Nathan Pritikin Diet for Runners

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As most of you know, I have been following a special running diet for the past month or so. I have been following the Nathan Pritikin Diet for Runners. I came across this diet while doing my typical running research online. I usually eschew things like this, but the more I read about it, the more I became intrigued. I have always wanted to try to eat a high-carb, lowfat diet that is supposed to be the best for runners, but thought it would take a ton of time to calculate my daily ratios. After reading that the core of Pritikin's plan was "Seven Survival Staples", 7 foods that theoretically a runner could live off of and get all their necessary nutrients, I was hooked. Since I am a busy graduate student, I tend to eat from a core group of foods anyways. I bought the book online from Amazon and decided to read more and make a decision.


Before I continue, I just want to make it very clear that I am not a dietician or a nutritionist. My only knowledge of nutrition comes from my background in Science and my hobby of researching nutrition. Therefore, this post is not meant to offer nutritional advice, or even suggest you follow this diet. This is simply my experience on this diet. I would love any chemists or nutritionists to comment on this, so please, speak up! (or, forward this onto a nutritionist friend)

If the name Pritikin sounds familiar, it's because Dr. Pritikin has achieved fame with his Pritikin Program in the health field. Here is a quotation from his bio (read the whole article here):

Nathan Pritikin started following the work of Dr. Lester Morrison in California, a cardiologist who in the early 1950's had placed 50 of his seriously ill heart attack patients on a diet mimicking the low-cholesterol, low-fat wartime food rationing diet that many Europeans survived on. Another 50 cardiac patients, also very ill, continued eating the typical American high-fat diet. The latter was the study's control group.

By 1955, the cholesterol levels of the experimental low-fat, low-cholesterol group had dropped from an average of 312 to 220. The control group's cholesterol levels had remained the same. Nearly 60% of the men in the experimental group were still alive compared to 24% of the control group. By 1960, all of the patients in the control group had died; 38% of the low-fat, low-cholesterol group were still alive.
In addition to being a doctor, Dr. Pritikin was also a runner. He published his book in a time when some seasoned runners were dropping dead with heart disease. His book's main goal was to show how the typical American diet of 50% carbohydrate plus high protein and high fat can cause heart disease in even the most fit runners. Additionally, he found that runners on his diet ended up with greater endurance. Thus, an endurance diet for runners was born.

This book was published in 1985, so I knew I would have to read the information with a critical eye. Here are some direct quotations that I find interesting (I don't necessarily agree with all these statements):

* "Because ammonia is toxic to cells and difficult to eliminate, we say that protein doens't burn clean. As the process continues, two ammonia molecules are joined to form urea. This is less toxic than ammonia, but harmful enough to require large amounts of water to dilute its toxicity so that it can be excreted without damage to the kidneys. High protein diets are therefore very dehydrating"
* "On a high-carbohydrate diet, athletes have three times the endurance they have on a high-protein diet"
* "Some athletes believe they need to eat a lot of fat. But a higher proportion of our energy comes from fat when we're at rest than when we're exercising"
* "In fact, we can get most of the fat we need from whole grains"
* On carbo fasting then loading...."Carbohydrate loading causes enormous amounts of glycogen to be stored in all the muscles that have been worked to exhaustion during the depletion stage--not only the leg muscles, but the heart muscles as well. Glycogen is stored with three to four times its own weight in water. You can well imagine how difficult it will be for a heart so engorged with water to function properly....Metabolizing fats in the absence of sufficient carbohydrates can also result in the formation of ketones--toxic substances which, when excreted, can cause dehydration damage to the kidneys. Less dangerous, but certainly worth considering, is the fact that the weight of the glycogen and the water with which it is stored will make the athlete's legs feels heavy."
* "Studies by Dr. David Costill, at Ball State University in Indiana, show that on 50% carbohydrate diet (typical American), it takes three days after strenuous exercise to restore the proper glycogen levels, but that it takes only one day if you're on a 70% carbohydrate diet."

Here are some things I don't find interesting (I certainly don't agree with these statements):

* "Only fluid lost in perspiration needs to be replaced, and electrolyte supplements are unnecessary. Even with up to a four percent loss of body weight through sweating, mineral loss is small. "
* Beer is bad (paraphrasing)
* Coffee is bad (paraphrasing)
* All the fat we need we get from grains. We don't need to eat any additional oils, nuts, avocados, seeds, etc (paraphrasing)

In summary, this book advocates a high-carb, low-fat, reduced protein diet. Diet Breakdown: 80% calories from carbs, 10-15% from protein, and 5-10% from fat. All your carbs are in the form of whole grains, fruits, and veggies. All dairy is non-fat, and meats are as lean as possible. Oils of any type are to be avoided. Runners are to try to eat as many of the survival staples each day as possible.

Seven Survival Staples:

* brown rice
* beans
* chicken
* tomato veggie stew
* fat free dairy (such as yogurt)
* berry-apple compote
* frozen bananas

Here is what my typical day looks like:

Breakfast: Whole Oats with mixed berries and soymilk; coffee
Snack: Carrots, Plain Nonfat yogurt with mixed berries or berry-apple compote
Lunch: Big, Honkin' Spinach Salad with balsamic vingear, Brown Rice with Tomato-Veggie Stew, Apple
Snack: Carrots or other veggies, Smartpop popcorn
Dinner: Big, Honkin' Spinach Salad with balsamic vinegar, Brown Rice or Whole Wheat Pasta with Tomato Veggie Stew, Simmered Chicken, Frozen Banana faux-ice cream.

Since it is unrealistic for me to maintain this diet 100% of the time, I follow an 80/20 rule (80% on, 20% off). This allows me some flexibility to give into temptation or enjoy a nice dinner out with friends.

Since I have been on this diet, I have been the happiest I have ever been food-wise. I am eating all day, and never feel hungry. My energy levels are sky-high, and my running pace has gotten faster. I think the most interesting change has been in my cravings. Before this diet, I would get intense cravings for gobs of peanut butter and handfuls of raisins. Now, I crave my tomato-veggie stew (or anything tomato for that matter) and cooked eggplant. Weird, I know, but I just roll with it. When I do allow myself to go off the diet, I usually have a few bites of "bad" food and just feel gross. If anything, this diet has taught me to eat cleaner without feeling hungry.

I am not going to post any of the recipes from the book, because I don't want to violate any copyright laws. If you are interested, I suggest you go buy the book. I got mine off Amazon for about three bucks. Even if you don't want to follow the diet, the book is full of great, healthy recipes that are easy and fast.

Again, I just want to emphasize that if you are considering this diet, you should talk to a doctor or a nutritionist. I am not an expert, and what works for me may not work for you.

Run Strong!