Customer Reviews

The Perricone Prescription: A Physician's 28-Day Program for Total Body and Face Rejuvenation

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

This book is pretty much about eating clean, low glycemic carbs and healthy fats. Too many of the wrong foods (bad carbs, salt, sugar) cause inflammation (insulin spike) and cause tissues to become irritated (hold water, puffiness). After following the Three-Day Nutritional Face Lift Menu(without the supplements) my face isn't puffy when I wake, my eyes aren't bloodshot and my skin is J.Lo luminious.

LOTS of supplements are prescribed which to "make it easy for you..." he sells overpriced supplements on his website at the hefty price tag of $195 for 45 days.

This is a good diet to follow if you are do Body-for-LIFE, South Beach or Atkins. I can't argue that its a bad plan. The recipes are very simple, clean and delicious. Can get expensive, but if you live near a Trader Joe's you shouldn't have too much of a problem.

The program can easily be summed up below -- he posts this on his website. Or try the eDiets.com version which is very simple to follow.

The Three-Day Menu
You will be eating close to the same thing each day. Remember to always eat your protein first. Though this diet has some variety, a restricted diet is often easier to handle since you are not confronted by too many choices.

Wake Up
8 to 12 ounces spring water

Breakfast
3 egg whites and 1 whole egg and/or a 4- to 6-ounce piece of broiled salmon
 cup cooked oatmeal not instant)
4 oz cantaloupe + 1/4 cup fresh berries
8 to 12 ounces spring water minimum, more if desired)

Lunch
4 to 6 ounces grilled salmon or tuna packed in spring water
2 cups romaine lettuce
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste
4 oz cantaloupe + 1/4 cup fresh berries
8 to 12 ounces spring water minimum, more if desired)

Mid-afternoon snack
2 ounces low-salt, sliced chicken breast
4 raw, unsalted hazelnuts
 green apple
8 to 12 ounces spring water minimum, more if desired)

Dinner
4 to 6 ounces grilled salmon
2 cups romaine lettuce
1 tablespoon olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste
1 cup steamed asparagus, broccoli, or spinach dressed with a little olive oil
4 oz cantaloupe + 1/4 cup fresh berries
8 to 12 ounces spring water minimum, more if desired)

Before-bedtime snack
2 ounces low-fat low-salt turkey or chicken breast
1/2 pear or green apple
3 or 4 almonds or olives
8 to 12 ounces of spring water

Through Dr. Nicholas Perricone Perricone millions have become familiar with such scientific names as peptides and neuropeptides, which he maintains give new life to skin and hair, aid in heart health, and even decrease the risk of certain forms of cancer.

"Wrinkled, sagging skin is not the inevitable result of growing older," Dr. Perricone has declared. "It's a disease, and you can fight it. You can look your best, feel your best, and enjoy beautiful skin and optimum health every day of your life, provided you start right now. And you don't need expensive, invasive plastic surgery to do it."

The host of several well-watched PBS programs, Perricone's credentials are impressive: a degree in Medicine from Michigan State University, an internship in Pediatrics at Yale University School of Medicine, and certification by the American Board of Dermatology.

After more than two decades of study Dr. Perricone emphatically declares that "a high protein, low carbohydrate diet full of salmon, fresh blueberries, cantaloupe and spring water can help slow and even reverse the aging process." In other words the clock can be turned back.

Is there an accompanying product line? Of course. Among his best selling items are his "Advanced Face Firming Activator," long a favorite of beauty editors and celebrities, and "Ceramic Skin Smoother,"a proprietary finishing serum treatment formulated by Dr. Perricone that helps to protect against the visible effects of environmental stresses while preparing your face for makeup"

Similar in tone to his later books, Perricone's offers pretty straight forward stuff, a bit like a lecture. Robin Webb gives an able, distinct reading.

- Gail Cooke

The book makes perfect sense, however, the diet itself is expensive, boring and not practical for the majority of people. I love fish especially Alaskan Salmon. The New Seasons market sells it for $19.99 per pound. I purchased a little sliver for $9.00 and it was delicious, but hardly filling. Eating salmon or any wild organic fish as often as the Doctor prescribes would be cost prohibitative for most people unless they're Oprah! If you look at the diet, you will notice that there is hardly enough food for a man to get through the day. I don't need to lose weight, so would have to double the intake. Maybe a woman trying to lose weight would benefit...but a man? Also, the combinations of the foods are odd if not downright gross. An afternoon snack consisted of cottage cheese, 4 black olives and 4 endive spears. Yuck! Also, be prepared to never drink anything except water and green tea. Bottom line...if you are rich, a woman trying to lose weight and someone not easily turned off by repetative very small portions, then this diet may work for you. There must be a better way!

