Recently, the world's foremost nutrition experts from the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations published guidelines outlining the optimal diet for losing weight and preventing diseases like hyper-tension, diabetes, heart disease, and many cancers.

Citing studies involving over one million people worldwide, these health organizations determined that the best and healthiest diet for getting thin and staying thin is a diet that is 1) very high in natural, fiber-rich carbohydrates like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans; 2) low in fat, particularly saturated fats and trans fatty acids; 3) low in sodium; 4) low in foods that are dense with calories, such as refined grains, oils, and sugar-rich foods and soft drinks; and 5) moderate in protein. Finally, they recommended exercise, at least 30 minutes daily.

The charts below show how various diets meet these criteria. The healthiest, most effective weight-loss plans are those with the most heart symbols.

	ATKINS	JENNY CRAIG	MEDITERRANEAN	SLIM FAST	PRITIKIN
Very High in Fruits
Very High in Vegetables
Very High in Fiber-Rich Whole Grains & Beans
Low in Saturated Fat & Cholesterol
Low in Trans Fat
Low in Sodium (Less thank 2,000mg Daily)
Low in Refined Grains
Low in Oils
Low in Sugar-Rich Foods & Beverages
Moderate in Protein (10-20% of Calories)
Daily Exercise

	SOUTH BEACH	SUGAR BUSTERS	WEIGHT WATCHERS	ZONE	PRITIKIN
Very High in Fruits
Very High in Vegetables
Very High in Fiber-Rich Whole Grains & Beans
Low in Saturated Fat & Cholesterol
Low in Trans Fat
Low in Sodium (Less thank 2,000mg Daily)
Low in Refined Grains
Low in Oils
Low in Sugar-Rich Foods & Beverages
Moderate in Protein (10-20% of Calories)
Daily Exercise

Why are these criteria important? See Below.

Review of Criteria

From Diet, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases, 116-page report by the world’s 30 top experts in diet and disease, released on March 3, 2003 by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Very high in fruits & vegetables: Promotes weight loss and helps prevent diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and many cancers.

Very high in whole grains & beans: Promotes weight loss and helps prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Low in saturated fat & cholesterol: Promotes weight loss and helps prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Low in trans fat: Promotes weight loss and helps prevent cardiovascular disease.

Low in sodium: Important for prevention of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, osteoporosis, and stomach cancer.

Low in refined grains: Promotes weight loss and helps prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Low in oils: Promotes weight loss.

Low in sugary foods & beverages: Promotes weight loss and helps prevent diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and dental disease.

Moderate in protein: Decreases risks related to diets high in animal protein, including kidney stones, cardiovascular disease, several cancers, and calcium loss, which may lead to bone loss.

Regular exercise: Promotes weight loss and helps prevent diabetes, cardiovascular disease, many cancers, and osteoporosis.

For Long-Term Weight Control, Which Diet Is Most Successful?

By Dr. James Barnard, UCLA, Pritikin Scientific Advisory Board

We now have excellent data on the optimal diet for long-term weight loss. The National Weight Control Registry has identified more than 4,500 Americans who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for one year or more. The vast majority of these successful dieters follow a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet full of fruits and vegetables, very similar to the Pritikin Program. Less than 1% follows an Atkins-style low-carb, high-fat diet.

In the only study ever published comparing the long-term effects (one year) of an Atkins-style diet with a Pritikin-style diet, scientists found that the Pritikin-style diet was more effective for weight loss – and far healthier. On the Pritikin-style diet, all cardiovascular risk factors, including cholesterol levels, improved. On the Atkins-style diet, all cardiovascular risk factors worsened. (Preventive Cardiology, August 2002)

This research echoes the 90+ studies published over the past three decades in top medical journals on the enormous success of the Pritikin Program in helping thousands worldwide lose weight safely and permanently; markedly reduce risk factors for heart disease; lower blood pressure to normal, medication-free levels; control diabetes and reduce or eliminate the need for drugs; avoid bypass and angioplasty surgery; mitigate the metabolic syndrome; and reduce key risk factors for breast, colon, and prostate cancer.