The Pritikin Edge: 10 Essential Ingredients for a Long and Delicious Life »

Dr. Robert A. Vogel is a cardiologist, Pritikin's chief medical director, and professor of medicine at the University of Maryland. He has been designated as one of the best doctors in America by Good Housekeeping magazine and is a weight and heart consultant to the National Football League and a diet consultant to the National Health Institute.

Son of Pritikin cofounder Dr. David Lehr, Paul Tager Lehr is the president of the Pritikin Organization, which has helped more than 100,000 people worldwide who have gone to the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa and the 10 million plus readers of Pritikin books lose weight and prevent and reverse obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

We Americans may reside in the greatest nation on earth, but our lifestyle is killing us. Onequarter of us still smoke, two-thirds of us are fat, three-quarters of us don't exercise, and stress and depression are ubiquitous. We wolf down oversize portions of fast food in minutes and boast of not having taken a vacation in years. We get misinformation like "olive oil is healthy" but then get fatter because drizzling three tablespoons of oil on a salad adds as many calories as two scoops of premium ice cream. Despite all our advances in drugs and surgery, obesity and the diseases it causes have shortened life expectancy; this is the first time in history that children can expect to die younger than their parents.

The Pritikin Program was the first comprehensive lifestyle program in America, and after fifty years on the cutting edge of lifestyle science, it is still the longest-running, most successful program for reversing many of modern society's diseases, including obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. What sets Pritikin apart from the myriad of other diets is that its program is based on real science. Pritikin doesn't make random claims or base advice on half-truths or fads; Pritikin's effectiveness has been proven and documented in more than 110 scientific studies.

You've picked up this book because you want to change your lifestyle, improve your health, and live longer, and with the program in these pages, you can start reversing the effects of years of unhealthy living today.

Here you'll find the ten simple lifestyle ingredients that will change your life. Stick with them and you'll lose weight without feeling hungry, your energy will surge, and you will look and feel healthier and stronger than you have in years. Included are more than 75 recipes for flavorful and healthful dishes, detailed meal plans, and tips for dining out healthfully and happily. You'll learn what kinds of physical activities are most effective and how to make the most of your time on the road or in the gym. You'll get sets of simple exercises you can do anywhere that will make you strong, help you shed fat, and keep you toned. The real science of lifestyle and heart health, from fat molecules to heart attacks, is described in accessible terms, and popular diet myths are debunked. You'll find out why lowcarbohydrate or other fad diets won't help you lose weight in the long run and why they won't improve your overall health.

The Pritikin Edge gives you the real facts so you can take control of your health and add years to your life and quality to your years. Once you begin living with these principles, you'll wonder how you ever lived any other way.

Foreword xi

Introduction xv

Part 1 The Pritikin Philosophy 1

1 Lifestyle and Heart Disease 3

2 The Heart of the Matter 21

3 The Weight/Health Connection 31

4 The Science of Weight Loss 46

Part 2 The 10 Essentials of the Pritikin Program 73

5 Healthy, Satisfying Eating Starts with Super Salads, Soups, Whole Grains, and Fruit 75

6 Eliminate High-Calorie Beverages 84

7 Trim Portions of Calorie-Dense Foods 92

8 Snack Smarter 98

9 Forget Fast Food; Dine Unrefined 106

10 Watch Less, Walk More 113

11 Go Lean on Meat, but Catch a Fish 127

12 Shake Your Salt Habit 142

13 Don't Smoke Your Life Away 149

14 Step Around Stress 152

15 If at First You Don't Succeed... 169

Part 3 Favorite Pritikin Recipes 175

Part 4 Two-Week Sample Menu 247

Part 5 Frequently Asked Questions 275

How can I dine out Pritikin-style? 277

What do food labels mean? 286

Can I eat chocolate? 297

How can I help my child eat healthier? 298

What do my cholesterol values mean? 301

How can I improve my cholesterol? 304

Am I at risk for diabetes? 307

How much water should I drink each day? 309

Can stress and depression make me obese? 310

Can I drink alcohol? 312

What non-food factors help weight loss? 314

How can we improve America's lifestyle? 316

Margaret's Last Visit 323

Appendix A 10 Resistance Exercises for Losing Fat and Building Muscle 325

Appendix B Full-Body Stretching Routine 335

Appendix C Daily Nutrition Analysis with Weekly Averages 351

Index 353

Index of Recipes 371