Hi folks,
I love Dr. McDougall for his contributions to all of our health, and to the health of the nation.
I have enjoyed reading this thread very much, and I agree with all of it. I hope all feel welcome both here and at the ETL forum. That's how I perceive both forums. Like GeoffreyLevens, I have also done both programs.
If we are meeting our health goals, we are on a perfect program. For myself, I am only motivated to improve my program, if I'm not meeting my health goals, and need to improve.
I followed the Pritikin program for 30 years, the last 2 years very strictly. One mistake that Pritikin made, that Dr. McDougall has corrected, is that Dr. McDougall discourages flour products. I was eating a lot of whole grain sourdough bread, complete with it's mega-salt intake, but otherwise I was perfect. Dr. McDougall also discourages dairy products, which Pritikin allows a bit. But I was lactose intolerant, so I ate no dairy products.
I ran 4 miles a day, 7 days a week, plus weights 3x/week. So, I needed lots of calories, so I did not emphasize vegetables. Now I do emphasize vegetables, and I notice I never catch colds, instead of sharing colds with my co-workers, like I used to. So, emphasizing vegetables is very important. Pritikin did emphasize vegetables, but did not actually verbalize it, years ago. I missed that point, while on Pritikin.
When I attended the Pritikin Center (and was so fortunate to meet Jeff Novick), I had the more expensive VAP cholesterol test done. This test breaks down the LDL into 3 subclasses of LDL. Same for HDL. It turns out that I have the hereditary familial type B lipid profile. (There is type A (best), type A/B and type B (worst).) This means my LDL is high, and most of the LDL is the bad small dense LDL. I also have low HDL. And most of my HDL is small dense HDL, which is the only bad type of HDL. For my particular hereditary profile, it is very important to be very lean. Belly fat contributes hormones, for type B people like me, that contribute mightily to atherosclerosis. Regardless of what diet I follow, I will not be healthy unless I am very lean. That's my heredity. That's probably why, to my shock, that my IMT (carotid artery ultrasound) got significantly WORSE during the last 2 years very strictly on the Pritikin diet. I weighted 167 pounds, at 6'0", so I wasn't fat at all. But my heredity dictates that I should pinch 1/2 inch of fat by the navel. I lost 10 pounds, down to 157, and later regained some muscle (I hope it was all muscle I regained). I'm 163 now, and probably should lose some tummy fat!
My take home message from all this, is that no diet by itself guarantees success for all people. Depending on our individual heredity, weight, stress reduction, exercise, meal frequency, nutrient density, metabolic rate, vitamin D supplements, and more, may (or may not) be very important. We are all individuals.
For myself, I benefited greatly by having an IMT test, as recommended at the Pritikin Center. It cost $200, which insurance covered, and is completely harmless, just like a baby ultrasound. It gives an average intimal artery wall thickness (thinner is better) and takes pictures of any significant blockages, etc. This helps a person track his changes.
I'll get another IMT test in April 2011, 2 years after the last test. The last test (April 2009) showed that I reversed the atherosclerosis I built up during the 2 years of strict diet that I described above (June 2007 to June 2009).
The two years, described above, when my IMT worsened, was June 2005 to June 2007.
Two years later, in April 2009, having lost 10 pounds and emphasized veggies, but increased fat (3 - 4 oz nuts and seeds) showed I reversed the atherosclerosis.
In April 2011, I'll have another IMT to ensure I'm still doing well.
All the best wishes to all of you, kindred in spirit.
Best regards, EngineerGuy
