Fall 2011 After our first Cruise with Dr. Sears (Updated 5/12/2012)
Why the zone?
A couple of days ago, a friend laughed at Paul and said, "the two skinniest people I know on a diet?'
The word "diet" has a Greek root meaning manner of living. Webster defines it as a food or drink regularly provided or consumed, habitual nourishment, and something provided or experienced repeatedly. It's our culture that has turned it into a four letter word.
If you know anything about my journey the last few years, then you know I've had to change my diet significantly. In researching gluten intolerance, I've learned a lot about our immune systems and how serious health problems and chronic diseases seem to improve when people get off gluten. I've focused on gluten and the statistic that possibly 30% of the US population may be gluten intolerant, and erred in thinking that if gluten could be avoided then many of the chronic diseases in my (and Paul's) family would improve. My nagging question was still, how can gluten cause these autoimmune diseases?
Well, I found the answer to my question on a cruise to Alaska.
It's not just gluten, (although those with Irritable Bowel syndrome and other intestinal issues would do well to get off it completely for a month or so to see if symptoms improve) it is the" Perfect Nutritional Storm," a term used by Dr. Barry Sears in his book Toxic Fat. This storm is the proliferation of Omega 6 Oils (soybean, corn, etc) and high glycemic carbohydrates (most of which contain gluten) along with the reduction of intake of fish oil in the American Diet and now being exported throughout the world.
Why the big deal? The combination of the Omega 6 oils and high insulin levels (caused by high glycemic carbs) creates toxic fat (AA) which causes cellular inflammation. Cellular inflammation is "silent" until some point when our fat cells can no longer protect us from the toxic fat (AA) and it is released into our blood and begins to become "screaming" inflammation somewhere as serious disease: Cardiac, Autoimmune, Neurological, cancer, etc. The effect on our bodies is largely determined by our genes.
The good news is that we can do something about this. We can't change our genes, but we can turn the bad ones off or at least slow them down considerably. How? What we eat! And even better news is that chronic medical conditions can improve or begin to reverse in 30-60 days.
Too good to be true? On the cruise we met Dr. Sears in person and both the lawyer (Paul) and the engineer (me) put him to the test, and we are convinced. This isn't something new we just stumbled upon. Our interest in Dr. Sears' work started about 6 years ago when Paul read in the book Delivered from Distraction about his diet and fish oil as a possible aid to dealing with ADD. We started taking Omega RX (fish oil) and Juice Plus (polyphenols) back then, but we didn't understand what a therapeutic dosage meant or even that it was important. We also didn't understand the reasons why the supplements along with the zone diet were so important, we just knew we felt better when we followed its principles.
Here's the short version of Dr. Sear's prescription for returning to physical wellness.
1. Take a therapeutic dosage of Long chain Omega 3 Concentrates (EPA and DHA) with polyphenols daily to get your AA/EPA ratio between 3 and 1.5.
2. Eliminate Omega 6 oils from your diet.
3. Control Insulin Levels by eating "in the ZONE."
I'm going to give you a short summary of how to quickly begin doing these three. If you want more info, ask me questions, and read the following Dr. Sears books: 1) The Anti-Inflammation Zone, 2) Toxic Fat, 3) Mastering the Zone.
Other good resources are Dr. Sears' websites:, and http://www.zonediet.com/home and http://drsears.com/Home/tabid/330/Default.aspx
1. Take a therapeutic dosage of Omega 3 Concentrates (EPA and DHA) with polyphenols daily.
You can take capsules or liquid. If you are taking high dosages, the liquid fish oil and SeaHealth Plus is the best combination because the SeaHealth has emulsifiers in it that help your body process the fish oil. Some people just can't handle the liquid so by all means, take the pills. (A benefit to the pill form of polyphenols is that you have an option of taking one with delphinidin extract from the Maqui berry which helps control blood sugar and has other benefits. If you have the money, you can add a polyphenol XT to the liquids if you want the benefits of the delphinidins. We learned about delphinidins on the 2012 cruise. I'll address them in another blog. )
The oil doesn't taste bad- nothing like the cod-liver oil I remember taking as a child. Dr. Sears mixes it with SeaHealth plus for his high dose research trials. That's what Paul is using. When we travel, we use the OmegaRX caps and the Polyphenol Plus caps. The most cost effective combination is the liquid fish oil with the Polyphenol Plus caps.
