The Basics of the General Maintenance Diet

Simply stated, here is the way of eating that has been proven can reverse many chronic diseases:

• Consume mostly plants (“good carbs” and “good protein”): vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, soy products, and small amounts of nuts and seeds in forms as close as possible to their natural, unprocessed state.
• What you include in your diet is as important as what you exclude. There are many thousands of protective factors in plant-based foods that have anticancer, anti-heart disease, and anti-aging properties as well as being very low in disease-promoting substances.
• Minimize or, even better, eliminate animal protein and replace it with plant-based protein.
• Avoid sugar, white flour, white rice, and other “bad carbs.”
• Consume 3 grams per day of “good fats” (omega-3 fatty acids).
• Reduce intake of total fat, especially “bad fats” such as trans fats, saturated fats, and partially hydrogenated fats.
• Organic is optimal- foods taste much better, and they are much lower in pesticide residues, which can disrupt your hormones.

Source: Ornish D, Ornish A. Undo It! (2019)
Reference: Ornish D.Undo It!: How Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Reverse the Onset of Most Chronic Diseases. Random House Publishing Group; 2019.

• May increase energy and brain power.
• May promote healthy weight management and weight loss.
• Flush out toxins.
• May improve your complexion.

So how much fluid does the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate need? The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is:

• About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids for men
• About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women