The Zone is a
state of optimal health!
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The
Zone is a state of optimal health achieved by treating food as a wonder
drug. The Zone is based on the hormonal response to food, rather
than the caloric response to food.
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Hippocrates,
the father of medicine, instructed us 2,500 years ago to “let food be your
medicine, and let medicine be your food”. |
If
food is used properly, one will experience:
-
Permanent
loss of excess body fat;
-
Greater
energy and performance (both mental and physical);
-
Reduced
risk of chronic disease, ie heart disease, diabetes and cancer; and
-
Greater
longevity.
A single
meal can alter insulin levels by 50%. Insulin control can be accomplished
by keeping one’s protein to carb ratio within a range of .5 to 1.0.
The ideal ratio for most people in the Zone is .75. What does this
mean? It means for every 3 grams of protein, one needs 4 grams of
carbohydrates.
The
benefits of maintaining insulin in the Zone are almost immediate because
blood sugar is also automatically stabilized. As a result one will
feel:
-
Less hungry
-
More mentally
alert
-
More energy
throughout the day
-
Carb cravings
will become a thing of the past
The Zone
is a physiological state where three major hormone systems in our body
are maintained within ranges consistent with optimal health. Those
three major hormones that are controlled with food and pharmaceutical grade
fish oil are:
-
Insulin
-
Glucagon
-
Eicosanoids
The following
foods affect the three major hormone systems in our body:
-
Carbohydrates
stimulate insulin
-
Protein
affects glucagon
-
Omega
3 and Omega 6 fatty acids affect eicosanoids
Insulin
is a storage hormone and it pushes glucose (sugar) into our cells.
Insulin has a key role of keeping the blood sugar in our blood at a certain
level being not too high or not too low.
Insulin
supplies our brain with a constant supply of sugar as that is the brain's
preferred fuel. The brain cannot go more than three or four minutes
without an adequate supply of sugar or it will start to shut down.
However, a small amount of sugar (ie one tablespoon) will last the brain
approximately four to six hours.
Insulin
also supplies our muscles with blood sugar, but again they do not require
a huge amount.
The
excess sugars in our body, under the influence of insulin, are stored in
the liver. However, the liver can only store about six tablespoons
of sugar at any time. Over and above that, if the body has too much
sugar, the liver (under the influence of insulin) will create FAT.
Once the fat has been created insulin then opens up the fat cells and pushes
the fat in for storage.
Did
you know the average North American stores the equivalent of 1,700 pancakes
in his or her cells as energy? The hormone responsible for
all this storage is insulin. The main reason that North Americans
are so fat is because of the current high carbohydrate, low fat diet.
Glucagon
is the sister hormone of insulin and really does the opposite of everything
insulin does.
Insulin
pushes energy into our cells for storage while glucagon helps release that
stored energy. One of the major things that we like glucagon to release
is FAT. Thus if one eats correctly in the Zone, glucagon levels will
go up and our fat cells will start releasing stored energy. The muscles
will then use the fat for fuel.
Only
foods containing large amount of protein can stimulate glucagon secretion;
whereas insulin requires carbohydrates for secretion.
The
Zone strives for a balance between insulin and glucagon hormones.
In other words we want both hormones to work together in a balanced setting
ie either one not too high or not too low.
Eicosanoids
are super hormones that control all of the body's hormonal systems ie cardiovascular
system, immune system, central nervous system, reproductive system and
so on.
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