health/hormonics/Dr.Sears`zone diet
. this is a collection of notes for the book:
Barry Sears. zone-perfect meals in minutes.
HarperCollins Publishers (1997)
isbn 0-06-039241-X
. it includes notes from other sources
in order to full explain Dr.Sears' work;
and there are some updates for obsolete material .
warning:
. for those being medicated for metabolic disorders,
(blood sugar, blood pressure, or cholesterol)
the Zone diet may improve your condition,
and require a reduction in your medication;
eg, to avoid low blood sugar .
background (notes from other sources):
[ wikipedia`Eicosanoids:Eicosanoids are local hormones]-wikipedia
that act on the originating cell or nearby cells
(i.e., instead of being endocrine hormones,
they are autocrine or paracrine mediators),
. they are short-lived to act as messages,
to regulate inflammation, immunity,
and the central nervous system.
. eicosanoids consist of the oxygenated derivatives
of three different 20-carbon fatty acids:
# Arachidonic acid:
(AA; 20:4 ω-6 "omega-6 with 4 double bonds")
. the most inflammatory, but can be inhibited
by the 2 competing sources of eicosanoids ...
# EPA:(20:5 ω-3, "omega-3 with 5 double bonds")
. found in fish oil;
the most important competition to AA .
# DGLA(Dihomo-γ-linolenic acid,
20:3 ω-6 "omega-6 with 3 double bonds")
made from dietary GLA
(γ-linolenic acid, 18:3 omega−6)
(found in borage oil and evening primrose oil)
competes with AA less than EPA .
. the oxygenation for eicosanoid production
is catalyzed by 2 families of enzymes:
# Cyclooxygenase (COX),
# Lipoxygenase (LOX).
. AA, EPA, or DGLA are oxygenated into:
# leukotrienes (LT) -- by LOX
or one of three types of prostanoids --by COX:
# prostaglandins (PG),
# prostacyclins (PGI)
# thromboxanes (TX).
. AA-derived eicosanoids include:
PGD2 -- promotes sleep
PGE2 -- inducing pain, heat, fever;
-- smooth muscle contraction;
PGI2 -- vasodilation, inhibition of platelet aggregation;
TXA2 -- the opposite of PGI2:
-- vasconstriction, promotion of platelet aggregation;
Cysteinyl-LTs -- promotes Anaphylaxis;
-- bronchial smooth muscle contraction.
[ nutrition.org`GLA with EPA vs arachidonic acid:
. concerning the combination of omega−6 and omega−3]-nutrition.org
it's important to keep in mind
that excesses of each type
can interfere with the metabolism of the other.
. DGLA leads to the 1-series PGs,
EPA leads to the 3-series PGs.
. diets rich in AA lead to the
2-series prostaglandins (PGs)
and 4-series leukotrienes (LTs).
Sears`Acknowledgements:
. some of the theory of diet and hormonal responsecomes from Dr. Michael Eades
and Dr. Michael Norder .
. the early part of this book is inspired by
a program for teaching Type II diabetics
how to use the Zone diet;
special thanks to Eicotech's Dr Paul Kahl
(see his collaborations with Dr.Sears
in 2000, and 2002),
and another special thanks to Eicotech's
Dr. Eric Freeland*[sic].
*[ the reference to "Dr. Eric Freeland"
is likely a misspelling of Eric S. Freedland, MD,
who is quoted in the following
discussing eicosanoids and referencing Sears:
(paraphrasing a copy from diabetesincontrol.com)
. desirable eicosanoid balance involves[ Dr. Paul Kahl, Eicotech's Medical Director,
making more of the good kind and less of the bad;
dietary GLA and certain omega-3 oils [EPA]
can affect eicosanoid balance by controlling
the Δ-5- and Δ-6-desaturases .
GLA alone doesn't help eicosanoid balance.
Overproduction of DGLA can lead to both
an overabundance of PGE1 [ Cameron; Cotter 1997 ]
as well as AA-derived eicosanoids that are
inflammatory and vasoconstricting
[ Huang Y-SM, David; et al.
In Vivo and In Vitro Metabolism of
Linoleic and y-Linoleic Acids:84-105.] .
. good eicosanoids depend on limiting Δ-5-desaturase,
which is activated by insulin
and inhibited by glucagon
[ Medeiros 1995, et al., Brenner 1982., Bezard 1994, et al.] .
. the balance of insulin and glucagon is affected by
each meal's ratio of protein to carbohydrate .
[ Westphal 1990, et al.] .
This effect persists for four to six hours.
. therefore good eicosanoids depend on
each meal's ratio of protein to carbohydrate;
as further documented by Barry Sears, Ph.D
--[ the subject of this book review ]--
he also added EPA to balance dietary omega-6 .
[Sears B, Kahl P, Rapier G.
A nutrition intervention program to improve
glycemia, lipid profiles, and hyperinsulinemia
in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes 1998; 47 (suppl 1):A312.,
Sears B.
Essential Fatty Acids and Dietary Endocrinology:
A Hypothesis for Cardiovascular Treatment.
Journal of Advancement in Medicine 1993; 6:211-224
].
. dietary EPA from fish oil,
competitively inhibits Δ-5-desaturase,
and the subsequent formation of AA and its metabolites
[Knapp 1986, et al., Kromhout 1985, et al.]
