Ultimate Lifetime Diet

Gary Null has been a leading name in the health and nutrition world for over 35 years. In 1999, "Time" magazine called Null the "New Mister Natural." Gary Null began his career as a journalist, and "Time" notes that he caused great controversy when he wrote an article accusing the medical field of suppressing alternative cancer treatments to generate income for itself and the drug industry. Over 30 years later, Null is still encouraging the benefits of natural eating, wholesome nutrition, and mental and emotional well-being. He brings all these aspects together into his book, "Ultimate Lifetime Diet."

Gary Null

Gary Null has a bachelor's degree in human nutrition from Edison State College. Null received his PhD in human nutrition and public health science from Union Graduate School. He is the founder and director of the Health and Nutrition Certificate Program at Pratt Institute and The School of Visual Arts. He has published over 60 books on health and nutrition.

Claims

For Gary Null, the Ultimate Lifetime Diet is not a diet at all; rather, he wants his readers to address the frustration and dangers of extreme, fad or quick-fix diets and choose a diet prescription that is healthy enough to be continued for life. In the book, Null discusses how constantly dieting negatively impacts your health. He also discusses how fad diets lead to eating disorders.

Proof

Within the book, Null provides studies and documentation to show that poor dieting causes more harm than good. Poor dieting is actually what many people think of as a "diet"-- low caloric amounts and the feeling of starvation. These diets do not promote healthy or wholesome nutrition; rather, they focus more on calories and the quantity of food over the quality. Poor dieting promotes unhealthy habits and can wreak havoc on your metabolism. Low-calorie diets slow your metabolism because they force your body to function at a lower caloric amount. When you resume a normal diet, your metabolism is unable to adjust and you can gain back the weight lost and perhaps more.

Weight Solution

Within the "Ultimate Lifetime Diet," Null helps the reader choose healthy food alternatives. He also addresses the problems many people may face concerning their relationship to food. Maybe you eat when you are bored or depressed; Null provides advice on how to overcome these setbacks. Not only is a healthy, well-balanced diet important for the Ultimate Lifetime Diet, but so is daily exercise and a healthy, active lifestyle.

Validity

Fad diets or extreme diets, the ones Null opposes, are usually less than 1,200 calories for women or 1,500 for men and often exclude a macronutrient group like carbohydrates. Though these diets may initially lead to weight loss, once you resume a normal diet, the weight returns. These extreme diets also cause other health and mental problems like depression, mood swings and anorexia or bulimia. Staying on an extreme diet for too long can cause nutritional deficiencies like iron deficiency or anemia, vitamin B12 deficiency, potassium and sodium deficiency.