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Q: The Ornish diet is low-fat. Why does it work ? A: It is also a high-fiber diet.
	C o l o r My Data™

In his seminal work Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease: The Only System Scientifically Proven to Reverse Heart Disease Without Drugs or Surgery by Dean Ornish (Mass Market Paperback - Dec 30, 1995) Dr Dean Ornish asserts that a very low-fat diet of no more than 10% fat can reverse heart disease. Much of the dietary guidance in Dr Ornish's body of work also advises people to consume legumes and vegetables all of which have a very low ratio of carbohydrate to fiber. What the work fails to do is differentiate the effect of a low-fat diet from the effects of a high-fiber diet. Because his diet is rich in the essential carbohydrates, it delivers vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and micronutrients and suppresses compulsive eating. The predicted outcome is an overall lowering of glycemic load in spite of the increased percentage of energy from carbohydrate. The lower glycemic load means a lower insulin response and improved protection from diabetes.

Central Hypothesis

Color My Data explains the success of the Ornish diet with the following hypothesis.

The inclusion of essential carbohydrates (carbohydrate to fiber ratio < 4:1, = blue or green) especially legumes, raw organic vegetables, whole citrus fruit and berries in the diet combined with strict portion control of low-fiber carbohydrates (carbohydrate to fiber ratio > 8:1 = orange or red) protects against metabolic syndrome by moderating the glycemic load and consequent insulin response, by suppressing compulsive eating and by increasing the delivery of fiber, vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and micronutrients.

Further evidence for this hypothesis comes from Mark Perlmutter's forthcoming documentary Raw For 30 Days which explores the possibility of controlling diabetes through a vegan, organic, live, raw diet.

Clinical Trial

Color My Data proposes that its hypothesis be tested in a clinical trial. A population of diabetics would be assigned to one of two groups: one group would be fed meals that balance energy and nutrition as determined by the Color My Data meal planner. The other group would be fed either the Ornish diet or the raw organic foods diet from Raw For 30 Days. The Color My Data hypothesis predicts that they will have comparable effectiveness controlling blood sugar. If true, then the amount of fat in a diet is ruled out as an explanation for the health benefit, because the Color My Data diet is nominally 35% calories from fat whereas the Ornish diet has a restriction of not more than 10% of calories from fat.

If the Clinical Trial is Successful...

A successful clinical trial would mean that curbing the insulin response with a diet rich in the essential carbohydrates combined with portion control of low-fiber carbohydrate and calories is all that is needed to control diabetes. Such a diet may include fats, meat, fish and poultry and thus appeal to a much wider audience.

Vegan Diets

For a vegan diet the lower bound of 20% calories from protein may not be realistic. The meal-planner's nutrition goals would have to be configured accordingly and special emphasis would have to be placed on the carbohydrate to fiber ratio. Reconfigured for a vegan diet, the Color My Data system would likely score the recipes from Dr. Ornish and Raw For 30 Days very well because both focus on vegetables, the most nutrient dense foods. Recent studies show that raw organic vegetables may have the highest levels of beneficial nutrients.

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