The Zone Diet aims to balance your hormones by ensuring you eat the proper combination of foods. Eating foods in a balanced ratio of 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 30 percent fat will help keep your insulin levels in check. The Zone Diet website, which promotes the diet, says there is no meal or snack that is off limits, but you must stick to the 40/30/30 rule. As with any new diet, check with your health care professional before starting the Zone Diet.
Balanced Insulin Levels
When you eat more carbohydrates than your body requires for energy, your body reacts by producing insulin. As excess insulin is produced, your body responds by converting the extra carbohydrates into fat. Your body naturally holds on to the fat, storing it away in case starvation were to occur. By eating a low-carb meal that contains 40 percent carbohydrates, you ensure your body will not produce excess insulin. The high level of protein at each meal will further prevent insulin production, as protein prompts the body to produce glucagon, which signals the body to release carbohydrates rather than store them.
Burn Fat
The premise of the Zone Diet is that excess insulin will cause blood sugar levels to fall out of balance. This results in the production of fat and the inability to burn fat. By eating a diet that keeps insulin levels in check, blood sugar levels will remain stable and the body will not produce excess fat . According to The Zone Diet website, "As you continue to reduce excess body fat, you will have decreased blood sugar, blood lipid and blood pressure levels". All of these processes can result in efficient fat burning.
Lose Weight
Following the Zone Diet requires eating more healthy carbohydrates than protein. The proteins that are consumed should be lean, and the fats should be monounsaturated.
Proteins help to keep you feeling full, which prevents overeating and excess snacking. Women participating in the Zone Diet should consume 1,100 to 1,200 calories per day, men should consume a daily total of 1,400 to 1,600 calories. By eating a reduced calorie, low-carbohydrate diet that is rich in lean protein, your body will create a calorie deficit, meaning it will burn more calories than it takes in on a daily basis. The result is inevitably weight loss.
There is no current evidence that suggests the Zone Diet is preferred over any other diets for weight loss. "The Journal of the American College of Nutrition" states, "A review of the literature suggests that there are scientific contradictions in the Zone Diet hypothesis that cast unquestionable doubt on its potential efficacy."
Increase Energy
Excess fat stored in the body can lead to sluggishness and fatigue. When hormone and insulin levels are out of balance, the rapid rise and fall in blood sugar levels can cause you to crash. Over time, as these body processes are regulated, The Zone Diet website states, "You will observe a surge in physical energy as you increase the release of stored body fat to be converted into chemical energy." There is no scientific research available to support these claims. According to the National Library of Medicine, "There is presently little scientific support for the connections made between diet, endocrinology and eicosanoid metabolism."
References
- U.S. National Library of Medicine; The Zone Diet Phenomenon; A Closer Look at the Science Behind the Claims; U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, Maine 01760, USA
- Zone Diet Info: An Overview about the Zone Diet
- Drr. Sears Zone Diet: Benefits of the Zone 1-2-3 Program
- "Journal of the American College of Nutrition"; The Zone Diet Phenomenon: A Closer Look at the Science behind the Claims; Samuel N. Cheuvront; February 2003
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