Dr. Sears - The Zone Lifestyle

[tinystrawberry]

Does anyone follow The Zone (diet) while on raw?
My mother is on it and she wants to eat raw but isn't sure if it's possible
:)

[yeahbethany]

Hmmm...why does she want to eat raw?

It sounds to me like perhaps the Zone diet isn't giving her everything she is hoping for, healthwise. In which case, why not give it up?

[juliebove]

I don't follow it but am familiar with it and am not sure how you would do it on a vegan diet, raw or otherwise. It's pretty high in protein.

[tinystrawberry]

She thinks if she doesn't eat the carb/protein ratio that The Zone Diet is based on, she'll develope some sort of silent inflamation. She wants to eat raw because I tell her so much about it and how much it improves your health

[misslinda]

She thinks if she doesn't eat the carb/protein ratio that The Zone Diet is based on, she'll develope some sort of silent inflamation.


:confused: :confused: :confused:


i'm not understanding where she thinks "some sort of silent inflammation???"

Does she have a current condition?

[tinystrawberry]

No, she is healthy. but she thinks too many carbs will make her develope diabetes.. Part of me thinks she is slightly brainwashed from her dad telling her this.

[Raw_Medic]

Cousens has a program that he says is similar to the Zone diet...it's in his book "rainbow green, live food cuisine."

[honeybee joy]

I think processed carbs, and junk food will cause diabetes, but I can't see a healthy individual developing diabetes from raw foods, high sugar fruit or not.
I have to eat kinda low glycemex raw, because if I don't I feel really sluggish, and and can't think straight, and I get depressed. I do have insulin resistance though. I think if she wanted to play it safe, she could go low carb or glycemex raw, but if she is healthy I can't see why she couldn't eat some higher carb/sugar stuff. I think if she starts doing it, and reading about it, she will find she can get away from it the "Zone" type of thinking. If you read The Food revolution by John Robbins, he kinda goes over that diet and explains why their is no scientific eveidence that the Zone diet is healthy for you.

[ljcoolj]

The Zone Diet, Atkins, WW...take your pick, what they all boil down to is low-calorie diets that don't work in the long run. If your Mom switches to raw, or even high raw vegan for that matter...she won't have to worry about staying in a 'zone'. Its all the refined and processed foods that everyone needs to stay away from, otherwise, the good ole natural carbs are very good for us. Natural, unrefined carbs is what the body, and the brain, thrive on.

[rawfigure]

what they all said I second !

If she is concerned, and it is something she will not just change her mind on overnight, then introduce her to Gabriel Cousens Books. He is considerate of the low glycemic diet with his "phases".

I find it difficult for the average person who eats a high protein diet to change the mind set of it and go Raw. The propaganda for these diets is strong. I lived by it for years until I began to pay attention to changes in my digestive health.

So for someone who is on the Zone etc, turn them on to the (supposedly) RAW Protein powders that are out there. After a while they will not care so much about the protein and (as I did ) drop out the protein powders.

[Arky]

Anyone contemplating the Zone diet owes it to themselves to read Fuhrman's Eat To Live. Not only is it a great book in its own right, but it contains a scathing attack on Sear's Zone Diet which is rather an eye-opener.


J.

[tinystrawberry]

I already made her read that, she just thought it was ridiculous.

[juliebove]

No, she is healthy. but she thinks too many carbs will make her develope diabetes.. Part of me thinks she is slightly brainwashed from her dad telling her this.

Eating too many carbs can not cause you get get diabetes, unless you already have pre-diabetes. If she has that, then she really must be careful not to eat too many carbs or even gain weight for that matter because either of those things could push her over the edge to full blown diabetes. For some people it's not a mattery of will they get it or not, it's simply a matter of when.

If there is a family history of diabetes or if she had gestational diabetes, she should also watch what she eats. She would have a greater chance than the average person of getting diabetes at some point in the future. However in a case like that it is genetics that cause the diabetes and not the amount of carbs taken in.

[tinystrawberry]

I'm unaware of anyone in my family having diabetes. She has a few friends that have the really bad type (not sure of the name) of diabetes, maybe she is just scared.

[ljcoolj]

I don't mean to sound like a downer or anything, but if she thinks Eat To Live by Fuhrman is ridiculous, and the Zone diet isn't...she is going to have a hard time going raw. Eat To Live is a wonderful book, even though its not 'raw' he has a lot of good information in there. She may be someone who just needs to come to it on her own by your example. Thats where I'm at with my hubby anyway. The Rave Diet and any book by Dr. John McDougall are good ones too....

[Sharon in Colorado]

The amount of protein needed would cause your mother to over eat on fat, unless she is willing to eat several heads of lettuce a day.

These high protein diets all get their protein from animal sources. Atkins is not as conciencious about fat intake as the others, but the Zone and other diets might be more inclined to use lean animal protein. Trying to substitute lean animal protein for lean raw protein is a challenge.

If she is really interseted enough, why not challenge her to 21 days of raw and she will see how her inflammation will go down, and she can have her blood sugar levels checked at the end. Challenge her to eat as much fresh fruit as she cares for. She can do a before and after check to see how fruit will not effect her levels.