Combining GLA with EPA produces
a more favorable series of eicosanoids,
versus the AA-derived products . [Horrobin 1997] .
. lipoxygenase activity may be correlated with
...
. elevated dietary AA levels may increase
AA-derived eicosanoids such as thromboxane A2 .
--
"Eric S. Freedland, MD,
has held faculty positions at
Harvard Medical School (1990-1991)
and Boston University School of Medicine (1992-1997).
Dr. Freedland has developed a nutrition-centered
model of disease with a special emphasis on diabetes.
A staunch advocate for prescribing
lifestyle changes before drugs,
Dr. Freedland has written and lectured extensively
on this subject . " ]
directed the clinical trials of the-- [ a copy of that paper might be at thinkmuscle:
ZonePerfect Nutrition Program
in San Antonio Texas from April 1997 to February 1998
Eicotech donated Dr.Kahl's time;
the study's subjects came from the patients of
The physician-owned Healthcare Corporation .
. with only a 20% dropout rate, ...
Greater than 50% of the participants
had to dramatically reduce or eliminate
some of their medication .
. findings were presented at the
1998 American Diabetes Conference held in Chicago.
Sears B, Kahl P, Rapier G.
A nutrition intervention program to improveglycemia, lipid profiles, and hyperinsulinemiain patients with type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes 1998; 47 (suppl 1):A312.,
(I paraphrase that copy:)
The ZonePerfect Nutrition Program]-thinkmuscle's copy of Sears 1998
featuring nutrition bars and fish oil supplements
from Eicotech Corporation, Marblehead, MA,
uses smaller, more frequent meals;
so, along with the usual 2 meals,
there is breakfast with a nutrition bar,
and two snacks providing a half bar each .
. the 190-calorie Nutrition bars consisted of
20g carbohydrate, and 14g protein;
the 7g of fat (30% of the total calories)
included 0.5mg GLA, and 40mg of EPA
molecularly distilled from fish oil;
the remaining fat was monounsaturated oil .
. if the breakfast and 2 snacks provide
30g protein,
and your protein target was 100g per day,
that leaves 35g per the other meals;
if the active male was getting 100g protein/day,
the equally active female got 75g .
. the 3 meals came with 1080mg of EPA,
and an amount of carb's that did not exceed
4/3rds of the protein provided,
preferring carb's with a low glycemic index;
if more calories were desired,
they had to come from monounsaturates,
or some other hormonally neutral fat .
a slight increase in fasting blood sugar,
was thought to be the result of
subjects who were on blood-sugar-lowering med's
and reduced their dose too much
in response to this diet lowering their
blood sugar initially .
[ it could also be due to
the large amounts of protein provided
(men getting 100g per day instead of 60ish).
. it was having its intended effect on glucagon:
protein raises glucagon which in turn
stimulates the liver to produce blood sugar;
also, there is no mention of the
glycemic index of the selected foods;
so, the diet at this point in time
may have depended entirely on the use of
fat and the carb'-to-protein ratio
to slow carb's rate of digestion .
. in this 1997 work, Dr.Sears makes clear
it's not just carb' percentage,
it's about avoiding grains, starches, sugars,
and moderating fruit juices .]
. by week 12 of the diet,
of the 34 patients injecting insulin,
all but 1 was cured of insulin dependence.
Lipid profiles improved significantly;
especially the ratio of
triglyceride to HDL cholesterol .
Recent studies have indicated that
an elevated triglyceride/HDL ratio
is strongly associated with both
an increase in the amounts of atherogenic
small, dense LDL particles
and increased myocardial infarction risk [ Gaziano 1997, et al.]
...
. high insulin levels activate Δ-5-desaturase
that converts DGLA into AA [Pelikanova 1991, et al].
Thus, lowering insulin levels should reduce AA
with a corresponding increase in DGLA.
. dietary GLA ensures production of DGLA,
and high levels of EPA deactivate Δ-5-desaturase,
to minimize losses of DGLA to AA;
hence, dietary combinations of EPA and GLA
can improve the DGLA/AA ratio .
Changing the ratio of DGLA to AA,
increases the likelihood of generating good eicosanoids,
ones that are vasodilatory, anti-inflammatory
and anti-thrombotic (avoiding clot-formation).
This change in eicosanoid balance
would have a significant effect on
endothelial [blood vessel wall] cell function;
and, endothelial dysfunction may be an
underlying cause of insulin resistance .
Endothelial cell dysfunction is known to be
present in Type 2 diabetics
(those with high-insulin levels,
yet also high blood sugar)
[ Pinkney 1997, et al.] (see full text)
[. trans-fat also causes Endothelial disfunction
[Lopez-Garcia 2005, et al.]
and trans fats affect eicosanoids
similar to high insulin [Sears 2007]. ]
notes from the book (with page numbers):
1 [page number]:. food can be a drug that can
increase stamina, end hunger between meals,
slow aging, cause weight loss,
and reduce the risk of chronic disease .
. abuse of food is a path to sickness,
and wise use of food is the first medicine .
. the hormone-modulating characteristics of food
haven't changed in 40 million years:
if we are getting sick from food,
it's because our food choices are
new, untested, and unwise .
2:
. this is Sears 3rd book on Zone dieting,
and details how to quickly prepare Zone meals .
