OTHER
American Heart Association.http://www.americanheart.gov
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion. ‘‘Healthy Eating Tips’’ and ‘‘Obesity and
Overwight.’’ Available fromhttp://www.cdc.gov
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.<http:www.
nhlbi.nih.gov>
Shape Up America.http://www.shapeupamerica.org
Marjorie R. FreedmanFat flush diet
Definition
The fat flush diet is a combination weight-loss and
detoxification (‘detox’) or cleansing diet, formulated
by the well-known nutritionist Ann Louise Gittleman.
It is a low-carbohydrate, restricted-calorie diet, which
is designed to boostmetabolism, decreasewaterreten-
tion, and promote loss of fat.
Origins
Ann Louise Gittleman, a certified nutrition special-
ist with a Ph.D. in holistic nutrition, first introduced the
idea of ‘fat flush’ in her 1988 bookBeyond Pritikin.
Gittleman created her diet after working as a nutrition-
ist at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Florida, where
she observed that many of her clients did very poorly on
Nathan Pritikin’s extremelylow-fat diet. The author of
some 25 books on nutrition, dieting, and health, Gittle-
man is America’s self-described ‘First Lady of Nutri-
tion.’The Fat Flush Planbecame a bestselling diet book
in 2002. It received additional publicity in the 2006 film
Last Holidaystarring Queen Latifah.
Description
Theory
The theory behind the fat flush diet is that eating
the correct combinations of foods and eating more
often will increase the body’s metabolism and lead to
the efficient burning of fat. Therefore, rather than
totally restricting fat, the fat flush diet calls for eating
the correctfats, as well as the correctcarbohydrates
and proteins. However, in order to maximize the
body’s burning of stored body fat 24 hours per day,
the liver and lymphatic system must first be detoxified.
According to Gittleman there are five ‘hidden
factors’ that sabotage weight loss, lower energy levels,
and interfere with good health:
A liver that is overloaded with toxins and function-
ing poorly cannot burn fat properly.
Food sensitivities and intolerances lead to water reten-
tion and ‘waterlogged tissues.’ The fat flush diet elim-
inates foods that cause water retention and prescribes
protein-rich foods, filtered water, and diuretics to
remove excess water.
People are afraid of eating fat. The fats in Gittle-
man’s diet accelerate fat burning, satisfy hunger, and
maintain lean muscle mass.
Insulin is a fat-storing hormone and excess insulin is
caused by food that are high in rapidly released
carbohydrates.
The stress hormone cortisol causes the body to store
fat, particularly around the abdomen. Cortisol levels
can be controlled by timing meals.Diet components
The fat flush diet includes:
8 oz (225 g) daily of lean protein as lean meat, eggs,
and fish
fruits and vegetables
omega-3-rich fats such as flaxseed oil and evening
primrose oil
spices such as ginger, cayenne, mustard, and cinna-
mon, to speed up metabolism
‘long life cocktail’ consisting of one teaspoon of pow-
dered psyllium husks or one tablespoon of ground or
milled flaxseed in 8 oz (237 ml) cran-water (one part
unsweetened cranberry juice, four parts filtered
water), a diuretic to speed the detoxification process
and balance hormones
a supplement called GLA. Gamma linolenic acid or
GLA is an essential fat from black current seed oil
that Gittleman sells as 90-mg capsules. Gittleman
claims that GLA-90 boosts weight loss by activating
brown adipose tissue (BAT) and ‘balancing the body’s
sodium/potassium pump.’
Specific fat flushing diet rules include:
only one protein item per meal, with the exception of
eggs
no fruits and vegetables together
no milk and meat together
no water with meals, fluids only between meals
eating about every three hours.
There are three phases to the fat flush diet:
Phase 1 is a two-week very restrictive cleansing diet.
Phase 2 is a less restrictive diet that is continued until
the desired weight or body size is achieved.Fat flush diet