What It Is What You Can Eat How It Works What the Experts Say Food for Thought Review More of the Latest Diets

The Perricone Diet

What It Is

Unlike most diets, the Perricone diet -- in its current incarnation, at least -- doesn't focus on weight loss. Instead, dermatologist Nicholas Perricone, MD, claims that he's found a diet and regimen of supplements and lotions that can make you look younger and live longer.

But wait. Perricone also says his approach can also decrease inflammation in every organ system, improve your metabolism, lift your mood, make your heart resistant to disease, decrease the risk of cancer, improve bone density, repair the skin, rejuvenate your immune system, and possibly help you lose weight.

Over the last few years, Perricone -- an adjunct professor at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine -- has popped up everywhere. He's made his pitch on Oprah, Today, 20/20, and many other shows. He's had several specials on PBS. He has endorsements from celebrities like Courtney Cox, who calls herself a "huge fan." Perricone's line of supplements and skin care products -- or "cosmeceuticals" as he calls them -- are sold on his web site, at some high-end department stores, and at his own new shop on Madison Avenue in New York. He's also written five books since 2000, most of them best-sellers. They are:

• The Clear Skin Prescription: The Perricone Program to Eliminate Problem Skin (2004)
• The Perricone Promise (2004)
• The Acne Prescription: The Perricone Program for Healthy Skin at Every Age (2003)
• The Perricone Prescription (2002)
• The Wrinkle Cure (2000)

Perricone is publishing a sixth book, The Perricone Weight Loss Diet, in September 2005. So far, his suggestions and diet remain pretty much the same throughout all the books.

However, he claims that following his diet and regimen of supplements and lotions helps "reverse the aging process." Perricone says that his diet will make you look younger in as little as three days.

Some of Perricone's suggestions are sensible and founded on accepted science, but others are sketchier. Perricone frequently talks about his own research, but very little of it has ever been published or reviewed by outside experts. While Perricone makes some big claims, his diet is strict, costly, and largely unproven.

Reviewed by Cynthia Haines, MD, September 2005.

SOURCES: Perricone, N. The Perricone Prescription, Harper Collins, 2002. Perricone, N. The Perricone Promise, Warner Books, 2004. Roberta Anding, MS, RD, spokeswoman, American Dietetic Association; assistant professor, University of Texas Houston Health Science Center School of Nursing. Lona Sandon RD, spokeswoman, American Dietetic Association; assistant professor, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. WebMD Live Transcript: "The Wrinkle Cure: Nicholas Perricone, MD."

WebMD does not endorse any specific product, service, or treatment.