The 40-30-30 Nutrition Concept
The "Zone" is defined by Dr Barry Sears, the Zone Diet founder, as a metabolic state in which the human body operates at optimal efficiency. This metabolic state can be achieved by correct proportion of carbohydrates, fats, and protein in you every meal. The Zone Diet is a 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein and 30% fat program developed to insure the proper the insulin to glucagon ratio. Why?
Any food that you eat works for or against the two major hormones, insulin and glucagon. These hormones do a lot of important work but perhaps the most important is maintaining energy flow in the body. Their interplay determines whether the body stores or spends (burn) calories but there's much more to the diet's benefits.
The 40-30-30 equilibrium results in a decrease of insulin-glucagon ratio, which in its turn causes production of ""good"" superhormones eicosanoids. According to the Zone theory, eicosanoids are responsible for the diet's health benefits including weight loss, prevention of chronic diseases and inflammation, enhanced immunity, better physical performance and mental health, and greater longevity.
Sources:
Sears B: "The Zone." New York: Harper Collins,1995
Sears B: "Mastering the Zone." New York: Harper Collins,1997
