Using the Zone As a Potential Diet
Using the Zone As a Potential Diet
Using the Zone As a Potential Diet
One of the more popular diets lately is the Zone Diet. Promulgated by Dr. Barry Sears in Enter the Zone, this diet not only allegedly helps people to lose weight, but also prevents and treats diseases associated with obesity, including heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Proponents of the Zone Diet also claim that it helps athletes increase their performance in the gym and on the field.
They key to the Zone Diet is eating the right balance of macronutrients - carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Sears argues that the traditional advice - eat lots of carbs and little fat and protein - is actually what's causing obesity and its related diseases. Instead, Sears advocates eating a particular split of macronutrients - 30% fat, 30% protein, and 40% carbohydrates. Eating this balance of nutrients will make the body operate at its highest efficiency and will help reduce the 'inflammation' that Sears believes is at the heart of weight gain and serious health conditions.
The quantity of calories isn't what's crucial for the diet - instead, there are a set of rules to follow about what kinds of calories to eat. There are three major guidelines for the diet aside from the macronutrient split. First, dieters should eat a portion of protein in every meal and snack. Second, dieters should eat a carbohydrate serving that is two times the size of this protein portion. These carbs should come from healthy sources, including whole grains, fruits, and beans. Third, if you eat 'unfavorable' carbs from other sources, like bagels, breads, certain fruits, cereals, etc., you should eat a smaller portion. An unfavorable carbohydrate is one that releases glucose quickly. As a final note, those embarking on the Zone Diet should also eat healthy fats while avoiding saturated fats.
Thus, compared to normal diets, this particular diet contains many more calories from fat and protein than from carbohydrates. The actual, raw amount of food to eat is based on a number of factors, including age, weight, and activity level, and is calculated based on the amount of protein such a person needs.
The ultimate theory behind Sears' Zone Diet is that eating the right balance of foods controls the activity of insulin. The balance between the hormones glucagon and insulin regulates the balance between glucose release and fat storage in the body. Thus, what matters is how the foods affect hormone balances, not necessarily in the energy content in the foods themselves.
At this point, few studies have born out Sears' claims. One should not infer, however, that Sears is necessarily wrong, just that little has been proven either way to this point. Some believe that, as fad diets go, this diet is actually pretty good. It is generally easy to follow, as it depends on portion sizes and proper food balancing. Others criticize it as overly restrictive on carbohydrate intake, while still others believe his specific food recommendations may be dangerous given their high saturated fat and cholesterol content.
Out of all the fad diets out there, the Zone Diet is perhaps the least restrictive and one of the easiest to follow. However, its claims should be taken with a grain of salt.
For more information on The Zone Diet, visithttp://www.dietplans.com/166580-the-zone-diet.cfm
http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/using-the-zone-as-a-potential-diet-3754400.html
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