The problem with this diet is that Dr. Perricone recommends you eat only wild salmon. I had to ask myself right away what's wrong with eating farmed salmon and why won't Dr. Perricone recommend eating it as an alternative? With all the wild salmon you're supposed to eat, this diet gets very cost prohibitive very fast.

If consumers knew what was in farmed salmon they might think twice about eating it more than once a month. Recent studies show that farmed salmon bought at markets on the East and West coasts were found to be contaminated with PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, at an average level far higher than any other protein source, including other seafood. PCBs are insidious and have been identified as probable human carcinogens.

This diet works as long as you can afford to eat wild salmon numerous times a week. The consumer friendly alternative is the L.A. Shape Diet - it even recommends some of the same supplements. I have had great results by combining the L.A. shape diet with Perricone's recommended supplements and lotions. Just get smart and find the discount versions of Perricone's brands to get the benefit of great skin without dropping a lot of cash.

Hi fellow antiWrinkle and antiagers!
I wrote this before on a different book review. The book is really a good menu or instruction set. It is written well and very enlightning. I'm sure it was made to promote his products but I found several websites that sell the stuff at a better price. doctorsecret.com or even ebay. The process is the best one written so far. I often hear I look 10-15 years younger. At this rate I'll be 16 again soon. Dr Perricone is handsome and intelligent, that helps in the selling. The Glycolic acid treatment proceedure or Serum CEster described are the best.
Thanks and good luck.

This is a bad book -- mostly because it is just a long advertisement for Perricone's products. The "research" he keeps referring to is not peer reviewed, not published in any medical journal, not performed using scientific method, etc. His research is anecdotal. 2 or 3 of his patients liked this particular lotion, 4 of his patients saw improvement with this cream, etc. His "diet" is the only thing of any value -- he advises eating lots of fruits and vegetables and he encourages the consumption of salmon. A bit of advice: be sure to SMELL his products before you buy them....stinky! (that comment doesn't refer to the book....)

The book is great, I love that his approach considers all aspects of looking and being healthy (food, fitness, anti-aging) and I agree with his inflammation=disease and anti-aging theory. In response to the woman who was looking for feedback about Dr. Perricone's product line, I can honestly tell you they are the only products that have worked, and I have tried everything. I am not quite your age but am in my 30s and was seeing a sagging face that despite my efforts looked dull, and the fine lines were increasing daily, it seemed. As costly as the products may be, I think they are a bargain, and I pay a lot more being from Canada! I've been using them a short time, only about 3 weeks, but the change in my skin and especially the tone and brightness is incredible. I really can't believe the results I'm getting is possible with a skin care product. In fact, I didn't really know what "brightness" meant, I just thought you'd have a slight glow but my skin is actually a different colour and I get so many compliments on my "naturally" great skin. I use 2 face treatments right now plus the 2 eye treatments and I'll never use anything else again. When I catch my reflection in a mirror I can't believe it's me. When I'm tired, I don't look it. The DMAE in his products works amazingly to contour the jaw and cheekbones. Considering there are products minutes from my doorstep that cost from $100 to $700 and still don't do anything other than give you soft skin (which a drugstore product can do), I think I'm lucky to have stumbled upon the Perricone book and website. (Although his supplements are ridiculously expensive and I think I'm fine with a small selection from my local health store.) If you want specifics about the products I've tried, email me at cpa1@gosympatico.ca. Good luck!

I'm a physician. I checked Perricone's peer-reviewed publications in PUBMED. There were only four, the most recent in 1996 which showed a miniscule sun-protection factor of 2.4 for topical glycolic acid. This is a far cry from his exaggerated claims, partial truths, and out-right lies in this book. The five-star reviews titled "Fringe Benefits!" and "The Perricone Prescription" read like shills for Perricone's incredibly high-priced products. Go to his website's store (http://www.nvperriconemd.com/), where he has a 2 ounce bottle of topical Lipoic Acid for $95!! This is typical for his products. Better yet, eat a "Mediterranean diet", skip this book, and ignore his advice on supplements. He's rich enough already.

Three star rating from my previous review of this book. The Wrinkle Cure is the best, and extremely useful. The other materials he's written are just recycled info. Save your bucks!

For those of you who might be using Dr. Perricone's skincare products, and are in your mid-40's (preferably female), could you please provide some feedback on how well, or how "not well at all" these products work, i.e., e-ester cream, and ala day treatment. Due the high prices of his skincare regime, I would greatly appreciate a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down." Thanks!

Perricone is constantly regurgitating information in order to sell his books and overpriced skin care products. He is riding his fame like a wave that is going to crash soon. If you have the Wrinkle Cure then you don't need this book or his newest book, "The Acne Prescription" Most of the information in his books is nothing new or revolutionary. I knew about the supplements he mentions and topical agents long before he started writing books. He is not quite as revolutionary as he seems to think.