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Zone Diet: The Zone Diet is clinically proven to reverse cellular inflammation by maintaining the inflammatory hormones generated by the food we eat within a Zone that is not high, but not too low. The dietary program is conceptually simple. Simply divide your plate at every meal into three equal sections. On one-third of the plate put some low-fat protein that is no bigger or thicker than the palm of your hand. Then fill the other two-thirds of the plate with color carbohydrates (vegetables and fruits). Finally add a dash (that’s a small amount) of fat that is low in omega-6 and saturated fats such as olive oil. Your success in constructing a Zone meal is indicated by lack of hunger for the next four to six hours. Simple in concept, often difficult in execution because you have avoid many of foods that people love to eat (bread, pizza, pasta, potatoes, and rice). In addition, you have to maintain the appropriate balance of protein, carbohydrate and fat at every meal to maintain the hormonal balance to reduce cellular inflammation Diet comes from the Greek language and means “way of life”. A diet is a lifestyle–not a set of draconian rules that you blindly follow. The Zone Diet controls gene expression and hormonal balance to give you the longer and better life to which we all aspire. The Zone diet is primarily concerned with controlling your hormones. Hormonal balance affects all important components of your wellness: body composition, energy utilization, blood chemistry, and much more. Food is a drug. This may seem shocking, but think about the definition of a drug. Loosely, ingesting drugs causes physiological changes in your body. Ingesting food has the same effect. It can bring about positive or negative changes in your body. Would you take 17 Tylenol capsules for a headache? Would you consume expired, low-quality medicine? Of course not. Then why should we expect different results when we feed our bodies 17 times our necessary food intake, and comprise our diet of low-quality processed garbage with no nutritional value? You see the results of this lifestyle in America today. The Zone Diet isn’t about eating “low-carb” or “high-protein” or anything like that. It’s a diet balanced in • Protein (lean, natural meats are preferred) • Carbs (mostly low glycemic-load fruits and vegetables) • Fat (one of the most important macronutrients!) With the right balance of protein, carbohydrates and fats, you can control three major hormones generated by the human diet – insulin, glucagon and eicosanoids. Insulin – A storage hormone. Excess insulin makes you fat and keeps you fat. It also accelerates silent inflammation. Glucagon – A mobilization hormone that tells the body to release stored carbohydrates at a steady rate, leading to stabilized blood sugar levels. This is key for optimal mental and physical performance. Eicosanoids – These are the hormones that ultimately control silent inflammation. They are also master hormones that indirectly orchestrate a vast array of other hormonal systems in your body. Original article and pictures take http://www.mustangcrossfit.org/zone.html site