Tag Archives: zone diet

Dr. Sears Answers Readers’ Questions About The Zone Diet

Dr. Barry Sears HeadshotLast night, Dr. Sears and the Zone Labs hosted a live video chat, giving participants the opportunity to ask the creator of The Zone Diet questions. In addition to being an authority on the way food affects hormones, he is a two-time New York Times bestseller. His first book, The Zone, has sold more than 2 million hard-cover copies world-wide.

Dr. Sears started the video session by talking about how we can trigger our genes with our diet. You can’t change your genes, but you can change their expression through diet and lifestyle. He argues that many health problems, both for overweight people and those who are considered to be at a normal weight, leads back to cellular inflammation. He says that once you eat a diet that reduces cellular inflammation, you will not only lose weight but also improve your heart health. Dr. Sears insists that being overweight is not because some moral failure, but simply a genetic predisposition.

If talking about cellular inflammation sounds like way more detail then you can handle, it’s OK. Dr. Sears explained some simple ways to reduce inflammation through diet. First, increase your omega-3 fatty acids by taking fish oil supplements.  Then adjust your diet. That diet should consist of about one third lean protein (about the size of the palm of your hand) and two-thirds “colorful carbohydrates” also known as fruits and vegetables.

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US News Ranks the Best Commercial Diets and the Best Diets for Weight Loss

US News Best Diets LogoU.S. News and World Report is famous (and in some cases infamous) for ranking products, institutions and services of all kinds, be it cars, colleges or diets. Yesterday, they released diet rankings in a number of categories, most notably the best commercial diets and the best diets for weight loss. They also created a list for both the best diabetic diets and the best heart-healthy diets, and a list of best overall diets.

U.S. News reports that they spent six month researching diets, and then had a panel of 22 health experts score the diet on seven different criteria. The diet was judged on its nutritional completeness, its safety, its ability to prevent or manage diabetes, its ability to prevent or manage heart disease, short-term weight loss, long-term weight loss and how easy it is to follow.

It’s little surprise to us that Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig topped both lists, as multiple studies have shown these two diets to be effective. Below are the top eight diets from the best commercial diets and the best diets for weight loss.

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Zone Diet’s Dr. Barry Sears on Reducing Inflammation for Healthier Hearts

No matter which health goal you have, odds are it ties back to your heart. As we explained in a recent post about heart health statistics and facts, brushing your teeth, stressing less, exercising, losing weight all have a direct, and positive, impact on your heart. One of the ideas we discussed was reducing inflammation, so we followed-up with one of the foremost experts on inflammation and its relationship to heart health, Dr. Barry Sears.

In the household name sense, Dr. Sears is the creator of the Zone Diet, a clinically proven lifestyle program designed for losing weight, fighting the effects of aging, reducing the risk of chronic disorders and improving mental and physical performance. Not to mention, the Zone Diet has a tremendous affect on reducing inflammation.

Watch our interview with Dr. Sears as we discuss the current status of heart health in the U.S., which he calls “under flux.” Dr. Sears also explains what inflammation is, how it affects our hearts, and what we can do to treat or prevent it. Finally, you’ll hear the single most important thing you can do for heart health.

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Top 15 Most Popular Celebrity Diets

Everywhere we look we’re barraged with images of Hollywood celebrities and their gorgeously toned bodies. We always hear about the latest diet and weight loss crazes to come out of Hollywood, and how these stars shed impressive weight in almost no time at all. We’ve got the skinny on the 15 most popular celebrity diets. While most of us can’t afford their trainers and personal chefs, you can find the truth behind these diets and if there’s one that will work for you. Some aren’t the healthiest, but others offer a smart approach to weight loss.

jenny mccarthy 1. Weight Watchers
Even Hollywood can’t resistant this tried-and-true, super-flexible weight loss program. Jenny McCarthy and the former Duchess Sarah Ferguson both owe their leaner figures to the Points.


kate hudson2. Atkins Diet
The original low-carb crusader took the likes of Renee Zellwegger, Kate Hudson and Calista Flockhart back to its dieting lair. Singing sensation Rihanna has been known to follow a low-carb diet.


jessica simpson3. 5 Factor Diet
Created by celeb trainer Harvey Pasternak to help schedule-crunched celebs eat properly while touring or on set, his mini-meal, mini-exercise approach has wooed Jessica Simpson, Katherine Heigl and Kanye West.


jennifer lopez4. Eat Right 4 Your Type
It’s Dr. Peter D’Adamo has created a customized diet that is designed around each individual’s blood type. Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez and Elizabeth Hurley have all taken the good doctor’s advice to heart… and waist.


queen latifah5. Jenny Craig
With a counselor to lead the way and meals delivered to their homes, or rather mansions, Queen Latifah, Valerie Bertinelli, Kirstie Alley and even Joy Behar have lost considerable weight following Jenny’s plan.


denzel washington6. Master Cleanse
It has a few names- Maple Syrup Diet or even Lemonade Diet, but one-name stars like Beyonce and Denzel have followed this week-long liquid diet in an effort to cleanse and detoxify their bodies, and also lose weight.


thom yorke7. Vegan
“Just say no to animal products” is the anthem you’ll hear a host of stars like Pamela Anderson, Thom Yorke, Andre 3000, Alicia Silverstone, Natalie Portman, Heather Mills and Casey Affleck singing.


jessica biel8. 3 Hour Diet
Trainer Jorge Cruise advises stars like Jessica Biel and Heidi Klum to eat every three hours throughout the day. These lucky ladies get to eat all day, nearly anything they want, have enviable figures and fall in love with two of music’s hottest guys.


mandy moore9. Hollywood Cookie Diet
It might sound like a fairytale ending to a movie script, but Mandy Moore and American Idol’s Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson manage their weight with sweet little cookies. The cookies replace breakfast, lunch and mid-day snacks.


nick carter10. NutriSystem
A meal delivery diet that has been the saving grace of men and women like Dan Marino, Nick Carter and Larry the Cable Guy, as well as Marie Osmond. Just like these stars, there are critics on both sides of the line.


reese witherspoon11. Baby Food Diet
Reese Witherspoon, Marcia Cross and Jennifer Aniston show that this diet is as easy as taking food from a baby. The small portions in a broad range of organic flavors easily help these ladies put their hunger down for a nap.


carrie underwood12. Vegetarian
Unlike their vegan friends, these stars just refrain from eating meat. Carrie Underwood, Prince, Tobey Maguire, Christina Applegate, Eddie Vedder and Paul McCartney can often be found cruising the grocer’s produce section.


cameron diaz13. The Lunch Box Diet
If you spot Cameron Diaz carrying a lunch pail, she hasn’t decided to go back to school. She’s just keeping plenty of fresh veggies, fruits, lean proteins, nuts and other healthy snacks close at-hand, to regulate blood sugar and lose weight.


kristen davis14. The Zone Diet
Where can you find Sex and the City’s Kristen Davis, Cindy Crawford and even Demi Moore? In the zone, the diet zone that is. They’re watching their weight, and protecting themselves against chronic illnesses.


madonna15. Macrobiotic Diet
If Madonna only had four minutes to save herself, hopefully her adherence to a holistic lifestyle and eating only whole, organic foods will be her best protection. While to most it will seem restrictive, the Material Girl finds it to be quite freeing.