Dr. Barry Sears has published several books about diet, nutrition and his theory behind his diet plan, The Zone. The plan is popular and is one of several that focuses on daily carbohydrate intake. It now includes trademarked products for purchase with the claim that if you use these foods and supplements, you can eat virtually anything and still lose weight.
Premise
The Zone diet is based on hormonal balance. Eating too many carbohydrates, especially the processed kind and without proteins to balance them, prompts your body to produce insulin. Extra insulin tells your system to convert the carbs into fat, which it will then instinctively stockpile against any future possibility of starvation. By contrast, protein prompts the production of glucagon, which tells your body that it is okay to let go of the carbohydrates rather than store them. The Zone diet aims to balance insulin and glucagon for effortless weight loss.
Other Claims
The Dr. Sears Zone website mentions a process called silent inflammation that Sears says occurs from eating fast food and other easy-to-prepare processed foods. He says that silent inflammation leads to weight gain and poor health. Balancing glucagon and insulin in your diet reverses silent inflammation. According to the website Debunking The Zone Diet by Dr. Charles Attwood, Sears says that increased insulin levels and fat storage can also create bad eicosanoids, hormones that cause cancer and heart disease.
Rules
Each of your meals should be a combination of 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent proteins and 30 percent fat. According to the website Zone Diet Info, the plan also encourages keeping track of calories and not exceeding 500 per meal and 100 per snack. Remember to eat fewer carbs if you drink alcohol with a meal to stay within the 40 percent rule. Focus on fresh vegetables but avoid corn, carrots, potatoes and peas, which all have high sugar and carb content. Include fruits in your meals and snacks, except for bananas, grapes and raisins, which are also high in carbohydrates. Eat saturated fats instead of monounsaturated fats. Avoid processed foods and foods with high sodium content. Drink eight glasses of water daily.
Tips
Zone Diet Info suggests gauging your servings by comparing them to the size of your hands. Proteins such as poultry, beef and fish should equal the size and thickness of your palm. Good carbs can equal the size of both your hands in loose fists. Bad carbs---those that come from processed sugars in foods such as pasta and bread---should not exceed the size of one fist. The 30 percent fat portion per meal equals the size of the tip of your thumb.
Drawbacks
Attwood says that there is no scientific data to back up Sears' claims regarding bad eicosanoids. He cites studies by the Environmental Protection Agency that show animal fats contain high levels of dioxin and chlorinated compounds, industrial waste products linked to cancer. He says a diet composed of 30 percent of these fats is dangerous. Initial weight loss from The Zone diet comes from dehydration, according to Attwood. Each carbohydrate gram in your body stores 3 g of water. When carbs are limited, this water flushes out of your system. Attwood says that you're initially losing water weight on this diet---not fat. He questions the health safety of any long-term diet that involves consuming less than 1,700 calories a day. Chase Freedom Diet Reviews also says that there is no scientific research to support Dr. Sears' theories.
Member Comments