Nathan Pritikin

Nathan Pritikin (August 29, 1915 – February 21, 1985) was an American inventor, engineer, nutritionist and longevity researcher.[1][2]

Nathan Pritikin
Born(1915-08-28)August 28, 1915
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedFebruary 21, 1985(1985-02-21) (aged 69)
Albany, New York
NationalityUnited States
Genrenutrition
SpouseIlene (1923–2009)
Children4 sons, 1 daughter

The eldest son born to Jacob and Ester, Pritikin was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, where he attended the University of Chicago from 1933 to 1935, dropping out because of the Depression.[3] He became an inventor and a millionaire developing patents for companies such as Honeywell, General Electric and Bendix[3] while living in Chicago and Santa Barbara, California.

After being diagnosed with ischemic posterior wall heart disease in 1957,[1][2] he began searching for a treatment. Based on studies indicating that people in primitive cultures with primarily vegetarian lifestyles had little history of heart disease and western cancers,[4] and medical data available during WW2 detailing rates of disease in various countries he created a low-fat diet that was high in unrefined carbohydrates like vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, small amounts of meat/dairy products along with a moderate aerobic exercise regime.[5][6] His dietary and exercise regime is called the Pritikin Diet.[7]

Pritikin was diagnosed with leukemia in 1958, and it had been in remission until late 1984, when he began to suffer severe pain and complications from the disease and associated treatments. He committed suicide at Albany Medical Center on February 21, 1985.[1][2] Per a letter to the editor, at autopsy it is claimed that there was a near absence of atherosclerosis (only some fatty streaks), and that the heart's pumping function was completely uncompromised.[8][9]

Works
  • The Pritikin Program for Diet and Exercise. Bantam. ISBN 978-0553271928 co-authored with Patrick M. McGrady (1979).
  • The Pritikin Permanent Weight Loss Manual. Bantam. ISBN 0553204947 (1981).
  • The Pritikin Promise: 28 Days to a Longer, Healthier Life. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0671494476 (1983).
  • Diet for Runners: The High-Performance Diet that Gives You Supercharged Energy and Endurance ISBN 978-0671556235 (1985).
  • Pritikin: The man who healed America's Heart ISBN 0-87857-732-7 Tom Monte, Ilene Pritikin (1987).

See also
  • Pritikin, N. (1976). High carbohydrate diets: Maligned and misunderstood. The Journal of Applied Nutrition, 28(3&4), 56-68. Verified with.[10] Retrieved from [11]

References
  1. Jones, Jack (February 23, 1985). "Nathan Pritikin, crusader for fitness, kills himself". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  2. "Nutritionist takes own life". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (wire reports). February 23, 1985. p. 3.
  3. When His Health Deserted Him, Diet and Fitness Guru Nathan Pritikin Turned to Suicide, by Eleanor Hoover, People Magazine, March 11, 1985
  4. Company, DIANE Publishing (1995-07-01). Alternative Medicine: Expanding Medical Horizons. DIANE Publishing. pp. 233–. ISBN 9780788118203. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  5. Today in Science History
  6. Nathan Pritikin: The Man Who Healed America's Heart (the Official Biography) by Tom Monte with Ilene Pritikin ISBN 0-87857-732-7
  7. Alters S, Schiff W (22 February 2012). Chapter 10: Body Weight and Its Management. Essential Concepts for Healthy Living (Sixth ed.). Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 327. ISBN 978-1-4496-3062-1.
  8. "Autopsy of Pritikin May Renew Debate". Los Angeles Times. 1985-07-04. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  9. Hubbard, JD; Inkeles, S; Barnard, RJ (4 July 1985). "Nathan Pritikin's Heart". The New England Journal of Medicine. 313 (1): 52. doi:10.1056/NEJM198507043130119.
  10. Pritikin, N. (1975). "High carbohydrate diets: Maligned and misunderstood". Journal of Applied Nutrition.
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