Product Description

For years experts have been telling Americans what to eat and what not to eat. Fat, they told us, was the enemy. Then it was salt, then sugar, then cholesterol... and on it goes.

Americans listened and they lost -- but not their excess fat. What they lost was their health and waistlines. Americans are the fattest people on earth... and why? Mainly because of the food they eat.

In this scientific and revolutionary book, based on Nobel Prize-winning research, medical visionary and former Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Dr. Barry Sears makes peak physical and mental performance, as well as permanent fat loss, simple for you to understand and achieve.

With lists of good and bad carbohydrates, easy-to-follow food blocks and delicious recipes, The Zone provides all you need to begin your journey toward permanent fat loss, great health and all-round peak performance. In balance, your body will not only burn fat, but you'll fight heart disease, diabetes, PMS, chronic fatigue, depression and cancer, as well as alleviate the painful symptoms of diseases such as multiple sclerosis and HIV.

This Zone state of exceptional health is well-known to champion athletes. Your own journey toward it can begin with your next meal. You will no longer think of food as merely an item of pleasure or a means to appease hunger. Food is your medicine and your ticket to that state of ultimate body balance, strength and great health: the Zone.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1990 in Books
• Published on: 1995-06-21
• Released on: 1995-05-12
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 328 pages

Amazon.com
Barry Sears looks at why Americans still have dietary problems in spite of following the advice of experts. Challenging the current recommendations for a high carbohydrate diet, Sears looks into man's history as well as the diets athletes succeed best on, to build a new dietary picture. Anyone looking for better health through an improved relationship to what they eat should put this book on their list.

From Publishers Weekly
Ciao pasta, good-bye bread, rice and other "bad carbohydrates," which can include carrots, cranberries and corn. It's time to truck in the proteins. Sears, a biochemist, crowns years' worth of research into the effects of food on hormone production and metabolic activity with a program that will lead to "optimal health," peak performance (the zone of the title) and, not incidentally, weight control. Citing the importance of eicosanoids, a class of hormones that figures critically in metabolism, Sears has worked out an approach to eating that reduces one's daily production of insulin and, at the same time, draws on stored body fat for energy. A formula for calculating an individual's Lean Body Mass is tied to an estimated Physical-Activity Factor and used to establish one's daily protein requirement, which can easily be as much as 70 grams for a moderately active, middle-aged woman with 25-35% body fat. Recommending a diet that tightly balances the intake of protein, good (low-glycemic) carbohydrates and a moderate amount of monounsaturated fats, Sears is among those current weight-control specialists (e.g., Drs. Rachael and Richard Heller and Stephen Gullo [see Notes below]) who observe that there are many "insulin-resistant" Americans for whom the new food pyramid recommendations, heavily weighted with "high-density, high-glycemic carbohydrates," can be unhealthy. "Zone-favorable" recipes and food-count tables are included. BOMC and QPC alternates; author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Based on Nobel Prize-winning research, the message is that being fit and feeling good are goals we can reach by eating the right combinations of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Though it's hard to think that noodles and bread can make anyone sick or miserable, the author makes a good case that eating too many carbohydrates can mess up the healthy hormone patterns that affect virtually every major bodily function. Dr. Sears is a former M.I.T. biochemical researcher and consultant for chronically ill patients, but the audio's focus is on the practical eating habits of ordinary people. He explains some pretty complex metabolic relationships in a way that sounds easy to apply to one's life. An accessible program with powerful, lifesaving information. T.W. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Not the book for me
Maybe this book has been helpful for some people, but not for me. He oversimplifies and says that the Zone diet (40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat) will basically cure every disease. I was not impressed.

Boring read but has good info
My God. This book is so dry! I'm sure he is correct in what he writes, but I actually received information on his gospel from The Diet Doctor on FitTV when he was a guest.
If you are going to read his book, have a PDR and some espresso available.

Enter the Zone
The 1st of many Dr. Barry Sears'excellent books on secret to health and optimal physical performance - a must read for everyone who is serious about getting well and to perform at the highest level thru what we eat!