Consider food as the best medicine. It helps you lose weight and promotes the well-being of the entire organism. But how much is true?
Zone Diet
40% of calories are from carbohydrates, 30% from proteins, and 30% from fats. This is how the zone diet was developed according to the famous 40-30-30 formula. It promises to help you lose weight but also to improve your psychophysical health. According to some, it is; according to others, it is too unbalanced. The origins are American; it was, in fact, created by the biochemist Barry Sears, and it is called Zone because it tries to maintain insulin production in a median zone. Let’s find out what it is, how it works, and everything there is to know about the pros and cons. And let’s compare it with another potent diet: that of red apple.
What Is The Zone Diet
The zone diet, created by Dr. Sears, believes that food if taken in the right way and the right quantities, is like a medicine that helps the body achieve psychophysical well-being. To accomplish this, he tries to reduce the production of insulin, which, in Sears’ opinion, is responsible for the transformation of carbohydrates into excess fat and to bring the eicosanoid hormones into balance. Insulin control affects cholesterol, glycemic index, and hormonal functioning, and this is why it is considered so important in this diet.
By modulating hormone production thanks to specific food choices, people lose weight while feeling all-around better, according to Sears and supporters. Hormones, or rather the hormonal response to the intake of certain foods, are, therefore, the protagonists of this diet and not calories, as in most diets.
How To Start The Zone Diet
The first thing to do is to understand what your dietary needs are and the quantity of proteins to be guaranteed to the body daily and carbohydrates, in order to avoid insulin spikes. Based on it, the number of mini blocks of proteins and other nutrients to be distributed during the day is calculated. How is the food requirement identified? You need to calculate your lean mass, calculate your physical activity index, and then figure your protein content.
How The Zone Diet Works
The zone diet works in blocks, each of which is made up of 3 mini-blocks: one of proteins, one based on carbohydrates (those with a low glycemic index), and one of fats (avoiding saturated ones and favoring those coming from oily fruits, olive, fish oil). Daily meals should include 11 or more depending on personal needs.
In general, this diet favors foods with a low glycemic index, recommends limiting those with a medium glycemic index, and does not recommend those with a high glycemic index.
Benefits Of The Zone Diet
The best-known benefits of the zone diet, according to those who support its validity, are the following:
- Improves cognitive performance
- Increases energy
- Decreases hunger pangs
- Makes you lose weight
- Prevents diabetes and heart disease
- But according to his supporters, there are also others:
- Improvement of concentration
- Mood improvement
- Greater muscle tone
- Improvement of sleep
- Vasodilation of blood vessels
- Greater brain efficiency
Rules Of The Zone Diet
The main rule of the zone diet is that of 40-30-30, numbers that refer to the percentages of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats included in the diet. It also requires that meals be consumed throughout the day without ever spending more than 4-5 hours, alternating them with snacks.
Another rule concerns physical exercise, which must be regular, and Omega3-based supplementation. The consumption of vegetables is also recommended—fruit, too, but in moderation.
To calculate the correct quantities of macronutrients to take during the day, Sears offers both the famous block system and the palm system.
Block System
The block system is based on three mini-blocks based on carbohydrates, lean proteins and fats. The carbohydrate miniblock is 9 g, the protein block is 7 g, and the fat block is 3 g.
Hand System
The hand method is less precise than blocks and allows you to calculate the quantity of a meal using the palm of your hand for proteins and your fist for carbohydrates.
The 40 30 30 Formula
How is the 40 30 30 form applied in practice? The blocks are to be created by combining food for each macronutrient and inserting the quantity indicated in the appropriate tables.
A woman who does little exercise, for example, might need 11 blocks divided between breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks.
But the blocks increase for those who do more sport.
How Much Weight Can UYou Lose With The Zone Diet ?
With the zone diet, you should lose about 4 kg in two months. Supporters say that by reducing appetite and increasing satiety, this diet is manageable to follow. But it must be limited to short periods.
Criticism And Objections To The Zone Diet
The zone diet is highly criticized; according to several nutritionists, direct studies do not prove the benefits it guarantees. Furthermore, it is also charged as a high-protein diet.
Farmacia Padovani points out that ” it is impossible to calculate an exact distribution of macronutrients on blocks and mini blocks ” and defines “the Sears calculations as pure mental ruminations because a given food can vary greatly in properties; it is not a problem of geographical area (USA or Europe), but also of harvesting method and time, quality (species) of the product, production method, conservation (which affects the percentage of water, etc. for many foods). ”
He also highlights that “ Sears only considers the action of insulin, but does not start from the real needs of the human body.” Because by calculating the proteins and carbohydrates the individual needs, “it turns out that this ratio is not the one indicated by Sears.”
Another problem would concern the role of insulin on our health: “ An incorrect evolution of Sears’ reasoning can lead to demonizing this hormone, which is absurd in principle because every substance that is present in our metabolism has a positive function. As everyone knows, it is essential for athletes to have carbohydrate reserves available to use in efforts of a certain intensity.”
Also Read: Vegan Diet: The Most Important Information
