Key #2 Change in Dietary Fat Composition

We all tend to be fat phobic but, in fact, fat is an important part of a healthy diet. Dietary fat serves two important purposes. First, it significantly slows down your body's absorption of the meal you just ate. Second, fat signals your brain when to stop eating. All fat, of course, is not alike; the specific type of fat you eat plays a critical role in your overall health. To get and stay in the Zone, you need to eat the right kinds of dietary fats. The best kind of fat is monounsaturated, which is the kind of fat found in olive oil. The key is to eat fewer unfavorable fats, and to switch to favorable ones.

Key #3 Omega-3 Fish Oils

With the Zone Nutritional Program, we set the stage, by modifying your diet, for producing better eicosanoids. We also have to supply the building blocks so that your body can actually make them.

Most Americans have problems with the production of eicosanoids, due to several factors. The first factor is diet, which we just went through. The second factor is age, and the third is illness. Today's modern diets lack sufficient amounts of omega 3 fish oils. There was a time when moms and grandmothers used to force cod liver oil down their kid's throats? You sometimes see it in old movies. Most kids thought it was a punishment. But in reality, cod liver oil was a very, very rich source of omega 3 fish oils.

Scientific interest in marine oils increased greatly with the discovery that certain population groups that consume large amounts of cold water fish experience considerably lower mortality rates from cardiac and circulatory diseases than the general population. Dietary Omega-3 fatty acids are generally recognized as the source of this protection from cardiovascular illness. A large body of published research now exists which specifically links the benefits of daily supplementation of Omega-3 fish oils to improved health. Current research strongly suggests overall health benefits including lower blood pressure, reduced asthma attacks, decreased joint inflammation (especially inflammation associated with arthritis), reduced effects from osteoporosis, reduced risk of coronary atherosclerosis and prevention of excessive clotting of the blood.

Omega-3 has also been shown to be critical for proper fetal and neo-natal brain development. Interestingly, breast milk is rich in Omega-3 oils and is a perfect Zone meal! Perhaps Mother Nature is trying to tell us something.

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