. in The Zone, 1995, Sears tells how
the diet controls insulin,
[see the 1995 list of references .]
. in Mastering the Zone, 1997,
he details the food blocks method [p19].
. the zone diet has become
"the scourge of the nutritional establishment"
because the establishment has spent
the last 15 years [since the 1980's]
assuring us that bagels and pasta,
and grains in general,
should be our primary source of calories,
whereas the zone diet avoids grains,
[ although in this book he does promote oats .]
3: hormonal thinking vs caloric thinking:
. beliefs about nutrition are loaded with
visceral emotions, not unlike our views of religion .
. both these belief systems
are responsible for countless deaths .
Dr. C Everett Koop said
obesity is the greatest public health crisis;
but, it's just the tip of the iceburg;
because, it is only after
a few decades of rising obesity
that you begin to see a rise in
degenerative diseases: [arthritis, alzheimers,
diabetes, heart disease, cancer .]
. "if [dietary] fat is the enemy,
we should have won the war by now";
the cause of obesity is
not dietary fat but high insulin,
[ which is a product of
both the glycemic load of a meal
and the degree of insulin resistance;
eg, insulin is indirectly related to
the amount of saturated fat in your diet;
because, if it is high in that type of fat,
then you become insulin resistant, [ Rivellese 2002, et al]
and thus require more of the insulin
to have the same effect of
pushing the sugars into the cells;
however, on a very low-glycemic diet like Atkins,
where there is very little blood sugar,
then the damage done by sat'fat is minimal,
because there's much less need for insulin .]
4:
. excessive levels of insulin increase the risk of
heart disease, diabetes, and possibly cancer .
. "caloric thinking" blames obesity on dietary fat;
"hormonal thinking" says "it is insulin
that makes you fat and keeps you fat" .
. [zone-friendly dietary] fat has no effect on insulin
[ what he means is that
if monounsaturated oils are the preferred fat,
and if long-chain saturated fats are avoided,
then fats in the zone diet do not raise insulin,
and in fact they slow the digestion,
and reduce the glycemic load of a meal,
so the right fat can even lower insulin peaks .]
. the best way to fatten cattle and pigs
is to raise their insulin levels
by feeding them low-fat grain,
such as pasta and bagels .
[ "al dente"-style pasta has a gentle glycemic index,
but, bagels, like bread,
will roller-coaster the sugar and insulin .]
5:
. about 25% of the usa population is
genetically resistant to becoming obese;
because, their insulin response to carb's
is moderate .
. before 10,000 years ago,
our ancestors diet was composed of
low-fat protein,
and low-density [low-glycemic high-fiber] carb's
-- whole fruits and vegetables .
. after 10,000 years ago,
when grains were introduced,
the first cases of
heart disease and obesity appeared .
6:
. the diet recommended by the
USA's 1990's government,
is very similar to that of
the Egyptians 3,500 years ago,
when they were as obese as Americans are now,
and heart disease was common .
. it takes fat to burn fat;
dietary fat slows down the absorption of carb's,
and thereby reduces insulin spiking .
. dietary fat also sends a hormonal signal
that tells the brain to stop eating sooner .
. the best type of fat for reducing insulin
is the monounsaturates (olive oil,
guacamole [avocado],
almonds, and macadamia nuts).
--
[. the worst kind of sat'fat is C16 (palmitic);
but it's a danger only when combined
with grains? ... .
. 100g avocado has about 20g fat;
the percentage of fat that is palmitic
ranges from 7.2 to 25% .
. for example, in the 1965 Fuerte variety
there were 4g palmitic acid
per 100g "fresh weight" .
-- 100g of egg has only 2.1g of C16 .]
[ Li, et al. 1998` AA levels in zone protein:
. in the visible fat of meat,[. however, levels of omega-3 in any meat
levels of AA (arachidonic acid, 20:4 omega-6 oil)
ranged from 20 to 180 mg/100 g,
whereas the AA in lean portions
ranged from 30 to 99 mg/100 g .
. Beef and lamb meats contained
both lower levels of AA
and higher levels of omega-3 oils
than pork, chicken, duck, and turkey.]
depend on how much grain the animal is fed
compared to grass or grass-eating insects .]
[ marksdailyapple.com` AA in egg:
. egg has a whopping 390 mg of AA;7:
but, studies showing AA has detrimental effects
are actually measuring the effects of
a diet heavy in both AA and omega-6 .
. the diet's omega-3 to omega-6 ratio
has the most significant impact
on levels of omega-6 derived eicosanoids
and their inflammatory effects on your system.
Research that does gauge the impact of AA
when combined with a high omega-3 intake
shows no significant cardiovascular impact
(see British Journal of Nutrition 2007).
AA intakes of up to 4 eggs
are probably harmless in healthy adults.]
. a high-carb low-fat diet can be dangerous;
because, even if it doesn't lead to obesity
it can be elevating your insulin,
which is the #1 predictor of heart disease .
. you can tell what your insulin levels are,
and thus your risk of heart disease,
by seeing how high your triglycerides are
relative to how low your HDL is .
