Overview
The low-fat eating concept limits eating fats that can lead to weight gain, high cholesterol levels, and heart disease.
You do need some fat in your diet for energy and to help absorb vitamins. Popular low-fat programs such as the Life Choice Diet (Ornish) and Pritikin suggest only 10% of your daily calories come from fat.
The Life Choice Diet
Author Dean Ornish, MD, suggests people make lifetime changes that include very low-fat eating habits, exercise, and stress management.
Basic concept
Ornish promotes low-fat vegetarian eating to reverse or prevent heart disease. Exercising and managing stress are equally important in this lifestyle program.
How it works
There are two versions of the Life Choice Diet. The "reversal diet" is for people who have diagnosed heart disease or high cholesterol levels. Because you are trying to reverse damage to your body, you must follow strict guidelines. The "prevention diet" is less structured. You still eat a diet very low in fat, but you have more flexibility in what you can eat.
Guidelines for both versions of Ornish's diet include eating a vegetarian diet high in complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in their natural forms). About 10% of your calories come from fat in the reversal diet. You may have more fat in the prevention diet as long as your weight or your cholesterol levels don't begin to rise. Oils are limited to 3 grams a day. Mostly, you eat foods that have less than 3 grams of fat per serving, and stay away from saturated fat and sugar.
On the menu
High-fiber grains, legumes (beans and peas)
Vegetables
Nonfat dairy products
Egg whites
Small amounts of alcohol
Off the menu
Meat and all animal products
Caffeine
Nuts, seeds, olives
Chocolate, coconut
Avocado
Oils, except for small amounts of canola oil for cooking
Pritikin
Nathan Pritikin, PhD, developed the Pritikin diet in the 1970s. It’s similar to the Ornish program, with no more than 10% of calories coming from fat. Pritikin does allow some lean meat and seafood that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
Basic concept
Pritikin encourages eating natural, nutrient-rich, high-fiber foods. Daily exercise is part of the program.
How it works
The theory is that when you limit fat to 10% of your daily calories, there’s no need to count calories. Eat often to keep from feeling hungry—six or seven meals a day. You can eat as much as you want of whole grains, vegetables, and fruit. Exercise every day; for example, take a 45-minute walk.
On the menu
Whole grains
Unprocessed vegetables
Unprocessed fruits
Lean meats
Omega-3 fatty acids (fat like that found in fish) in very small amounts
Off the menu
Pasta
White bread
Eggs
Caffeine
Processed foods
Most fats.
The low-fat eating concept limits eating fats that can lead to weight gain, high cholesterol levels, and heart disease.
You do need some fat in your diet for energy and to help absorb vitamins. Popular low-fat programs such as the Life Choice Diet (Ornish) and Pritikin suggest only 10% of your daily calories come from fat.
The Life Choice Diet
Author Dean Ornish, MD, suggests people make lifetime changes that include very low-fat eating habits, exercise, and stress management.
Basic concept
Ornish promotes low-fat vegetarian eating to reverse or prevent heart disease. Exercising and managing stress are equally important in this lifestyle program.
How it works
There are two versions of the Life Choice Diet. The "reversal diet" is for people who have diagnosed heart disease or high cholesterol levels. Because you are trying to reverse damage to your body, you must follow strict guidelines. The "prevention diet" is less structured. You still eat a diet very low in fat, but you have more flexibility in what you can eat.
Guidelines for both versions of Ornish's diet include eating a vegetarian diet high in complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in their natural forms). About 10% of your calories come from fat in the reversal diet. You may have more fat in the prevention diet as long as your weight or your cholesterol levels don't begin to rise. Oils are limited to 3 grams a day. Mostly, you eat foods that have less than 3 grams of fat per serving, and stay away from saturated fat and sugar.
On the menu
High-fiber grains, legumes (beans and peas)
Vegetables
Nonfat dairy products
Egg whites
Small amounts of alcohol
Off the menu
Meat and all animal products
Caffeine
Nuts, seeds, olives
Chocolate, coconut
Avocado
Oils, except for small amounts of canola oil for cooking
Pritikin
Nathan Pritikin, PhD, developed the Pritikin diet in the 1970s. It’s similar to the Ornish program, with no more than 10% of calories coming from fat. Pritikin does allow some lean meat and seafood that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
Basic concept
Pritikin encourages eating natural, nutrient-rich, high-fiber foods. Daily exercise is part of the program.
How it works
The theory is that when you limit fat to 10% of your daily calories, there’s no need to count calories. Eat often to keep from feeling hungry—six or seven meals a day. You can eat as much as you want of whole grains, vegetables, and fruit. Exercise every day; for example, take a 45-minute walk.
On the menu
Whole grains
Unprocessed vegetables
Unprocessed fruits
Lean meats
Omega-3 fatty acids (fat like that found in fish) in very small amounts
Off the menu
Pasta
White bread
Eggs
Caffeine
Processed foods
Most fats.
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