dairy and protein in their bodies reacted wonderfully to the meal, reporting afterward clear heads and, in the case of one dancer, easy and flexible movements. But a few people, who already had been eating mostly natural and vegetarian foods for some time, went into a spin and took almost a week to come out of it: One went running for eggs, bacon, and sausages, while another headed for a Japanese restaurant that evening and drowned all her tempura-fried vegetables in soy sauce. A fat-free diet also requires high amounts of complex carbohydrates, needed for fuel. Counterbalancing these reactions took them the rest of the week. Several concepts already discussed in this book shed light on the blind spots of the Pritikin Program:( a) the pendulum-swing concept;( b) the“ eat as your environment dictates” concept; and( c) the understanding that canned and frozen foods in a regime low in animal protein are not at all satisfying. If the Pritikin program has the most dramatic effects with seriously ill people, it seems reasonable to view it as a medicinal diet. That means that when the patient has recuperated, the diet must be modified, swung back, so to speak. The program followed in Pritikin’ s Longevity Centers allows for that, with a strict Regression( healing) and a wider Maintenance diet.( The book, The Pritikin Program for Diet and Exercise, does not mention these two variations.) If this swing back isn’ t done consciously, then there will be“ cheating,” an unconscious balancing move. In fact, allowances for“ cheating” are made in the book, thus recognizing the need for it. A further drawback is that although a large proportion of raw vegetables, salads, fruits, and spicy or sour-tasting dishes in one’ s diet is appropriate in warm weather, in colder weather we need stronger, heartier cooking. Eventually some added fat will be required in the cooking to allow for a defense against the cold. Finally, as we saw earlier( chapter one), commercially processed foods are not only low in energy, they can be energy draining as well. This fact is even more noticeable in a low-fat, low-protein regime, for there isn’ t much excess against which to draw. Relying on canned and frozen produce could prevent or block feelings of energy, strength, and clear health. In a Pritikin-style diet, then, it would be advisable to consume only fresh vegetables and fruits for optimum feelings of well-being. From all of the foregoing we can conclude that a strict Pritikin regime is excellent to counterbalance the excesses of the SAD; a modified Pritikin approach, low in but not devoid of fats, low in but not devoid of salt, with reasonable amounts of whole grains, beans, fresh vegetables, and lean animal proteins, can be an excellent health-supportive regime for most people in our society. Such a regime, in fact, is one that many doctors are beginning to suggest to their patients. HIGH-PROTEIN DIETS The high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet is probably over one hundred years old already and appears in a number of versions. 9 The best known of these are the Stillman, the Mayo Clinic( not associated with the real institution), the
Calories-Don’ t-Count, and the Atkins diets. The sole aim of these regimes is to bring about a loss of weight, although Dr. Atkins also claims cures of a number of ailments. THEY CONSIST OF:
• All forms of animal protein: meat, fish, chicken, pork, eggs, cheese, milk( skim or whole), yogurt, and so on
• In the case of the Atkins diet, generous amounts of fats: cream, butter, bacon, mayonnaise, oils
• Citrus fruits; yellow, green, and nonstarchy vegetables; lettuce
• Small amounts of sweet fruits
• Very low amounts of starchy fruits and vegetables
• Coffee, tea, diet sodas
• Eight to ten glasses of water daily
• Artificial sweeteners
• In some cases, vitamin supplements THEY FORBID:
• Fats( on the Stillman diet)
• All foods containing sugar or white flour, white rice, corn, whole grains, pasta, starchy vegetables, root vegetables, beans, peas, and legumes
• Sweet fruit juices( with rare exceptions)
• In some versions, alcohol THEY IGNORE: Sea vegetables, tofu, fermented soy products HIGH-PROTEIN TABLE OF OPPOSITES CONTRACTIVE, WARMING, ACID-FORMING EXPANSIVE,
COOLING, ALKALIZING
Meat Lettuce