Dr Perricone’s 3-Day Face Lift Diet

Thrice-daily salmon feasts and it is “hello cheekbones” and “goodbye wrinkles”

The stars of the silver screen will by now be digging into several In-N-Out burgers after the awards season that had them slave to choices: couture Dior, Chanel or Marchesa? Three-hour Runyon Canyon hikes or a month of Barry’s Bootcamp?

What might well have united many of them is a diet of Alaskan wild salmon. Here’s why: 10 years ago, American dermatologist Dr Nicholas Perricone wrote a New York Times bestseller, The Perricone Prescription, declaring ageing to be caused partly by inflammation and can be combated by following a salmon-rich diet. He became very famous, and while it may be a cliché to say he is the rock star of dermatology, when I interviewed him in Bergdorf Goodman, he had two bodyguards. The women lining up to meet him said he had saved them from going under the knife due to his nutritional plan and skincare products. It was an oddly touching scene.

Which brings me to his 3-Day Face Lift Diet that, a decade on, still has Hollywood’s fridges stuffed with pink fish flesh. What you can expect after three days, he claims, is an elimination of puffiness and blemishes, improved firmness and tone and lifted skin. I always see a huge improvement when I follow it – my skin tone is clearer, the bags under my eyes lose that fetching purple twinge and I say hello to my cheekbones and a jawline that regularly goes MIA. The reason is the high level of DMAE (dimethylaminoethanol) that naturally occurs in wild salmon and firms the skin to decrease sagging.

The day starts with 180g-220g grilled salmon for breakfast – although the faint-hearted can go for a three-egg omelette – followed by porridge and berries. Both lunch and dinner are more grilled salmon, a simple salad, berries and melon. There are some exciting snacks twice a day of turkey breast or yoghurt, nuts and green tea. It’s not a great surprise that caffeine is a no-no but if there are bad withdrawal symptoms, Perricone suggests black or green tea over coffee.

To make life easier, the good doctor now has an arrangement with Ocado to deliver the whole diet to your door for around £60, with the option of leaving out some of the foods you may have already.

You may be seriously fed up with salmon after three days. But trust me, the results are worth it for your skin and that disappearing jaw line.