The Zone diet: All you need to know

It also encourages people to consume healthful fats and antioxidants, including omega-3 fats and polyphenol antioxidants in supplement form.

The diet recommends limiting caloric intake, but does not restrict calorie intake to a specific amount.

Dr. Barry Sears, who developed the Zone diet, says it aims to prevent “diet-controlled inflammation.” In a 2004 study, Sears and a co-author described the diet as a “hormonal approach to optimizing an anti-inflammatory diet.”

Supporters say it can help a person lose weight, enhance their mental and physical health, and slow aging.

In this article, find out what the Zone diet is and which foods to eat and avoid.

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Dr. Sears developed the Zone diet to reduce so-called dietary inflammation.

Inflammation plays a role in many conditions and diseases, ranging in severity from mild gastrointestinal or digestive issues, to type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and other diseases.

The Zone diet involves some basic rules:

• Eat a meal or snack within 1 hour of waking up in the morning.
• Start each meal or snack with a low-fat protein, followed by foods containing healthful carbs and fats.
• Eat small, frequent meals during the day, every 4–6 hours after a meal or 2–2.5 hours after a snack, whether hungry or not.
• Consume plenty of omega-3 and polyphenols, as they have anti-inflammatory properties.
• Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.

Carbohydrates: Fruits and vegetables provide healthful carbs. People should avoid starchy foods and choose items that are low on the glycemic index (GI).

Low GI foods take time to digest and are less likely to cause a blood sugar spike after eating. Carbs should make up two-thirds of any snack or meal. People can eat a small amount of grains, but most carbs should come from non-starchy vegetables and fruit.

Fats: Olive oil, nuts, and avocados provide healthful fats.

Polyphenols: These are a type of antioxidant. Antioxidants help the body neutralize free radicals. Free radicals result from natural bodily processes and external sources, such as an unhealthful diet and smoking. As these molecules build up, they can cause oxidative stress. This can lead to inflammation and cell damage, which can increase the risk of diseases, including certain cancers. Fruits and vegetables are good natural sources of antioxidants.

Omega 3: Studies suggest that omega-3 fats may help reduce or manage inflammation, although more evidence is needed to confirm precisely how it can help. Oily fish, such as sardines, are a good source of omega-3 fats. The Zone diet recommends taking polyphenol antioxidant supplements and fish oil supplements daily.

Before every meal or snack, a person should assess their hunger level. If they are not hungry, and their mind is clear, they are in “The Zone.”

According to Sears, a person following the Zone diet can help keep the levels of diet-induced inflammation in their blood constantly balanced by choosing certain foods and avoiding others. He adds that it is blood chemistry, not diet philosophy that defines the Zone. To reach the Zone, he says, a person must control their hormones through their diet.

Get some more tips on antioxidant-rich foods here.

The Zone diet prescribes a number of recipes.

Orzo is a type of pasta that is in the shape of barley grains.

A typical meal plan for a day could be:

Breakfast: Breakfast hash made with bacon and vegetables, or cocoa berry butter smoothie for vegetarians

Lunch: Zone PastaRX Orzo (a low-carb orzo) with chicken and green beans or curried spinach with tofu for a vegetarian option

Dinner: Almond chicken with vegetables or barbecue tempeh and vegetables for those who follow a vegetarian or plant-based diet

Snack: Blackberry shrimp salad or asparagus artichoke salad for a vegan option

For some of these recipes, people will need to purchase special ingredients, such as Zone PastaRx Orzo.

A diabetes meal plan aims to help a person manage blood sugar levels. Click here for a 7-day plan.

Guidelines include eating three meals and two snacks every day. Each meal must have some protein, about the size of a small chicken breast, and each snack should also contain some protein.

People should balance their carbohydrate, fat, and protein intake in the following proportions:

• One-third protein
• Two-thirds carbohydrate
• A dash of unsaturated fat

Sources of protein include:

• poultry
• fish
• beef
• low-fat dairy
• pulses, such as beans and lentils
• nuts and seeds
• tofu
• eggs

Why do we need protein, and what are some good sources? Find out here.

Sources of fat include:

• nuts and nut butters, including peanut butter
• olive oil
• avocado

Learn more here about healthful and unhealthful fats.

Source of carbs include:

• vegetables
• legumes, such as beans, peas, and lentils
• fruit

These provide starches, natural sugars, and fiber.

Learn more here about carbohydrates.

