Diet Deception: The Zone Diet

The Premise: 

A high protein, low carbohydrate diet which limits your caloric intake and follows the ratio of 40/30/30 for carbohydrates, protein, and fat respectively. Created by Barry Sears, author of Enter the Zone, this diet makes ‘zonies’ experience rapid weight loss mostly attributed to three factors: 

1. Protein has a higher satiating effect than carbohydrates, so you feel less hungry in a high protein diet.
2. High protein suppresses the following day’s protein intake more than carbohydrates.
3. Digesting protein requires more energy than digesting carbs which increases your caloric expenditure.

High protein diets are simply those that require the person to have an intake of more than 30 percent in protein. The diet relies on the fact that insulin secretion is stimulated by carbohydrate consumption. Low carbs keep insulin in a range that allows the body to burn excess fat.

The Provisions:

Lean meats like chicken, turkey, lean steaks and just sidings of vegetables and fruits.

The Promise: 

Rapid weight loss, improved athletic performance (this is a new one!) and a lower risk of developing heart disease and cancer.

The Proof:

Randy, 30, a computer programmer said “I tried it and I lost 15 pounds, but had serious problems with my skin and bowel movement so I went off it. Regarding athletic performance, I swim a lot but I don’t think it really improved it.”

The Prognosis:

Rapid weight loss is inevitable in a low carbohydrate, high protein diet. While it contends that excessive complex carbohydrates causes obesity by increasing insulin output and fat storage, you’ll find that none of the references quoted in the book to back up these claims have ever been published.

The author vehemently advises against a vegetarian diet, completely ignoring that fact that vegetarians are far less likely to develop heart disease and cancer and are leaner than meat-eaters. Clinical studies alone in the last half century clearly show how a high protein, high fat diet can lead to higher risks for heart disease, stroke, adult onset diabetes, several types of cancer and stroke.

With regards to the 40/30/30 ratio, studies show that the average diet in most Western countries, is already an approximation of this ratio. The U.S. in particular has 60 percent of its population falling under the obese category, not to mention a steady increase over the last couple of years of incidence of heart disease and cancer. These fatal numbers are but a reflection of the same diet ratio the book encourages everyone to follow.

Like most low carb diets, the weight loss is mainly attributed to dehydration. By limiting carbohydrates (where 3 grams of water are stored in every gram of carbohydrate), zonies think that they’re actually losing a pound of fat a day. It’s also below the healthy recommended caloric intake for adults (2,200 to 2,500 calories a day) at only 1,700 calories. This causes unhealthy depletion of body mass with minimal fat loss. The weight loss is quickly regained once the body can no longer sustain the diet.

As for improvement in athletic performance, athletes would be well advised to stay away from the Zone. The recommendations for both carbohydrates and caloric intakes are insufficient to meet the energy requirements of everyday training.

The Pros’ Position:

“There are a lot of false statements made in the book. The fact that carbohydrates cause heart disease and cancer has no basis at all. Furthermore, there are so many health problems proven to be directly linked to the consumption of high levels of protein- heart conditions, stroke, cancer and even calcium loss and osteoporosis. The short term benefit of rapid weight loss isn’t worth the inevitable long term health risks.” says Ana Cruz, an L.A. nutritionist and dietician who once worked for the Duke University Medical Center.

Dr. Sanirose Orbeta, a nutrinionist adds, “Like the other new diets in the market, the nutrient ratio in The Zone diet doesn’t follow the healthy eating index, which should have 55 to 60 percent carbohydrates, 15 to 20 percent protein and 20 to 25 percent fat.”

Diet Deception: The Fit For Life Diet

The Premise:

That weight gain is simply the result of eating inapproprite foods at inappropriate times of the body’s natural cycle. Fit for Life authors Harvey and Mari-lyn Diamond say that the body has three natural cycles: appropriation, or eating and digesting which happens from noon to 8 p.m. , assimilation or absorption and use (8 p.m. to 4 a.m.) , and elimination of body waste, which happens from 4 a.m. to noon. They further contend that since the body is made up of 70 percent water, so should your diet; hence the ratio of 70 percent fruits and vegetables to 30 percent concentrated foods (or everthing else).

The Provisions:

Just fruit juice or fruits before noon, salad and fruit for lunch,starch and either vegetable or protein for dinner, and a fruit snack at least three hours after dinner. Every two or three days, lunch should only consist of fruit, so you have two meals consisting of just fruit. You’re also allowed nuts, and nut butters, pasta, bread, and grains during lunch and dinner, but all dairy products (except butter) are strictly off limits. Consumption of meat is also discouraged.

The Promise:

Lose as much as 50 pounds in a month by eating proper food combinations at the appropriate times.

The Proof?

Christine, 23, a student says “I lost eight pounds from this diet after only three weeks, but it left me feeling weak and almost always hungry. I decided to get off it after four weeks at which I returned to eating as much of a balanced diet as I could. I try to stay away from fat as much as possible. It took me only two weeks to gain the weight back plus two more pounds. I never want to diet again.”

The Prognosis:

The weight loss Christine experienced from this diet was expected due to its low caloric intake and high  the bulk content. This diet restricts the intake of meat and carbs to a total of one to two servings per day and replaces the rest of the days’ intake with fruits and vegetables. Although it does encourage you to increase your veggie intake, this diet puts a slightly higher premium on the nutritional value of our leafy friends by claiming that all the nutrients the body needs can be found solely in foliage.

Some foibles: The authors state that “fruit should never be taken with or immediately following anything,” (an important Fit for Life rule) , and that fruit taken after a meal rots and cannot be assimilated- ir ferments and its accumulation causes obesity. But fruits in themselves contain a chemical called pectin which is fermented. Following the authors’ contention that fermentation leads to obesity, eating fruit would then lead to obesity and not cure it. Another claim that raised more than a few eyebrows in the health industry is that dairy products are indigestible and acid and mucus-forming. The authors further argue that cow’s milk is for cows and not suitable for huma ns and that the only acceptable form of dairy is butter. Unless they’re actually taking about the butter made from human milk, their arguments simply don’t make sense.

The Pros’ Position:

According to Ana Cruz,an L.A. nutritionist and dietician who once worked for the Duke University Medical Center, “The diet is highly deficient in protein, calcium, zinc, vitamins B and D and iron, and can lead to iron deficiency anemia and osteoporosis. A diet that restricts milk and protein can seriously affect the development of young children and strict adherence to the diet during pregnancy can do serious harm to a developing fetus.”

Top nutritionist Dr. Sanirose Orbeta says, “In practice, we try to avoid nutrient specificity, like emphasizing one group of food over the other. Precisely it’s the complimentary, supplementary action one food gives another food that creates the balance of nutrients. That’s the reason why a variety in food choices is important. For example, the amino acids lacking in rice or pasta together with the protein from animal meat or plant source will combine to make the food healthy and high in biologic value and nutrient density.”

Image Sources:

fruits : http://www.flickr.com/photos/feastguru_kirti/2295831315/
fruit juices: http://www.flickr.com/photos/comunicati/6071069098/
vegetables: http://www.flickr.com/photos/suckamc/2488644619/