UNDO IT

Read me First

  This site is a modified synopsis  of the book Undo It! How simple lifestyle changes can reverse most chronic diseases.  The five changes are: 

1.  Eat Better (& Drink Water) ; 

2. Move More; 

3. Stress Less; 

4. Love More; 

5. Sleep 7 hours each night 

For this volume I'll provide a summary of each chapter and add additional resources  from other websites. The goal is to to provide not just information but inspiration.  You are encouraged to comment on everything.  This is a community effort and we are learning from each other.   This idea for a health-focused community is based on my own research* on academic behavior change.

 Here's our formula :

Intensive (Intentional ) Lifestyle Changes  (hard to sustain over time)   =  

10% INFORMATION + 10% INSPIRATION + 80% BEHAVIOR.  

For INFORMATION - links to research paper summaries and webe resources 

For INSPIRATION - Our What's App community will help us stay inspired

For BEHAVIOR - That's on YOU making one small change at a time. 

One of those small changes is offered by the sponsor of this program, Juice Plus - a unique blend of bioavailable fruits and vegetables delivered in capsules, powders and bars.  For more information on ways to more easily increase your servings of fruits and vegetables- go to my website or contact me directly (cheryltalley@gmail.com). 

What Works and Why- Chapter 2 Introduction (DONE)

In this Chapter Dr. Dean Ornish  makes a readical claim that heart disease, diabetes, prostate cancer and other chronic diseases are actually the same disease. He makes that claim because Intensive Lifestyle Chnges has the same effect of reversing many divergent conditions. He calls this phenomenom a "Unified Theory of Health and Healing."  Ornish  claims that the reversals are due to the fact that the underlying biological mechanisms and cellular pathways are similar in different diseases but just showing up in different systems.

 Unlike pharmaceuticals that target the individual systems and symptoms, Intensive Lifestyle Changes get to the root.  As Ornish puts it, this is why regular exercise will not just relieve symptoms of hypertension but will improve type 2 diabetes symptoms, heart disease and obesity  as well.  Similarly, these common underlying causes also contribute to disease "co-morbidity".  That's the name given to multiple conditions presenting at the same time such as elevated cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Co-morbid conditions  can lead to multiple medications being used to treat the different diseases. However this can also lead to the medications reacting with each other or inducing side effects that will require even more meds.  Please note, Ornish DOES NOT a recommend that people get off of their medications. However, he advocates for working with a physician who is  also Board Certified in Lifestyle Medicine to help your body heal itself so that your will eventually  not need the medications. 

The Science Behind It (IN PROGRESS)

As a medical researcher Dr. Ornish refers to many large scale studies to make the case on Intensive Lifestyle Changes. One is  the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)  .  The study found that moderate exercise of 30 minutes per day, not smoking, being at normal wieght and having a high intake of fruits, vegetalbes and whole grains had a 78% lower risk of developing any chronic disease at all. The risk of diabetes was lowered 93%; heart attct lowered 81%; storke 50% and the risk of all cancers lowered 36%

In a study published by the Harvard School of Public Health, the results were similar. However, this study implied that healthy lifestyle changes could actually extend the lifestyle of individual an average of 14 years.

Accoring to Dr. Ornish the Intensive Lifestyle Changes' set of behaviors (Eat Better, Move More, Stress Less, Love More and Sleep 7 hours) work at the systems and cellular level to protect against the following causes of disease.

The following biological mechanisms are what are underlying all diseases

• Impact on Physiological Systems

  • Chronic Inflammation

  •  Immune system dysfunction

  • Over activation of stress hormones 

• Impact on Cellular Systems

  • Gene experssion and sirtuins

  • Telomeres

  • Angionesis

• Impact on Cellular Reactions

  • Microbiome

  • Oxidative stress

  • Stasis