What Is The Zone Diet? What Are The Benefits Of The Zone Diet?

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Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 07 May 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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The Zone Diet was created by Dr. Barry Spears. The thrust of his nutritional regime is closely linked to the evolution of humankind. The human genes, as is the case with most other large animals, take hundreds of thousands of years to change as its environment changes.

100,000 years is a relatively short period in evolutionary terms. Grains, bread, or pasta did not exist in our diets over 8,000 years ago.

This article is part of a series called What Are The Eight Most Popular Diets Today?.

Two food groups

For the last few hundreds of thousands of years we have spent most of our time eating two food groups:

• Lean protein
• Natural carbohydrates, such as fruits and fiber rich vegetables

Our genes are still those of the hunter-gatherer, rather than the farmer. Farming is a relatively new phenomenon, as far as our genes are concerned. In other words, our genes have not yet adapted to consuming farmed products.

Although our genes are programmed to gather fruit and vegetables and catch the occasional prey, we are consuming huge quantities of very dense, highly processed carbohydrates, such as grains and products made from grains. Pasta, bread, corn flakes, bagels, etc. are generally made from highly processed carbohydrates.

As we are not programmed to consume large amounts of processed carbohydrates, and we experience unpleasant biochemical reactions to that consumption. The consequences include weight gain, insulin fluctuations, diabetes, heart disease, and generally bad health.

The Zone Diet takes into account our genetic makeup. With the Zone Diet, Dr. Sears says, we consume the fuel our bodies really need for optimum health.

Dr. Sears says that we tend to receive erroneous nutritional information from our friends, family members, weight-loss companies, government bodies and the media. Most typical weight-loss programs aim to cut down on fat. All this does, says Spears, is to raise the proportion of carbohydrates we are consuming, spiking our insulin level, and making us fat and unhealthy. We would not eat spoonfuls of sugar, but sugar has no fat - it is pure carbohydrate. Our attempts at fat free chips, low fat cookies and muffins, fat free ice creams, end up giving us more and more carbohydrates, like the person who eats spoonfuls of pure sugar.

Dr.Sears asks us to look around; after 30 years of trying to eat low fat foods we have got fatter, rather than leaner. We have got exactly the opposite result. Over 50% of the UK´s and USA´s populations are overweight.

The more carbohydrates (carbs) we consume the more insulin we secrete. Insulin turns excess carbs into stored fat. Dietary fat does not trigger insulin secretion.

Insulin production can be controlled if we eat low-density carbs, dietary fat, and protein in the right proportions. If we can maintain insulin levels within what Dr. Sears calls a "therapeutic zone", it is easier to burn off excess body fat - and to keep it off permanently. Dr. Sears says it is possible, through the Zone to improve mental focus, enjoy increased energy and vitality.

Keeping your insulin levels within the therapeutic zone means staying in The Zone - hence, the name Zone Diet.

Carbohydrate, protein and fat balance

Put simply, the Zone says your intake of food should consist of 40% carbohydrate, 30% fat and 30% protein. If you can make sure that each meal you consume is roughly within those parameters your health and weight will improve.

The Zone does not mean fewer calories

Unlike many other diets, the Zone does not tell you to eat fewer calories. Your calorie intake does not have to go down, but what you are eating has to change. The food you eat should consist of:

• Each meal must have some protein - about the size of a small chicken breast, or the palm of your hand (three meals a day).


• Each snack should have some protein in it (two snacks a day).


• The carbohydrate portion of a meal or snack should be about twice the size of the protein portion. Most of the carbs should be favorable carbohydrates, such as those found in vegetables, lentils, beans, whole grains, and the majority of fruits.


• A small proportion of the carbs may be unfavorable ones, such as those found in brown rice, pasta, dry breakfast cereal, bread, bagels, tortilla, carrots, fruit juices, and some fruits (mango, banana and papaya).


• The meal or snack should also include some fat - good fat. Such as the fat found in avocado, olive oil, fish oils, and nuts.

The Zone Diet´s basic rules

• Have a Zone meal or snack no later than one hour after you wake up in the morning


• Interval between meals should be between 4 to 6 hours


• Have a meal between 2 to 2.5 hours after a snack - regardless of how hungry you are


• Before every meal or snack, assess your hunger level. If you are not hungry and your mind is clear, you are in The Zone


• Consume eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day


• Start the meal/snack with low-fat protein. Then add good carbohydrates with a low glycemic index, such as vegetables and fruits, plus good fats, such as olive oil or avocado


• Typical meal protein should weigh about 4 ounces for men and 3 ounces for women

Related articles

• New Book By Zone Diet Creator Takes A Controversial Look At Obesity
• Atkins Is Best Diet Around, Says Stanford University Study
• Diet With Lowest Carbohydrate Intake Showed Better Outcome In Comparison Of 4 Diet Plans

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Written by Christian Nordqvist

Original article date: 18 Apr 2004
Article updated: 07 May 2009

Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today