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While the actual configuration of the Zone Diet Plan has been modified slightly since Barry Sears first published his hypothesis-based book in 1995, there is still a basic formula that is followed to adhere to the diet.
Unlike some diet plans, the Zone Diet is not built on the idea of losing weight at all. Rather, it consists of a lifestyle that can improve overall health for anyone, based on several factors gleaned from various cultures and historical evidence gathered by Sears. |
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The Zone Diet Plan Addresses More Than Weight LossThe controversial Zone Diet plan is based on the idea that, by eating carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in a balanced ratio, you can enter “the zone”, which is Sears’ term for the proper hormonal levels in the human body. He notes that eating most carbohydrates, of which many are high on the glycemic index, will start a chain reaction that causes the body to falter in maintaining proper levels of hormones. The first to fall out of “the zone” is insulin, as our bodies become more and more resistant to it because of carb consumption.
A Zone Diet recipe will instead by richer in protein and substitute much of the carbohydrate content with raw vegetables. The ratio presented by Sears is 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 30% fat. However, the carbohydrates consumed should be those with a low glycemic index – meaning that they take longer for the body to break down and process, therefore not spiking sugar levels in the blood and causing a rise in production of insulin.
Newer versions of the Zone Diet Plan have been revised to include a bit of a different outlook, as well. To prevent aging, Sears states that certain meditation, exercise, and other physical factors paired with these eating habits is necessary. Also, the addition of large quantities of soy protein in place of the typical meat proteins is promoted. Sears takes this part of the Zone Diet recipe from the people of Okinawa, who have the longest average lifespan in the world. Sears believes this to be due to a diet much richer in soy protein than almost any other culture in the world.
Finally, as the health benefits of fatty acids, fish oils, and omega oils have come to light in recent years, Sears has once again made a revision to his now popular Zone Diet. The new idea centers around the use of pharmaceutical grade omega-3 oil supplements, as well as a diet based on these “good fats”, which are polyunsaturated and provide a means of controlling insulin production. In fact, the Zone Diet plan today is somewhat of a complete reversal of the standard food pyramid that has been taught by doctors, scientists, and nutritionists for years, putting fatty acids and good fats on the bottom as the base of the diet and setting carbs at the top as a much smaller ratio than ever before.
While there are many benefits to the advice of the Zone Diet, there is also a great deal of controversy about centering a diet around fats, regardless of it being good fat, as over eating of such foods is still believed to lead to cardiovascular diseases.
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