Keep the liquid fish oil in the freezer using a ceramic coffee cup as a holder. It doesn't freeze, but depending on when the fish were harvested it may need 30 sec. to a minute to sit out before it pours well. (The definition of freezing means not being able to run a tooth pick through it easily.)
The SeaHealth Plus liquid has trace minerals from sea vegetables that aren't in the Polyphenol Plus Capsules, it also mixes well with the liquid fish oil, but it is a little more expensive. If you use the liquid fish oil with the polyphenol caps then mix the oil with a small amount of fruit juice or suck on a piece of lemon or orange before and after you take it.
You can get fish oil from other sources, but I wouldn't. Dr. Sear's has an electron beam chromatograph to test for pcb's and contaminates in his products. His pcb levels are under 2 where the pcb levels for Lavaza, the prescription fish oil, is 5. Another benefit of buying the oil from Zone Labs via auto ship is that you can get free blood tests to determine if you are taking the right amount. They also have zone coaches that will answer any question you have. I usually call to order by phone 1-800-404-8171. Be sure to use auto-ship to get the 20% discount and to request a blood test.
You will need to test your AA/EPA ratio after being on a constant dosage for 30 days. You must have a Dr. sign the requisition form, but you can do the test yourself. You draw blood with a finger prick and fill 2 circles on the test card. Instructions are in the kit.
Here is a cost comparison:
COST Comparison for 5.4 g/day
At Auto Ship prices
|
autoship $
|
QTY in bottle.
|
Amount per serving
|
# servings in bottle
|
$/serving
|
$ for 30 days
|
OmegaRx caps (600mg EPA&DHA each)
|
$40.76
|
120
|
9
|
13.3
|
$ 3.06
| |
Polyphenol Plus caps 8000 ORAC/oz.
|
$15.96
|
30
|
2
|
15
|
$ 1.06
| |
total
|
$ 4.12
|
$ 123.63
| ||||
OmegaRx liq (1 tsp 2700 mg EPA&DHA)
|
$63.96
|
45
|
2
|
22.5
|
$ 2.84
| |
Sea Health Plus Liquid (8000 ORAC/oz.)
|
$31.95
|
32
|
2
|
16
|
$ 2.00
| |
total
|
$ 4.84
|
$ 145.19
| ||||
OmegaRx liq (1 tsp 2700 mg EPA&DHA)
|
$63.96
|
45
|
2
|
22.5
|
$ 2.84
| |
Polyphenol Plus caps 8000 ORAC/oz.
|
$15.96
|
30
|
2
|
15
|
$ 1.06
| |
total
|
$ 3.91
|
$ 117.20
|
Find the Omega 3 concentrates at: http://shop.zonediet.com/custom/product_results.aspx?category_guid=d9a47797-510f-4140-a337-60a2344b3651
For Polyphenols, use: http://www.zonediet.com/polyphenols
How much do you take? From page 113 in Toxic Fat with my notes added:
The Basics: Take 1 Polyphenol cap per 4 caps of Omega RX, or
1 oz. SeaHealth Plus for every 1 teaspoon of OmegaRx Liquid.
Take enough to get your AA/EPA ratio within 1.5-3.