. some carb's are needed for
optimal brain function;
[. if the liver has to convert dietary fat
inorder to supply the brain with glucose,
this is not as efficient as
having some glucose provided by the diet;
but, if that dietary glucose comes from grains,
that could cause the growth of
pathogenic gut bacteria,
rather than probiotic bacteria .]
chapt 3: what is food:
. plants aren't good sources of proteinbecause they combine too much carb' or fiber;
[ and legumes can expose you to anti-nutrients
(some anti-nutrients persist
even when heavily cooked and fermented) .]
. grains are an especially poor source of protein .
10:
. being low on protein
can inhibit your immune system;
but, excessive protein is also harmful;
[ thus, protein is strictly regulated
according to weight and activity level;
the carb dose is then relative to
one's optimal protein dose .]
. protein stimulates the hormone glucagon,
which encourages the the liver to generate glucose
( it not only makes liver produce more glucose
but also uses your stored fat to make more glucose .)
. saturated fat is to be avoided;
so the preferred protein sources are
chicken, fish, turkey, egg whites,
low-fat cottage cheese, tofu*,
soybean imitation meat products*,
and isolated protein powders*
rather than bacon, steak, or sausage
[ from cattle or hogs that are
grain-fed (vs grass-fed).]
*:
[ Sears 2006 explains soy caveats:
Most soy imitation meat products. however, others warn of excitotoxins
use soy protein concentrates (vs isolates)
as their primary source of protein,
and this process removes the goitrogens
along with all other anti-nutrients .
formed by the same processing
needed to remove soy's anti-nutrients .
. the only safe protein isolate is undenatured whey
(remaining undenatured is possible only with
a cross-flow microfiltration process);
however,
whey doesn't have the same effect on glucagon
as meat or soy protein does,
so it is not the best at maintaining
comfortable glucose levels long after a meal .]
11:
1927, arctic explorer Vihajalmur Stefansson
showed that a year on a zero-carb diet
was not causing health problems .
[. the liver can feed the brain
by converting fats or proteins into glucose .]
. grains are glucose chained by oxygen,
and these bonds are quickly broken down;
[ making grains no healthier than sugar
except that fructose is far more evil
than the glucose in grains .
. fructose is a liver toxin just like alcohol;
and, it is a leading cause of kidney disease .
. table sugar (sucrose) is exactly half fructose,
and HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup)
has fructose added to corn's dextrose
just because we're addicted to sweet tastes .
. the free capitalist's favorite addiction trick
is to mix fructose with a bit of salt .
. that mix is in everything from sodas to meat now,
and fructose is known to fuel certain cancers
while cancer rates climb with
more fructose, less prebiotic fiber,
and increasing levels of environmental
xenoestrogens and carcinogens .]
12:
. monounsaturates are good for
slowing carb' absorption,
[ and as a source of extra energy
since carb's and proteins are strictly regulated .]
. fats influence the cell membrane fluidity:
saturated fats stiffen cell membranes;
polyunsaturates increase fluidity .
. polyunsaturates include the essential fatty acids,
which are the building blocks for eicosanoids
( "the most important hormones" ).
. the zone diet is concerned with a balance
between insulin and glucagon; because,
13:
the balance between good and bad eicosanoids
is determined mainly by the ratio of
insulin to glucagon .
[ it's also affected by certain AA poly'oils,
and that's why he discourages egg yolks .]
chapt 4: who actually eats in the zone?:
15: grandma had 4 Zone diet rules:#1: eat several small meals throughout the day:
. eat 3 meals and 2 snacks
spread evenly throughout the day,
instead of skipping breakfast .
[ some warn not to snack too often
as it prevents stomach emptying,
and causes food to get stale in your stomach;
but, what is important to your levels of
insulin and blood glucose
is not getting too much carb' at any one time .]
#2: have some protein at every meal;
(meat portion the size of your palm),
-- excessive protein is converted to fat
[ or is converted by the liver to
excessive blood glucose levels .
. carbs without protein will cause hunger later,
because after the blood glucose from carbs is gone
it is the protein that would enhance glucagon
which would coax your liver into producing
additional blood glucose long after the meal .]
16:
#3 eat your fruits and vegetables:
. it takes 6 cups of steamed brocolli
to give you the same carb load
as just one cup of pasta .
-- that makes brocolli a "low-density carb"
[ and a carb having a low glycemic index .]
. fiber in vegetables (especially soluble fiber)
helps to slow the digestion of carbs .
#4 take that cod liver oil:
( salmon is the tastiest source, grandma )
. the EPA (EicosaPentaenoic Acid) of fish oils
affects eicosanoid balance .
[. what's important is the omega-3 ratio:
in addition to adding fish oils,
the diet should limit omega-6
(nuts, seeds, grains, and grain-fed poultry).]
17:
. compare your grandmother's Zone rules
to what is suggested by the "Food Pyramid"
of the 1990's USA department of agriculture
-- the 1990's USDA was suggesting you should
get most of your calories from
[omega-6-rich] grains,
and [high-glycemic] starches .
. fruits and veg' are better than grains
at giving you vitamins and minerals
[ in fact, grains have many anti-nutrients
that actually steal minerals from you .]
. the French are into the Zone diet,
and they have half the heart disease rate of Americans .
18:
. the French eat in moderation;
they are not afraid of dietary fat;
and, frequent cheeses provide the protein
( drinking of wine adds to their carb' load
hormonally ).
