'Beyond Pritikin' and Back to Red Meat

BEYOND PRITIKIN
Ann Louise Gittleman, M.S. and J. Maxwell Desgrey.
239 pages. Bantam. $16.95.

   By Darcelle Infante  

     Chewing the fat about the latest crash diet or fad has become a favorite pastime in America, but now there's a book that actually promotes eating fat--very special fats--to stay healthy.

     "Beyond Pritikin" disputes the totally fat-free diet espoused by Nathan Pritikin in the mid-1970s, which was a catalyst in shifting the American diet away from red meats and high-fat foods.

     The book's author, Anne Louise Gittleman, is a former director of nutrition at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Santa Monica. During Gittleman's tenure there, she noticed clients who had been on the Pritikn program a year or longer began to develop vertical ridges on their fingernails. This, she says, signaled a vitamin deficiency and led her to begin studying nutrition from a total health perspective.

     "Beyond Pritikin" maintains that not all fats are bad. In fact, Gittleman says, specific fats are essential to the body. Her theory on fat stems from a study by researchers H.O. Bang and John Dyerberg investigating the diet of native Greenland Eskimos. The 1978 study published in the British medical journal Lancet reports that Eskimos have a very low incidence of coronary heart disease, diabetes and cancer despite the fact that they eat a diet extremely high in fats and cholesterol. According to the study, the traditional Eskimo diet contains more than 70 percent of its calories in fat.

     So how can Eskimos eat so much fat and stay healthy? Gittleman believes the key is in the kinds of fat they eat. Eskimos consume fat from marine life such as seal, whale and walrus. And most of their diet consists of fatty cold-water fish such as herring, mackerel and salmon. These foods contain marine oils that are high in two important Omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to protect the cardiovascular system, she says. The other oils that Gittleman promotes are called Omega 6 oils and come from plant sources such as vegetable oils, borage and evening primrose oil. These two categories of oils Gittleman calls "essential fats."

     "Beyond Pritikin" outlines a total fitness program based on the body's need for these essential fats. The book also includes facts on cholesterol, fiber, salt, yeast, sweets and fitness. Gittleman includes a 21-Day Master Menu plan with recipes and a special section on herbs. Tips are provided on how to select and store food. The book also points out dangerous cooking utensils that can contaminate what we eat.

     "Beyond Pritikin" is well researched without getting bogged down in a lot of medical jargon. The arguments appear to be based on sound observations.

     However, many of the recommendations sound just as radical as putting fat back in the diet. The program pushes a scaled-back exercise plan and argues that margarine can be more harmful to the body than butter. The book also says that red meat is necessary for a well-balanced diet. But these arguments, which go against the grain of those of most modern-day nutritionists, only add a touch of spice and conviction to Gittleman's beliefs.

     Still, let the reader beware. Gittleman lists obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, premenstrual syndrome, skin and nail disorders, immune system weaknesses and candida albicans, more commonly known as yeast infections, among the health ailments allegedly aided by her "essential fat solution." It's hard to believe that such an amazing "cure-all" would have remained a secret for so long.