[net.med] Nathan Pritikin has last word!

werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner) (07/14/85)

	Nathan Pritikin, the self-taught diet guru who argued for years with
the medical establishment about the value of his stringent diet-and-exercise
program, has managed to have the last word after his death.
	Pritikin commited suicide last February after a 27-year struggle
with Leukemia.  His heart was autopsied for signs of heart disease, but as
reported in a recent New England Journal of Medicine, there were none.
	"In a man 69 years old, the near absence of atherosclerosis and the
complete absence of its effects are remarkable," they write.

	[I know the Pritikin diet was very low in fat. Aside from that, I know
very little of the specifics. If someone in the know would like to fill me 
(and the net) in, it would be appreciated.]

-- 
				Craig Werner
				!philabs!aecom!werner
		"The world is just a straight man for you sometimes"

avinash@ubvax.UUCP (Avinash Marathe) (07/15/85)

In article <1795@aecom.UUCP> werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner) writes:
>
>	Nathan Pritikin, the self-taught diet guru who argued for years with
>the medical establishment about the value of his stringent diet-and-exercise
>program, has managed to have the last word after his death.
>	Pritikin commited suicide last February after a 27-year struggle
>with Leukemia.  His heart was autopsied for signs of heart disease, but as
>reported in a recent New England Journal of Medicine, there were none.
>	"In a man 69 years old, the near absence of atherosclerosis and the
>complete absence of its effects are remarkable," they write.
>
>	[I know the Pritikin diet was very low in fat. Aside from that, I know
>very little of the specifics. If someone in the know would like to fill me 
>(and the net) in, it would be appreciated.]
>
>-- 


These are some of the features of the Pritikin diet that I know of:

1.	Low, low fat.
	Yes, the Pritikin diet is very very low in fat.  The percentage 
	of total calories from fat on this diet was between 7-10% as 
	opposed to 45-50% on the standard American diet.  The Pritikin 
	diet does not let you add any fat whatsoever while cooking - this 
	means no oil, no nuts and seeds, no cream or butter, no egg yolks,
	no red meat, no chicken skins etc. etc.  The fat that you get on 
	this diet comes from the fat that naturally exists in grains,
	beans, vegetables, etc.

2.	No sugar.
	No sugar of any type is allowed; this includes honey, molasses,
	maple syrup, raw sugar, brown sugar etc.  Foods are sweetened
	with fruits and fruit juices.

3.	No salt.

4.	No caffiene.

5.	No alcohol.


The diet is basically a high complex carbohydrate, moderate protein, low
fat diet.  More information on this can be obtained by reading any one
of the books written by Nathan Pritikin himself.

Avinash Marathe
{amd,amdcad}!cae780!ubvax