"you are genetically designed to eat a Zone Diet"
"your grandmother told you to eat a Zone Diet",
and,
"the French have demonstrated that the Zone Diet
is really the pinnacle of gourmet cooking".
chapt 5: zone rules
19:. divide your plate in 3 equal sections,
section #1 gets filled with low-fat meat
(chicken, turkey, fish, egg whites*).
*: [. he overly fears yolks,
and dismisses whey protein isolate
as not affecting glucagon;
but how about whey mixed with gelatin? ]
2/3 of the plate gets fruit and vegetables;
[ peas and onions are a great source of
soluble and prebiotic fiber .]
add a dash of mono'oils
[ if you use olive oil, it should be heated
in order to release into the air
the rancid parts of the poly'oils .
. the quickest healthiest fat might be mct
(medium-chain triglycerides)
aka fractionated coconut oil .
. egg yolk is rich in mono'oils,
and Eggland's Best brand is low in sat'fats,
likely because they feed their hens less grain
and more flax and soy .]
. the Zone food block method
gives more precise control over macronutrients
(fat, carb, and protein ratios).
. it provides a table of food amounts
that equal a block of fat, carb, or protein
such that the average male needs
4 blocks of each at every meal;
and, the average female needs 3 of each .
. start with finding the number of protein block
that are right for your weight and activity level,
then add an equal number of both carb' and fat blocks;
if you need more energy than that,
add more fat blocks not more carb' blocks .
. meals should be 5 hours apart or sooner:
"the best time to eat is when you're not hungry".
. exercise lowers insulin levels
[ by increasing insulin sensitivity; ]
80% of your insulin control comes from diet,
just 20% from exercise such as walking .
[ if you want to see better results from exercise,
then use peak resistance rather than aerobics
which is using a muscle continuously
until it starts to feel an acidic burning,
-- the slower the better, no jerking:
keep a heavy tension on the muscle at all times
to ensure it is deprived of oxygen
until the muscle fails to respond .]
chapt 6: recipes:
[. chapter 6 has a bunch of "Zone-Perfect" recipessized for men by Scott C Lane .
. the key to quick, efficient meals
is a vitamixer, a pressure cooker,
and an induction cooker with an built-in timer .
. you can do other things while food boils,
and when you hear the cooker fan turn off,
then you throw the boiled food
into the vitamixer along with cooler vegetables
to make a soup that can be chugged in minutes .
. for example, peas, gelatin, and olive oil
are vitamixed then steamed for 10 minutes,
and finally quick-cooled by vitamixing with
frozen brocolli cuts, whey, and supplements .]
chapt 7: zoning your kitchen
189:. transform your kitchen into a Zone pharmacy:
remove all the dangerous drug paraphernalia
such as grain-based products, bread makers,
and juicers that toss fiber .
[ remember that the juice of most fruits
is full of the liver toxin fructose;
if you do keep your juicer,
use it to collect fiber and toss fruit juice .
. on the other hand, if you have a gut infection,
you want to minimize fiber temporarily
(see the Dr. Campbell-McBride GAPS diet),
and a juicer can help you de-fiber vegetables .]
190:
. frozen veg is actually more nutritious
than fresh (store-refrigerated) vegetables;
[ especially when vitamin C is involved .
. if buying tomato sauce in a jar,
notice the vitamin C levels are higher
when the sauce included a lot of oil .]
191: reasons for adding fat to cooking:
# enhances flavor [ and it does so byincreasing the absorption of
important fat-soluble nutrients
-- how else to get tomato's lycopene?! .]
# lowers the meal's glycemic index,
just like soluble fiber does;
# signals brain to stop eating:
[ Cholecystokinin ends hunger
and is raised by fat in the diet
or by higher-than-zone levels of protein;
however, if the diet is high in fat,
the wrong types of fat will
damage Cholecystokinin signaling;
eg, when the fat is 80% lard [sat'fat]
and 20% veg' oil [omega-6]
then rats on a high-fat & cornstarch diet
become very hungry and obese;
whereas low-fat cornstarch was not a problem;
the oil to use for proper signaling
is monounsaturated or mct,
along with 2 grams of fish oil .
. the most potent fat for raising Cholecystokinin
is CLA (conjugated linoleic acid)
found mostly in grass-fed meat .]
"surprisingly, the best type of olive oil to cook with
is not the premium extra virgin olive oil,
but the considerably less expensive refined olive oil"
[ not surprisingly, this assertion is
not backed by any references .
. the reason for refining an oil
is usually that it became moldy or damaged,
and developed a high level of acidity
which had to be removed .
. my own unreferenced opinion is that
cooking with olive oil is best done by
simmering an organic extra virgin olive oil
within a spiced vegetable puree;
and then, the gentle heating will
volatilize the rancid free fatty acids,
releasing them into the air;
plus, the oil will soak up the spice's antioxidants
thereby preserving the oil from peroxidation,
and the oil will make available
fat-soluble vegetable extracts
such as the licopenes in tomatoes,
that would not otherwise be absorbable .]
. "extra virgin" means the olive oil has
less than 0.5% by weight of the acidic FFAs .
. refining may remove all FFAs
but it also removes flavor .
[ it also hides the fact that
the olives may have had a fungal infection,
but may not remove all fungal poisons,
such as aflatoxin .]
