Atkins Nutritionals Inc. may have gone belly up and taken the low-carb trend with it, but low-fat proponent Dr. Dean Ornish says his intense diet program is hanging around and even growing.

	Lake Fong, Post-Gazette Dr. Dean Ornish talks about his program at a Downtown luncheon yesterday. Click photo for larger image.

"I think eventually the truth comes out," said Ornish of the Atkins bankruptcy, arguing that his own low-fat program has proven that it works to reverse heart disease. Ornish, founder of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, Calif., was in Pittsburgh yesterday to speak about Jefferson Regional Medical Center's Cardiopulmonary Wellness Center, which this September will become the ninth Pennsylvania hospital to offer the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease.

Instead of stressing protein and fat as the Atkins diet does, Ornish's program asks dieters to eat no meat, consume very little fat and manage their stress.

If followed correctly, Ornish says research shows his method can slow, stop and reverse heart disease.

"It's a way of living," he said in between bites of his vegetarian lunch.

Ornish's newest study, out next month in The Journal of Urology, reports that these intense lifestyle changes may affect the progression of prostate cancer in men.

But before putting your faith into another popular diet, medication and basic health principles still need to be considered, says Dr. William Follansbee, director of nuclear cardiology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

"If one goes on any of these extremely rigid diets, including Dr. Ornish's, you can lower cholesterol, but the problem is that very few patients retain that long term," he said.

Follansbee said that people need to find a way to incorporate a balanced diet realistically into their lives.

And besides being intense, the diet program is expensive unless insurance covers it. A 12-week program can cost $7,200, although Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield provides it free to qualified clients.

More information on the program can be found on www.webmd.com.