. Ornish was on the top of his game most recently at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, January 21-24, 2015, when interviewed by Nancy Gibbs, editor of Time Magazine.
I have known Dean for almost 30 years. Dr. Ornish is kind, loyal, and generous with his friends. His adversaries are treated with respect, as he skillfully dismantles their lies with his written and spoken words. He has been a steadfast opponent against the dangerous, low-carbohydrate, high-meat diets, such as those popularized by now deceased “diet doctor,” Robert Atkins, MD
*Progress does not occur in isolation. Deserving recognition for their work during the past 25 years are T. Colin Campbell, PhD, Neal Barnard, MD, Caldwell Esselstyn, MD, Hans Diehl, PhD, and many others. Furthermore, our generation stands on the shoulders of these pioneers: Denis Burkitt, MD, Nathan Pritikin, Walter Kempner, MD, and Roy Swank, MD.