The Zone Diet is a meal plan where each meal is broken up so that it contains 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 30% fat. This differs from a traditional Western diet because youre eating slightly fewer carbs, more protein, and less fat.
The boost in protein and fewer carbs are meant to help you keep your blood sugar levels stable, reduce inflammation, and lose fat at the fastest possible rate, according to the diets proponents and founder Barry Sears.
However, some experts are sceptical of the Zone Diet. And while limiting carbs has been shown to help regulate blood sugar levels, theres no evidence that the Zone Diet, specifically, is superior to other fad diets.
The Zone Diet does not exclude any food groups. However, in order to burn fat as quickly as possible, proponents of the diet say that you must reduce inflammation throughout your body.
Therefore, the foods you should and should not eat are based on whether or not they may cause inflammation and blood sugar spikes.
The Zone diet offers an easy way to remember some of its rules like its hand method. The number 5 like the five fingers on your hand represents 3 meals a day, plus 2 snacks, and also reminds you never to go more than 5 hours in between meals.
The Zone diet also uses a block method to help you track which foods to eat and how much of each food. In this method, one block equals:
For each meal, the average woman needs to eat 3 blocks of her choice, while men need 4 blocks. Including 2 daily snacks, which is 1 block each, that equates to:
However, depending on your starting point, you may need more. To find out what your particular needs are, the Zone Diet website has a body fat calculator.
Theres nothing magical about the fact that this diet encourages primarily whole, less processed foods, says Lauren Harris-Pincus, a registered dietician and founder of Nutrition Starring YOU.
Harris-Pincus adds that any nutritious diet will lead to improvements in blood sugar and inflammation and may also help you lose weight. So, you dont have to follow the carbs-protein-fat ratio of the Zone Diet to achieve those results.
Its unlikely that following the diet would cause real harm, says Harris-Pincus, but the bans on certain foods dont seem to make sense health-wise.
Any diet that discourages consumption of foods known to be beneficial to human health concerns me, Harris-Pincus says, adding that the diet discourages eating many different fruits and whole grains, which as part of a balanced diet reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
There has been very little research on the Zone Diet, and the small studies that exist dont live up to all of the diets claims of improvements in blood sugar, reduced inflammation, or weight loss. For example, a small 3-week study from 2004 found that people on the Zone Diet showed no added improvement in blood sugar or weight reduction compared with people eating their regular diets.
Admittedly 3 weeks is a short time. However, two other studies found that people who were overweight who followed the Zone Diet for a year did not improve blood sugar levels and only led to only 3.5 pounds in weight loss.
If the Zone Diet fits with your lifestyle, there is no harm in trying it, says Harris-Pincus. However, you may want to alter the diet to leave in healthy carbs like whole grains and fruits or opt for a healthier eating plan thats actually recommended by experts like the DASH diet or Mediterranean diet.
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The Zone Diet is an anti-inflammatory diet designed to help you lose weight - Business Insider Australia
