New Book By Zone Diet Creator Takes A Controversial Look At Obesity

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet;  Endocrinology
Article Date: 01 Oct 2008 - 1:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

For the past three years Dr. Barry Sears, author of the New York Times bestseller, The Zone, has been compiling research for his revolutionary new book, Toxic Fat: When Good Fat Turns Bad, which landed on shelves September 30, 2008. Dr. Sears' 12th book re-examines how we treat the obesity and diabetes epidemics in America.

Rather than looking at obesity as a condition resulting from sloth and gluttony, Dr. Sears explains obesity as a form of cancer driven by silent inflammation. Additionally, the epidemics of weight gain and diabetes in America are primarily caused by the genes in susceptible individuals being activated by recent changes in the American diet. Once those genes are turned on, obesity and diabetes are the inevitable outcome, resulting in the rapid increase of toxic fat in our bodies.

Compelling and controversial, Toxic Fat explores how the greatest threat to our country does not come from external forces, but from what we are eating. "Over the last few decades, the increased consumption of cheap, refined carbohydrates and vegetable oil, combined with the decreased consumption of healthy Omega-3 fish oil, has led to the epidemic of inflammation driven by increasing levels of toxic fat in the blood," explains Dr. Sears.

In Toxic Fat, readers will learn why people with a genetic predisposition for a "fat trap" are becoming heavier simply by having bad genes that can be activated by toxic fat. The book goes on to explain the driving force for eating more calories is not improved food advertising, but hormonal changes in the brain that are creating a constant state of hunger. Toxic Fat offers practical advice on how proper nutritional protocols can help reverse this troubling trend in less than 30 days, including:

The Hand-Eye Method

The Hand-Eye Method provides dieters a simple way of portioning out the contents of their meals. On one-third of the plate, put enough low-fat protein (chicken, fish, very lean beef, etc.) to match the size and thickness of a palm. Realistically this is about three ounces for a typical female and four ounces for the typical male. Fill the other two-thirds of the plate with carbohydrates, such as colorful non-starch vegetable and fruits.

The 1-2-3 Method

Following the 1-2-3 Method makes it easy for dieters to create a meal providing the right amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates your body needs. For every one gram of fat consumed, eat two grams of protein and three grams of carbohydrates.

Zone in on Meal Timing

Always eat within the hour of waking. By coming off an eight- to ten-hour fast, the body is running on empty. Additionally, don't let more than five hours go by without eating a meal or snack. Consistently providing the body with small meals prevents storing excess food for later, which can turn to fat.

http://www.ZoneDiet.com