1. The Pritikin Diet: A '70s Throwback
Born during the 1970s diet fad era, Pritikin Longevity Centers founder Nathan Pritikin introduced the Pritikin Diet. The idea behind the original diet was teaching people how to prepare and eat a healthy, low fat diet. It also incorporates exercise and stress reduction into the plan. Originally, the plan was a way to reduce high cholesterol and help people with diabetes modify their diets, so they wouldn't need insulin shots. Today, the Pritikin Diet is a weight loss tool.
2. Hold the fat, Please
Every diet has its number one enemy. With the Pritikin Diet, the enemy is fat. Foods with fat, both good and bad fats, make up only 10% of the Pritikin Diet plan. The bulk of food eaten on the Pritikin Diet is full of fiber and water, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains. It's not really such a bad message for most people.
3. It's all About Calorie Density
Some plans count calories and others count points. Pritikin's plan counts calorie density. According to the diet plan, foods have different caloric density, meaning more calories per pound. For example, apples, leafy greens, potatoes, beans and oatmeal are less dense than say, a candy bar. Therefore, you can eat more of these foods than you can of foods with higher caloric density. The reason behind lower density foods is that they will fill you up longer than foods with refined sugar and a lot of processing.
4. Doesn't Mesh Well With Real Life
The biggest criticism of the Pritikin Diet is the lack of fat, even good fats like Omega 3s. Nutrition experts believe that the meal plans are too limited to be of much use long term. Teryl L. Tanaka, RD says that fat is an important part in keeping people sated (or feeling full) and without enough fat in the diet, people will be perpetually hungry, thus leading to overeating and weight gain. Preparing the meals themselves is another conundrum. Most meals require from-scratch cooking with fresh ingredients. This is time consuming in a world where people just don't have the time to cook every single meal they eat.
5. Find Some Sensible Advice on the Pritikin Diet
Participants should eat three balanced meals a day and two healthy snacks. The Pritikin Diet also stresses the importance of portion control and regular exercise. Robert Pritikin, current head of the Pritikin Centers, says that a 30-minute walk every day is a good starting point. Eat a well balanced diet and exercise regularly. It is pretty hard to argue with that advice.
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