1. Zone Diet for Life
The popular Zone diet is the brainchild of Dr. Berry Sears. It is not merely a diet for a short period to lose weight, but a change in lifestyle to achieve wellness. The diet is based on the ratios of the macronutrients: carbohydrates, proteins and fats--the three major components of our diet. It guides you to the food choices within each of these major nutrient groups. It includes regular exercises and stress reduction techniques, and all of these alterations help achieve wellness.
2. Detailed Concepts of the Diet
Inflammation: In its simplistic terms, the diet that we eat is instrumental in the gene expressions that lead to weight gain and diabetes.The process involves silent inflammation. Eating the Zone way with the proper ratios of the macronutrients helps reduce that silent inflammation and keeps the hormones in tighter control to alter the gene expressions that leads to obesity and diabetes.
Glycemic Index: Glycemic index of a food is its capacity to increase the blood sugar in your body. This affects the hormone insulin. Excess production of insulin is believed to be responsible for fat storage in your body. The Zone Diet promotes foods which have lower glycemic index.
The other two hormones, glucagon (responsible for release of the stored carbohydrates when the body needs energy) and eicosanoids (responsible for the silent inflammation), are both controlled well on the Zone Diet, thereby maintaining blood sugar levels and reducing the inflammation.
All these alterations at the cellular level help control your appetite and intake. The correct nutrient-dense foods help get all the needs in lower calories.
3. What is on Your Plate?
The three meals and two snacks that you will select for your day’s menu have to include low-protein foods, antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables as the complex carbohydrate source and heart-healthy omega 3 fats as the fat source. The ratios of these foods should be 1 gram of fat to 2 grams of protein and 3 grams of carbohydrate.
4. Omega 3 Fats
The heart-healthy omega 3 fatty acids like DHA and EPA are important in any diet plan. The American Heart Association recommends that we all have at least two servings of fatty fish per week like mackerel, salmon, sardines and tuna to benefit from these fats. The vegetarian diet choices for these fats would be flax and walnuts. The Zone diet includes a good source of this fat in every meal. The Zone philosophy is that the constant intake of these omega fats will help reduce the gene expression that is associated with obesity and diabetes. The positive change will be apparent within 30 days of starting the Zone wellness plan.
5. From the Dietitian’s Desk
The Zone way of life certainly will allow weight management since you are eating low-calorie fruits and vegetables in larger proportion in your diet. It will also boost the immunity because of the antioxidants from a variety of fruits and vegetables. We all know that changing eating behaviors and being conscious of what you eat, along with daily exercises, is a key for positive results. Zone Diet is all about that--a way of life and wellness forever.
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