[ oliveoilsource`free fatty acids:
The "acidity" in olive oil is from free fatty acids (FFA)192:
(however, The flavenoid polyphenols in olive oil
are natural antioxidants that contribute to
a bitter taste [which might be confused with acidity],
astringency, and resistance to oxidation).
. due to a chemical reaction called
hydrolysis or lipolysis,
triacylglycerols are broken down;
and, one or more FFAs break off from
their glycerol backbone,
leaving a combination of FFAs, glycerol,
diacylglycerols, or monoacylglycerols .
Factors which lead to a high FFA in an oil
include fruit flies, fungal diseases,
delays between harvesting and extraction,
and careless extraction methods.
The FFA results are presented as
grams of oleic acid per 100 grams oil,
commonly known as
the FFAcidity of the oil in percent.
Extra virgin olive oils have
less than 0.8% FFA.]
. olive oil has less than a 6-month shelf life;
[ for long-term storage, use mct .]
. Zone staples are foods with a long shelf life
that make Zone dieting much more convenient .
. #1 is oatmeal, the only zone-friendly grain;
it's rich in the soluble fiber β-glucan,
[ which means the glucose units are connected by
β-glycosidic bonds instead of oxygens .]
[ wiki`β-glucans:
Oat β-glucans are the only dietary fiber[ is Barley Paleo? No.
currently recognized by the EFSA
(European Food Safety Authority)
as reducing a disease risk.
"Barley has more β-glucan than any other grain." ]
Grains are excluded from the Paleo diet. but wait, oats also contain
due to the presence of potentially harmful compounds
such as phytates, lectins, and more
which are known to slow or block the absorption of
nutrients like iron and calcium. ]
the essential fatty acid GLA
(gamma linolenic acid);
"found in mother's breast milk.
(Not surprisingly, it's also what your grandmother
told you to eat for breakfast.)"
[ mother's breast milk or oats? ;) ]
193:
. oats don't have a monopoly on soluble fiber,
legumes are your best source for that;
[ and peas are paleo-friendly safe legume,
according to the Perfect Health Diet .]
. apples are another source of soluble fiber,
[ but apples are full of fructose:
make sure you run them through a juicer,
so you can avoid the juice .
. finally he specifically mentions black beans,
which are the legume with
not only high levels of soluble fiber,
but also one of the best protein sources
-- kidney and soy beans have more protein
but are a bit more toxic .]
. the best oats are whole grain, groats,
aka Scottish oats or Irish oatmeal .
[ if you eat a lot of oat fiber,
you start to notice the phytoestrogens:
too much oat bran inflames my scalp,
reminding me that baldness is hormonal,
and phytoestrogens are messing with hormones .]
194:
. hormonally speaking, the best protein isolate
is from the soy bean,
as it has the least effect on insulin,
and the greatest effect on glucagon .
[. the term "isolate" here
is meant to include all powders,
but true isolates and concentrates .
-- either way, soy is controversial .]
[. gelatin raises blood sugar
therefore it likely has a beneficial effect
on glucagon .
. whey protein isolate raised glucagon well,
but insulin also got quite high:
for yogurt alone it was 60mU/L,
whereas with whey added to zone levels
(57g protein, 13g carb, 12g fat)
the insulin use dropped only to 40mU/L
(the resting insulin level is 07mU/L).]
nuts are a Zone staple:
. the best for mono'oils include
macadamia and almond, cashews and pistachios .
. nut butters and oils (vs whole nuts)
have a much shorter shelflife .
[. most nuts are high in omega-6 oils;
but 100g macadamia nuts have only 1.3g;
so, you can easily afford to balance that
with 1.3g of fish oil .]
207:
. the Japanese enhance flavor with seaweed;
but the active ingredient is actually MSG
(monosodium glutamate, [an excitotoxin,
-- soy protein isolate has some too]).
[ kelp is high in iodine and manganese
and has a unique form of sodium (without chloride)
that doesn't have the same risks as table salt .
(beware high iodine with thyroid disorders;
an automimmunity storm might harm your thyroid).]
208:
"The key to staying in the Zone
is to use natural sweeteners
that have the least impact on insulin.
This means fructose ..."
. fructose is "converted to glucose"
by the liver enzyme "phosphofructose kinase" .
[ Dr.Lustig says fructose is a liver toxin;
and is converted to liver fat,
that makes the liver insulin resistant,
and contributes to metabolic syndrome .
. Atkins made the same mistake,
considering fructose to be a safe carb' .
. a good natural sweetener is citric acid .]
chapt 12: zone supp's:
213:. use only organically grown fruits and veg's,
and range-fed chicken and beef .
. if any food sources contain
hormones, herbicides, or pesticides
they can have adverse hormonal effects
that can push you out of the Zone .
. vitamins are very sensitive to
heat, light, and storage time;
minerals are sensitive to
processing and cooking technique .
. only 2 supp's are essential:
purified fish oils and vitamin E .
. staying in the Zone requires a balance
of the essential fatty acids
-- omega-6 vs omega-3 --
. fish oil's EPA (eicospentaenoic acid),
a long-chain omega-3 poly'oil
is a key to controling insulin levels,
and keeping the omega-3 vs -6 balance .