Recommended carb sources

The diet recommends including the following foods:

• fruits and berries
• non-starchy vegetables, such as spinach, asparagus, mushrooms, broccoli, and green beans
• pulses, for example, lentils and beans
• oatmeal
• barley

It recommends avoiding:

• soft drinks
• candies
• baked goods
• white or wheat bread
• starchy vegetables, including potatoes, corn, squash, and peas
• rice
• pasta

Another option to reduce inflammation is the anti-inflammatory diet. Find out more about what to eat and what to avoid on this diet.

Recipe books and other resources are available for purchase online.

Food blocks

People who follow the diet will need to decide how many blocks of food they need each day. The blocks help a person obtain the right balance of nutrients for the diet.

One block is:

• 7 grams (g) of protein
• 9 g of carbohydrate, minus the fiber
• 1.5 g of fat if a meal includes meat, or 3 g of fat if it is plant-based

The number of blocks a person needs will depend on various factors, such as their sex, activity levels, and whether they need to lose weight. An average female will need around 11 blocks and an average male around 14.

The diet website provides a body fat calculator to help people find out how many blocks they need.

The Zone diet also has four pillars. Bringing these together can make the Zone part of a person’s way of life.

A person should:

Restrict calories without hunger or fatigue: If a person consumes more calories than they need, the body will convert this extra energy to fat, and excess fat can cause problems in the body. One way to do this is to avoid high-calorie, processed foods.

Manage inflammation levels in the body: Short-term inflammation is a natural reaction that is part of the body’s immune response. However, chronic inflammation can adversely impact health in many ways. Supporters of the diet say “you need some inflammation, but not too much.” Followers of the Zone diet may take supplements to help achieve suitable levels. However, the diet does not appear to specify precise levels of inflammation, and a person can only know how much is present by taking a blood test.

Use dietary polyphenols to activate genes to enhance wellbeing: This involves eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and possibly taking supplements.

Control inflammation that comes from gut microbes: Do this by consuming polyphenols, omega-3, and fermentable fiber.

Balancing these aspects should help a person achieve and maintain a healthy body and mind. A person should aim for a lifelong strategy rather than a short-term diet.

According to Sears, the benefits of achieving “the Zone,” aside from weight loss, are improved mental focus and increased energy and vitality.

Why does dietary inflammation occur?

For hundreds of thousands of years, most populations have mostly eaten food from two food groups:

• lean protein
• natural carbohydrates, such as fruits and fiber-rich vegetables

Sears argues that humans 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 a diet of consuming farmed products.

This means that the human body is not programmed to consume large amounts of processed carbohydrates. When they do, harmful reactions occur within the body.

Many experts believe that premade and highly processed foods contribute to inflammation, while people whose diets consist mostly of fresh, unrefined foods appear to have a lower risk of various autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.

Does the Zone diet help with diabetes?

According to diabetes.co.uk, the diet is popular with people who have diabetes. The diet aims to help a person manage insulin levels, inflammation, and the hormonal systems that lead to weight gain.

Fluctuating insulin levels and excess weight are risk factors for the development and progression of type 2 diabetes.

How many calories and carbs can I eat?

When preparing a Zone meal, people should focus on unrefined foods.

One meal should contain:

• 400 calories or less
• 25 grams (g) of protein
• 12 g of fat or less
• 35 g of carbs

People should avoid consuming too many carbs, as this can lead to weight gain. Sears claims that combining carbs with omega-6 fats may also promote insulin resistance.

However, consuming too few carbs, as in a ketogenic diet, may cause the body to secrete the hormone cortisol. This, too, can affect insulin resistance, according to supporters of the diet.

How many calories a day should I eat?

Critics of the Zone diet say there is not enough evidence to support its use in reducing inflammation. The makers of the diet also recommend using certain products, such as supplements and Zone’s own products, such as Zone PastaRx.

Another point of concern is that Dr. Sears encourages people not to worry about lowering cholesterol levels, as, according to him, it is inflammation and not cholesterol that leads to cardiovascular problems.

The American College of Cardiology and other experts, meanwhile, continue to urge people to monitor and manage their cholesterol levels, due to evidence that high levels of cholesterol in the blood can pose a health risk.

The author of a 2015 study concluded that the Zone diet may help improve glycemic control, waist circumference, and inflammation levels in people with overweight or obesity.

However, it remains unclear whether the diet can boost health more than any other diet, and there appears to be little independent research to support its use.

Its emphasis on fresh and unprocessed ingredients and a high intake of fruits and vegetables makes it a more healthful choice than a diet with a high intake of processed and fast foods.

Other options — such as the Mediterranean diet or the DASH diet — also emphasize fresh fruits and vegetables, and they may be cheaper and easier to follow.