The Perricone Diet

Do certain foods affect the health of our
skin?
The major
emphasis of the Perricone Diet is to give your skin a healthier
glow and thus reverse the aging process. That doesn’t mean it
is not beneficial for weight loss as well, but that is not the
primary emphasis.
When I heard
about the Perricone Diet, I thought it sounded like something
great to try for both weight loss and improvement in my skin
tone. People told me the wrinkles in my skin made me look about
five years older than my 42 years, so I wanted to do something
about it.
I had heard
some good things about the Perricone Diet, and though I really
didn’t need to lose much in the weight area, I definitely
wanted to do something about the condition of my skin to help
me look younger. That doesn’t mean I was happy with my weight,
but my vanity led me to be more concerned about looking younger
than having a few extra pounds on my bones.
Of course,
although I wasn’t prepared for all of the exclusions that were
on the food list for this diet, I knew I was going to have to
make some sacrifices in order to change the way I
looked.
The problem I
faced when I began the diet was that many of the foods I
enjoyed were not on the list. I was not a big fan of fish other
than shellfish and tuna fish, and the diet recommends two
servings per day of salmon which is not one of my
favourites.
The foods you
are not allowed include breads, cereals except non-instant
oatmeal, rice, beef, pasta, coffee, fruit juices, and even
sugar. The only thought going through my head was that it
better work for all of the foods I had to sacrifice.
Of course, I
didn’t realize at the time how much I was really going to have
to sacrifice, including that of my energy. With nearly all
carbohydrates eliminated from the diet, there was nothing left
to boost my energy—sugar was even out of the picture, so there
almost no source of energy.
I tried the
Perricone Diet for about two
weeks before I had to give up because I couldn’t even stay
awake. Exercise was out of the question because I had no energy
left—it took all of my strength just to go to work each day. My
husband and oldest daughter had to cook dinner and clean the
house because I couldn’t do it. I lost a few pounds that I
needed to lose, but it didn’t make me look any
younger.
Perhaps if I
had chosen to purchase the vitamins and skin care products that
were part of the program it might have made a difference, but I
have my own preferences in both of those areas and have used
the same manufacturer since I was a teenager.
The basis is
that eliminating certain foods from the diet will reverse the
aging process, and I just didn’t find that to be true. There is
no documentation to support that theory, so if you’re looking
for a way to reverse the aging process, you need to look into a
good skin care system and not a diet plan.
Review by
Sarah Hanson
|