Overview:
This plan asserts that most people suffer from insulin imbalances that cause them to gain weight. According to Sears, consumption of protein, carbohydrate and fat in exact proportions corrects this imbalance and, thus, excess weight drops off. Average caloric intake ranges from 1,000 to 1,700 calories per day.
Advantages:
The plan recommends lean protein sources, minimizing consumption of saturated fat. The typical American diet is not far from the 40/30/30 ratio of carbohydrate/protein/fat.
The substantially reduced caloric intake is the main key in the weight loss plan.
Disadvantages:
Carbohydrates such as processed grains, pasta, starchy vegetables and bread are not prohibited and serving sizes are minute (1/4 c. cooked pasta, 1/8 c. baked beans, one-square-inch of corn bread). Choices, combinations and portions can be odd and unappetizing. For example, a snack choice includes two hard-boiled egg whites, half an apple and three almonds.
According to Sears, the main theories for the diet’s success are that eicosanoid (a hormone) levels increase and insulin must be moved into a zone. Sears bases his whole diet theory on these hormones, yet he has never measured eicosanoid levels in people on his diet.
Gerald Raven of Stanford University says, “I find it hard to swallow that anyone could really believe eicosanoids are the key to all health and disease” (Tufts University Diet & Nutrition Newsletter, May 1996).
William Evans, Ph.D, director of the Physiological Research Center at Penn State University says, “There are not any studies that I’m familiar with that suggest that this hormone is dangerous. Anyone who tries to sell a diet as the key to stemming off ‘bad’ eicosanoids is capitalizing on an unfounded idea.”
Long-Term Success:
Because the diet is based on very low calories and strict combinations of protein, carbohydrate and fat at every meal, long-term success would be very challenging. Not to mention the fact that everyone has differences in hormone physiology.
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