Zone Diet by Barry Sears Balances Protein Carb ratios

The Zone Diet Not a Weight Loss "Diet"

The Zone Diet is not primarily a weight-loss "diet" (though it can be used quite successfully for that purpose); rather it is a way of eating — the intake of food that produces the best results within the human body based on a hypothesis of how it has evolved to cope with varying food intake through the ages.

The Zone diet is a diet popularized in books by Barry Sears. It advocates balancing protein and carbohydrate ratios instead of caloric thinking as an approach to eating.

"The Zone" is for Hormone Balance thru Proper Diet

When insulin levels are neither too high nor too low, and glucagon levels are not too high, then specific anti-inflammatory chemicals (types of eicosanoids) are released, which have similar effects to aspirin, but without downsides such as gastric bleeding. Sears claims that a 30:40 ratio of protein to carbohydrates triggers this effect, and this is called 'The Zone.' Sears claims that these natural anti-inflammatory effects are heart and health friendly.

The Zone Diet hypothesizes that the human body in caloric balance is more efficient and does not have to store excess calories as fat. The human body cannot store fat and burn fat at the same time, and it takes time (significant time if insulin levels were high because of unbalanced eating) to switch from the fat storing to fat burning.

The Zone Diet "40:30:30" Ratio

Using stored fat for energy causes weight loss. The diet centers on a "40:30:30" ratio of calories obtained daily from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, respectively. The exact formula is always under debate, but studies over the past several years (including a non-scientific study by Scientific American Frontiers) have shown that it can produce weight loss at reasonable rates.

The Zone diet also emphasizes an increase in the intake of the proper ratio of Omega-3: Omega-6 fatty acids. In fact Dr. Barry Sears has popularized the taking of expensive pharmaceutical grade Omega 3 fish oils.

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