How The Perricone Promise Works

There are three basic parts to The Perricone Promise approach:

Diet. Perricone recommends five meals a day -- breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks. He suggests you eat a lot from his list of "superfoods," including salmon and berries. He also says that you must always eat protein before you eat any carbohydrates. His books include recipes and meal plans.

Supplements. Perricone recommends more than 25 supplements a day taken with breakfast and lunch. He suggests using his own line of products.

Skin care products. Perricone also has an extensive line of skin care products, including cleansers, toners, lotions, lip plumpers, and moisturizers.

In addition, Perricone recommends exercising at least 20-30 minutes a day.

Perricone relies on the glycemic index to guide his food choices. The index is a way of measuring the effect of a food on your blood sugar levels. Perricone says that foods with a high glycemic index cause swelling throughout your body.

However, experts debate whether eating foods with a high glycemic index is a problem for most people. Besides, if you eat foods in combination with one another -- as most of us do -- you can change your body's glycemic response to it.

Some Controversial Science

Some aspects of Perricone's approach are founded on good research. Increasingly, experts do see inflammation as a serious health problem. It can contribute to diseases like arthritis and heart disease.

Omega-3 fatty acids are known to help the heart. Some studies suggest that they can even help with mood disorders. And many researchers think that the results of aging may not be inevitable. A diet with lots of salmon and berries has many benefits.

The problem is that Perricone stretches the evidence too far. He makes grand and often odd conclusions that the science can't completely support.

He tends toward dramatic and alarming pronouncements. "In essence, a wrinkle can be considered a wound," he writes. He says that sugar can be "toxic." It contributes to the destruction of our organs, joints, and "the deterioration of every bodily function."