The Pritikin Principle Diet

The Pritikin Principle Diet is more commonly known as the Pritikin Lifetime Eating Plan because "it's not a diet" and is not temporary, according to "The New Pritikin Program." Losing weight is not the primary goal of the diet or plan, wrote author Robert Pritikin, the director of the Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami. Pritikin wrote that the foods you eat can help you live longer by reducing your chances of getting several diseases and conditions.

Recommendations

The Pritikin eating plan divides foods into four categories -- Go-Recommended, Go-In Moderation, Caution and Stop. Go-Recommended foods are based on the premise that foods low in dietary cholesterol, fat and sodium and high in fiber will reduce your risk of heart disease, according to the Pritikin Longevity Center. They include wheat bread, whole-wheat spaghetti, brown rice, barley, beans, peas, fruits, and starchy vegetables such as potatoes and squash. Dieters are urged to eat five servings of unrefined carbohydrates, five servings of nonstarchy vegetables and four servings of fruits daily.

Comparisons

Foods in the Go-In Moderation and Caution categories include juices, egg whites, nuts, alcohol, canned foods, salty foods, white bread, white pasta and white rice. Pritikin frequently emphasizes the difference between unrefined and refined foods in "The New Pritikin Program." Potatoes and apples are unrefined, while french fries and apple juice are refined. During the refinery process, fiber is removed from the unrefined foods. Many refined foods are in the Moderation and Caution categories, while their unrefined versions are in the Recommended category.

Restrictions

Foods in the Stop category include cheese, deep-fried foods, egg yolks, meat, milk, ice cream and butter. Pritikin urges dieters to eat these foods less than once per month. Virtually eliminating meat from your diet sounds very restrictive, but Pritikin wrote that you can get your protein from vegetables, grains and beans instead. Less than 10 percent of your calories should come from fat, Pritikin added.

Short-Term Benefits

The Pritikin eating plan was introduced by Robert Pritikin's late father, Nathan Pritikin, in 1975. It was known as the Pritikin Principle Diet in 1975. The Pritikin Longevity Center reports that "115 studies in leading medical journals" have documented the short- and long-term benefits of the diet/eating plan. Within three weeks, the eating plan reduces total and bad cholesterol levels an average of 23 percent, reduces triglycerides an average of 33 percent, lowers blood pressure in 83 percent of dieters and helps people lose an average of 10 lbs., the Longevity Center reports.

Long-Term Benefits

Although an almost meat-free diet atypical in the United States, more than 85 percent of Pritikin dieters are still following the eating plan after five years, the Pritikin Longevity Center reports. People who are on the Pritikin eating plan for several years are less likely to get breast, colon and prostate cancer and most people with previous heart problems reduced their risk of a heart attack via the Pritikin diet rather than surgery or drugs.