Nathan Pritikin

Nathan Pritikin (August 29, 1915 – February 21, 1985) was an American inventor, engineer, nutritionist and longevity researcher.[1][2]

The eldest son born to Jacob and Ester, Pritikin was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, where he attended the University of Chicago from 1933 to 1935, dropping out because of the Depression.[3] He became an inventor and a millionaire developing patents for companies such as Honeywell, General Electric and Bendix[3] while living in Chicago and Santa Barbara, California.

After being diagnosed with ischemic posterior wall heart disease in 1957,[1][2] he began searching for a treatment. Based on studies indicating that people in primitive cultures with primarily vegetarian lifestyles had little history of heart disease and western cancers,[4] and medical data available during WW2 detailing rates of disease in various countries he created a low-fat diet that was high in unrefined carbohydrates like vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, small amounts of meat/dairy products along with a moderate aerobic exercise regime.[5][6] His dietary and exercise regime is called the Pritikin Diet.[7]

Pritikin was diagnosed with leukemia in 1958, and it had been in remission until late 1984, when he began to suffer severe pain and complications from the disease and associated treatments. He committed suicide at Albany Medical Center on February 21, 1985.[1][2] Per a letter to the editor, at autopsy it is claimed that there was a near absence of atherosclerosis (only some fatty streaks), and that the heart's pumping function was completely uncompromised.[8][9]