Should You Try the Pritikin Diet? Nutritionists Explain the Meal Plan
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The Pritikin diet is the latest meal plan making headlines. The way of eating offers a nutritious, low-fat diet-inspired menu that experts say may reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Though it may seem new, this eating plan is seeing a resurgence thanks to its focus on whole foods and how simple it is to follow. But what is the Pritikin diet, exactly, and what does it claim to do? Nutritionists explain what you need to know—including if the meal plan is really worth the hype.
Meet the experts: Deborah Cohen, D.C.N., an associate professor in the department of clinical and preventive nutrition sciences at Rutgers University School of Health Professions; Gina Keatley, C.D.N., a nutritionist and co-owner of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy; and Keri Gans, R.D., author of The Small Change Diet
What is the Pritikin diet?
The Pritikin diet is an eating plan developed by nutritionist Nathan Pritikin. He published a slew of books in the 1970s and 1980s about his diet, including The Pritikin Program for Diet & Exercise and The Pritikin Promise: 28 Days to a Longer, Healthier Life.
The diet recommends getting 15% of your calories from fat, 15% of your calories from lean or plant-based protein, and 70% from complex carbs.
People who follow the Pritikin diet are asked to get at least five servings of vegetables a day, four servings of fruit, five servings of complex carbohydrates, two servings of fat-free dairy or dairy substitutes, two egg whites, and up to 4 ounces of fish, poultry, or game meat.
“The Pritikin diet is basically a low-fat, high complex carbs, and thus high fiber diet that has an emphasis on whole foods such as fruits, vegetables whole grains, low-fat dairy, low-fat meat and poultry...nuts and seeds...[and] fish high in omega-3 fats,” Cohen says.
A big part of the diet is that followers are encouraged to start every meal with a soup, salad, fresh fruit, or whole grain with the notion that it’ll fill you up and help you to eat less for the rest of your meal (which some may prefer if counting calories). “That’s what people in Japan and Okinawa do—it’s typically a broth-based soup with tofu, veggies, and other healthy ingredients—and they have more longevity than those who consume Western diets,” says Deborah Cohen, D.C.N., an associate professor in the department of clinical and preventive nutrition sciences at Rutgers University School of Health Professions.
What are its claims?
The Pritikin luxury wellness retreat noted that the Pritikin diet is a “healthy eating plan” that’s designed to be followed for the rest of your life. According to the website, it promises to help followers discover their body’s “optimal way of eating” and says that people on the Pritikin diet will “never diet again.”
The website says that the plan is designed to help balance blood sugar, support weight management, and promote heart health. But nutritionists do point out that some of these claims are a bit less concrete.” “What the website says about ‘balancing blood sugar’ is actually quite vague,” notes Cohen.
“The Pritikin Diet was originally developed to treat and prevent heart disease,” Cohen says. It’s also important to note that the website does not claim to aid in weight loss, but rather weight management. “Supporting weight management is not the same thing as saying helps with weight loss,” Cohen says.
What can you eat on the Pritikin diet?
The Pritikin diet breaks foods into “go foods,” “caution foods” (i.e. ones to have sparingly), and “stop foods” (ones you should avoid). Here’s a breakdown:
Go foods
Fruits
Vegetables
Whole grains like whole-wheat bread, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, and oatmeal
Starchy vegetables like potatoes, corn, and yams
Legumes like beans, peas, and lentils
Lean calcium-rich foods like nonfat dairy milk, nonfat yogurt, and fortified soymilk
Fish
Lean sources of protein like skinless white poultry, lean red meat like bison and venison, and plant sources of protein, like legumes and soy-based foods like tofu and edamame
Caution foods
Saturated-fat-rich foods like butter, tropical oils like coconut oil, fatty meats, and dairy foods like cheese, cream, and whole/low-fat milk
Organ meats
Processed meats like hot dogs, bacon, and bologna
Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils
Cholesterol-rich foods like egg yolks
Stop foods
Oils
Refined sweeteners like sugar, corn syrup, and honey
Salt
Refined grains like white bread, white pasta, and white rice
Pritikin diet pros
This diet has plenty of benefits and some potential drawbacks, says Gina Keatley, C.D.N., a nutritionist and co-owner of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy. “You’re going to increase your intake of fiber, which is a huge plus,” she says. “American adults should be consuming between 25 to 35 grams per day and most of us fall woefully short.”
Keri Gans, R.D., author of The Small Change Diet, also likes the emphasis on whole foods. “The diet encourages minimally processed, nutrient-rich, plant-based eating which may help prevent inflammation in the body leading to lower cholesterol levels and decreasing the risk of heart disease and certain cancers,” she says.
Pritikin diet cons
But Cohen says the diet can be “challenging” for people who don’t like seafood, given that it’s heavy on fish. “Also, whole and fresh foods tend to be more expensive than their processed counterparts,” she says. “Eating this type of diet also requires one to cook and prepare food rather than relying on fast and convenience foods, which is a good thing but, again, can be challenging for some.”
Keatley calls the emphasis on having low-salt foods a “double-edged sword.” She explains, “It will help to decrease blood pressure but also makes it difficult to find a lot of commercial soups to include.”
Because the diet is low in fat, people might be hungry faster than they would on other eating plans, Cohen says. “Feeling hungry more often might be an issue for some,” she says.
Can the Pritikin diet lead to weight loss?
This eating plan is “very healthy” overall, Cohen says. “While it does not promote weight loss, one could lose weight following this particular eating plan,” she says. Keatley agrees. “Between the push for exercise, increase in fiber, and decrease in sodium, this diet can reduce risk of heart disease and stroke while at the same time helping you to lose some weight,” she says.
Who should avoid the Pritikin diet?
Because the diet has some restrictions, Gans doesn’t recommend the Pritikin diet for people with a history of disordered eating. It also isn’t ideal for those who are pregnant (they need more calcium) or someone undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatments, Cohen says.
“Someone who is going through chemotherapy or radiation treatments may want to avoid this, as these folks need high-calorie higher protein, and high-fat foods to maintain weight and prevent weight loss,” Cohen says.
But ultimately, the diet may be a good fit for many people, Keatley says. “Taking any diet to the extremes can be harmful but, overall, this diet recommends starting with whole foods and keeping a good exercise regime,” Keatley says. “This is a pretty safe diet for most healthy adults.”
If you believe you are struggling with disordered eating or an eating disorder and need support, call the National Eating Disorders Association helpline at (800) 931-2237. You can text HOME to 741741 to message a trained crisis counselor from the Crisis Text Line for free.
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