. breast-fed children scored nearly
8 points higher on IQ tests
compared to children who were bottle-fed;
because breast milk has omega-3 fats,
and 50% of the brain's fat is long-chain omega-3 fats .
[ this was in 1997 before formula had fish oils ]
. EPA reduces the risk of chronic diseases
-- heart disease, cancer, arthritis, ...;
because, it generates good eicosanoids;
200 - 400 mg EPA per day is all you need,
if you are also on the Zone diet
(doing other things to help eicosanoids).
216:
. the best source of EPA is cold-water fatty fish,
but use only the molecularly distilled fish oil
to remove cancer-causing PCB's [and dioxins].
. near the year 1900, our omega 6 to 3 ratio was 2/1;
in the 1990's it was about 20 to one,
[due to use of grains, nuts, and corn oil,
and the meat of grain-fed animals .]
. this omega oil shift has ruined our
eicosanoid balance
[ creating more of the bad kind
and less of the good ].
. grains are a good source of vitamin E;
and since the Zone diet discourages grains;
you'll need a vitamin E supplement .
. even if you did use grains,
you'd never get the recommended 100-400IU per day .
. most natural vitamin E comes from soybeans;
and it has a lot of fat-soluble pesticides and herbicides;
hence it requires molecular distillation .
[ Dr.Mercola points out
you can get sunflower oil extracts .]
. the non-essential but very helpful supp's
include 500-1000mg vit'c
and 250mg magnesium .
. magnesium is a key to eicosanoid balance .
218:
. magnesium is found mainly in nuts,
but also in greens and legumes .
. vit'c can grab the toxic oxidation products
trapped in the fat cells,
and make them water-soluble so they can be
transported to the liver for detoxification .
220:
. vitamin C also keeps beta carotene out of trouble
because, after beta carotene ties up a free radical,
vit c is needed to do the final detoxification .
221:
20mg B3 and 5-10mg B6 are key to eicosanoids;
eggs are a good source of B3 .
222:
0.5 - 1mg folic acid . found in leafy greens .
works with b3 and b6 to reduce homocystein levels .
15mg zinc is a key to eicosanoids;
223:
200mic chromium -- the glucose tolerance factor .
223: selenium:
. among what's available in stores,the form offering maximum absorption
is L-selenomethionine (se-met).
[. a better form for some tumor apoptosis
is se-methyl-seleno-cysteine (se-msc)
and, a more economical form is
sodium selenate -- the farmer's favorite .
. se-met does have better absorption
because rather than just excrete excesses,
your body uses se-met as a protein builder;
and then, as your body recycles protein,
it releases the se-met for use as
either selenium or more protein building;
so, the absorption is better at first,
but after the point of protein saturation,
you are excreting excesses like any other form .
. you can't be sure how much you're getting because,
it depends on your body's rate of protein turnover .
. this is not good news for low-fat dieters:
you might get no se-met during fattening times,
and then get too much se-met during lean times
when you are losing muscle along fat .
. selenium's essential job is building
glutathione peroxidase;
but se-msc additionally acts like
a non-toxic cancer chemotherapy,
because in high doses
it is deadly only to cancer cells;
although in mega-doses,
it does start to damage the liver too .
. it is even safer than se-met,
because there is some limit to the
protein building that can bury se-met,
and then the only way to excrete leftovers
is to convert it to toxic H2Se;
whereas, with se-msc, that can be excreted
without going throught the H2Se phase .
. the se-msc form is naturally found in
the selenium accumulator plants:
onions, garlic, brocolli, and brazil nuts;
eg, use selenate to grow se-msc in onions .
. selenium is a very important mineral;
and that makes supplementation essential:
sodium selenate is cheap, -- lifelink 200*100/$11
Trace Minerals Research 300*48/ $8.1 --
effective, [ANutrMetab 1988]
and unlike the selenite form,
selenate is not reactive:
. in the presence of stomach acid,Unlike selenite, selenate and se-met
selenite is converted to selenious acid
and inactived by vitamin C in the stomach . [G,K 1989]
do not generate damaging oxygen species
in the presence of sulfhydryl compounds
such as cysteine (common food ingredient). [T,Y,... 1999]
selenate vs selenite absorption:
. selenate is more absorbable than seleniteselenate vs se-met productivity:
(94% versus 59%); and, when there is excess,
selenate is excreted more than selenite;
eg, given 5doses (1 mg selenium)
by day 5 the body retained only 11% of selenate
and 37% of selenite . [T,R, 1986]
. Se should raise GSHPx
(levels of glutathione peroxidase);
selenate raised more platelet GSHPx,
but for whole blood, erythrocytes and plasma
the 2 forms were similarly effective . [BJN 1993]
selenate has insulin-like effects:
. in rats it lowered both insulin and
blood sugar levels . [MCB 1998]
--. selenate is great for both supplementation,
and for selenizing vegetables .]
228: adding good fat is healthier
. a study of 35mile/week runners,Leddy et al, Med Sci Sports Exerc 29: 17-25 (1997),
found that adding 500 fat calories per day
-- the type of fat was not specified --
resulted in no weight gain;
adding 1000 fat calories per day
(42% fat calories diet),
resulted in some lost weight,
-- "a calorie is a calorie" ? --
and their blood lipid profile were improved
by drowning the carb's in fat:
total cholesterol /HDL:
16% fat: 4
30% fat: 3.4
42% fat: 3
triglycerides /HDL:
16% fat: 1.2
30% fat: 0.75
42% fat: 0.60 .
