Be-Well Information

Robert C. Atkins, MD really did not “get it”. He died from slipping on ice and banging his head, but he was also quite obese and had heart problems. Yet his books and foods continue to rake in millions of dollars per year. He should not have fought Pritikin so hard.

Probably the main reason the Atkins diet was and is so popular is that it encourages people to consume meats, fats, sugars without guilt. Just control your carbs and you will be alright. Hah! It is well known that a small amount of fat is quite effective at quieting hunger, but it is better to eat a small amount of cheese than a 16 ounce feed-lot steak. In fact, you can safely stuff yourself with low energy foods any time you feel hunger.

His Atkins Nutritionals, Inc (www.atkins.com) promotes “sweet, healthy, indulgent snacks”, whereas natural fruits offer quite sufficient sweets.

I had a jolly fat chemist co-worker who praised the Atkins diet and quoted its bio-chemical theory. He changed only the carbs in his diet, not how much he ate, and remained HUGE.

The Pritikin approach makes a lot more sense to this PhD physicist.

Nathan Pritikin founded the best modern viewpoint on health and nutrition, namely, get back to “mankind’s original meal plan”, which is minimally processed straight-from-nature foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes (such as black beans and pinto beans), whole grains such as brown rice, starchy vegetables like potatoes and yams, lean meat, and seafood. His recommendations are effective in preventing the major modern diseases, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. His approach has been documented to improve cholesterol profiles better than cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins, and has also been found to lower blood sugars, normalize blood pressure, and shed excess weight.

How did this come about?

Nathan was a very successful free-lance inventor in chemistry, physics, and electronics, worth millions. In the 1950s he was diagnosed with heart disease. The medical “wisdom” of that day for treatment included soft foods and daily naps. Nathan applied his intellect to his problem, self prescribed foods low in fat and high in unrefined carbohydrates along with a moderate aerobic exercise regime. The result was a complete reversal of his heart disease.

After his 35-year struggle with leukemia (27 years under chemotherapy) became too painful and debilitating, he took his own life. The results of his autopsy were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and showed that Nathan Pritikin’s arteries were free of any signs of heart disease, and were as “soft and pliable” as a teenager’s. “In a man 69 years old,” wrote pathologist Jeffrey Hubbard, “the near absence of atherosclerosis and the complete absence of its effects are remarkable.”

Nathan’s own publications and work at his Pritikin Longevity Center www.pritikin.com continue his teachings. Other well known authors have taken up the torch, such as Dean Ornish, MD, Neal Bernard, MD.

Some other physicians seem to be preaching from the same page, but complicate things by promoting herbal pills. The herbal supplement industry is totally unregulated, and full of wondrous claims which can’t possibly be true. (Example, Acai berry for weight loss, toxin cleansing, etc., etc., etc.) In this group are Julian Whitaker MD, Stephen Sinatra MD, Susan Lark MD. Read them with caution.

But “low carb is high dumb” (http://be-well.info/low-carb-is-high-dumb-v-2009). Just ask our ancient ancestors. Hunter gatherers gathered far more than they hunted.