Condition and Amount recommended
|
My notes:
|
No chronic disease
2.5 grams of EPA & DHA per day
|
4 OmegaRx Caps (2400 mg EPA & DHA) or
1 tsp OmegaRx Liquid (2700 mg EPA & DHA)
with
1 oz. (2 Tablespoons, one capfull) SeaHealth Plus or
1 Polyphenol Plus capsule
|
Overweight, obese, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and before starting any type of weight-loss program
5 grams of EPA and DHA per day
|
9 OmegaRx Caps (5400 mg EPA & DHA) or
2 tsp OmegaRx Liquid (5400 mg EPA & DHA)
with
2 oz. (4 Tablespoons, two capfulls) SeaHealth Plus or
2 Polyphenol Plus capsules
|
Chronic pain
7.5 grams of EPA and DHA per day
|
12 OmegaRx Caps (7200 mg EPA & DHA) or
13 OmegaRx Caps (7800 mg EPA & DHA) or
2 3/4 tsp OmegaRx Liquid (7425 mg EPA & DHA)
with
2.5 oz. (5 Tablespoons, 2.5 capfulls) SeaHealth Plus or
3 oz. (6 Tablespoons, 3 capfulls) SeaHealth Plus or
3 Polyphenol Plus capsules
|
Neurological disorders
10 grams of EPA and DHA per day
|
Take 1 oz of SeaHealth Plus or 1 Polyphenol Plus capsule for every 2500 mg of EPA & DHA
16 OmegaRx Caps (9600 mg EPA & DHA) or
17 OmegaRx Caps (10200 mg EPA & DHA) or
1 Tablespoon (3 tsp) OmegaRx Liquid (8100 mg EPA & DHA) or
3 ½ teaspoons (1 Tblsp + ½ tsp) OmegaRx Liquid (9450 mg EPA & DHA) or
3 3/4 teaspoons (1 Tblsp + 3/4 tsp) OmegaRx Liquid (10125 mg EPA & DHA)
|
Some people can start taking the recommended amount right away. Others need to ramp up. Headaches, gastric distress, or oily or loose stools mean you need to back off and ramp up. It will take a month to stabilize the EPA level in your blood. You may see improvements in symptoms sooner. Be patient. It took a long time to get sick. It may take a while to get well or "weller".
Those on Coumadin need to ramp up the dosage one step at a time and get your PT/INR tested a week after each increase. It should not affect your PT/INR, but Coumadin is very unpredictable and any change you make in your diet should be watched carefully.
That should get you started. Now step 2.
2. Eliminate Added Omega 6 oils from your diet.
The Best Oils:
|
Extra Cold pressed Virgin Olive
|
High in Polyphenols
Low in Saturated Fat
Low in Omega 6's
Not good in High Heat
|
Light Olive Oil
|
The same but not as many Polyphenols
| |
High Oleic Safflower
High Oleic Sunflower
|
Great cooking oils
Low in Saturated Fat
Low in Omega 6's
| |
Almond, Walnut, Macadamia Nut
|
Low in Omega 6's
| |
OK oils:
|
Butter
|
Low O6, High Saturated Fats
|
Lard
|
Low O6, High Saturated Fats
| |
Canola
|
Fair amount of O6
| |
BAD OILS:
|
Corn, Soybean, Safflower, Sunflower
|
Very High O6
|
3. Diet
The third step is changing your diet to minimize the insulin in your blood and to reduce hunger. This step isn't as bad as you think. The key is balancing the Protein, Carbohydrate and Good fats at each meal and snack well. See this link for a good start:
Zone quick start classic
Download the zone block guide under 2.
Words of Wisdom:
Zone quick start classic
Download the zone block guide under 2.
Words of Wisdom:
Too sick to change? Do you have 15 seconds? Can you feed yourself? Then you can take the fish oil and Polyphenols. When you begin to feel better you can take step 2 and then 3. Start with baby steps. As you feel better, do what you can.
Can't afford it? How much are you spending on prescriptions? What if you could eliminate one, or reduce the dosage you are taking? What if it would prevent you from having a heart attack or take away some of your pain? What is it worth to add a few more years to your life or to make the years you have left less painful?
We will find the money and time to do the things that are important to us. We reap what we sow. Simple changes can make big differences.
If you suspect that you may be Gluten Intolerant, get off Gluten completely for a minimum of 6 weeks. You may also have to eliminate milk, soy, or egg too, but start with gluten. Let me know if you need to do this and I can help you.
Closing:
Paul and I are committed to changing to a healthier lifestyle. We are available to you in your journey. As I am learning, I am teaching family and friends how to cook and eat better. We feel privileged to have had the opportunity to hear Dr. Sears in person and to study his books. We want you to benefit from what we have learned.
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