230:
. the zone diet is a low-calorie diet .
[ yet he just showed that high fat is good ?
he's afraid to be too different:
it's bad eno' to be trashing grains,
but to also be lumped in with Dr.Atkins?!
. nevertheless,
he makes clear in an earlier book
that you can still be in the zone with a
high calorie count
if the extra calories are good fats:
mono'oils;
and I would add mct (short-chain sat'fat).]
. the non-obese can be hyperinsulinemic
with a resulting increase in blood pressure .
[ the fructose is causing insulin resistance
and that is affecting kidney function,
which results in high blood pressure .]
231:
. diets higher in fat and lower in carb's
improve the blood profiles of both
Type II diabetics and postmenopausal women .
233:
. the Zone diet was developing around 1982
[1997 minus 15 years]
. insurance companies that may control all healthcare
should take notice that a patient's insulin levels
are a good predictor of their getting heart disease .
234: a war machine conspiracy
. why hasn't the popular press told me aboutthe perils of insulin ?
[ grains = insulin!
. in the 1970's we seemed to have been
losing the inflation war
and this was due to our foreign policy choices:
waging the cold war for globalized democracy,
anti-communism, and pro-zionism,
financed with debt instead of taxes
-- that should naturally lead to inflation .
. in order to keep the public happy,
and willing to pursue a cold war,
they had to keep food prices from inflating,
so Nixon set about automating production;
and, it turns out that grains and soy
are the cheapest foods to produce;
but grain-fed meat has a lot of saturated fat
and the combination of grains with sat'fats
worsens the health problems caused by grains,
so they demonized fats,
and advised us to continue eating directly
the only crops they could cheaply produce .
. how are we going to feed the growing mob
that religious expansion produces
unless we make grains the center of diet?
. it would be unpatriotic to oppose grains;
it is literally heretical to the commandment
that we be fruitful and multiply,
that we cover the face of the earth
even in the face of growing poverty .
. only grains can feed the religiously poor,
and that means high insulin is normal
-- not to be mentioned .]
235: conclusion
. a diet high in sat'fats can cause heart diseaseonly if you don't eat enough fiber
from fruit and vegetables;
those eating more sat 'fats and fewer grains
have dramatically less heart disease .
. it's not true that lard raises cholesterol;
however while some sat'fats are healthy,
(eg, stearic sat'fat doesn't raise LDL)
[ and isn't an artery clogger at least if
used within a paleo diet (without grains)]
other sat'fats are problematic,
[such as Palmitic acid,
at least when combined with grains .]
. what reduces the risk of diabetes
is not the complexity of the carb's,
but the glycemic index of the carb's;
however the zone diet is not about glycemics,
but about insulin reduction .
[ if you get a lot of a low-glycemic food,
you are still getting a high glycemic load,
which translates into higher insulin level .
. also, too much protein raises insulin;
and, there should be attention paid to
insulin resistors; because,
although they don't raise insulin,
when they are combined with
insulin-provoking carb's,
they will worsen the insulin levels .
. the favored sweetener fructose
is just such an insulin resistor .]
236:
. high blood pressure can be reduced by
higher dietary percentages of
both protein and vegetables .
[. the main cause of high blood pressure is fructose,
because it inhibits the kidney's ability to
get rid of salt .]
. if you are bothered by the
high environmental cost of meat,
try putting everyone on soy protein isolate .
237: technical support:
eicotech.com-- the Zone medical research news site .
[ here's an archive of that defunct site .
. drsears.com is active in 2013;
see Dr.Sears' intro to eicosanoids .]
246: unfavorable carb's to be limited:
acorn or butternut squash,beets, carrots, corn, parsnip, sweet potato,
peas --[ the only paleo-friendly legume! ]
lima beans, pinto beans
--[ but he does like most other legumes:
( kidney beans, black beans, chickpeas, lentils )].
fruit juices --[ toss the juice and use the pulp; ]
banana, prunes, cranberry, mango, papaya,
raisin -- but grapes are ok,
[. while he recognizes we get too much omega-6,
and this is making the bad eicosanoids,
he recommends the fatty legumes, peanuts
and chickpeas; whereas, the eggs he demonizes
due to their arachidonic acid
(another source of bad eicosanoids)
have a much more favorable ratio of
mono'oils to omega-6 oils .
. arachidonic acid is not such a threat
if omega-6 is strictly balanced with fish oil ]
251: [selected] ref's:
Allred JB. "too much of a good thing?an over-emphasis on eating low-fat food
may be contributing to the alarming increase
in overweight amount US adults."
J Am Dietetic Assoc 95: 417-418 (1995),
Despres JP, Lamarche B, et al.
"Hyperinsulinemia as an independent risk factor
for ischemic heart disease."
N Engl J Med 334: 952-957 (1996)
Katan MB, Grundy SM, Willett WC.
"Should a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet
be recommended for everyone?
Beyond low-fat diets."
N Eng J Med 337: 563-567 (1997)
Parillo M et al.
"A high-monounsaturated fat/low-carbohydrate diet
improves peripheral insulin sensitivity
in non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients."
Metabolism 41: 1373-1378 (1993)
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