The Soy Zone Diet

(Barry Sears, Ph.D) - The Health Benefits of Soy

"Why do I need to get into the Zone?" That's a question I've been asked a thousand times, and it's a question that runs through my mind every day as I conduct research and lecture across the country about the benefits of the Zone. I usually answer this question with a question of my own:

Do you want to live a longer and healthier life?

You've probably heard that "you are what you eat" and that a nutritious diet is the key to good health. In this day and age, we are faced with a plethora of conflicting dietary advice and an overwhelming number of food choices. If you avoid all fat, do you still need to worry about calories? Is a high-carbohydrate diet the way to go? Or are high-protein diets the best choice?

Let's face it: You're probably more confused than ever about what to eat. In fact, most Americans don't know which way to turn and, as a result of heeding bad nutritional advice, we're in the midst of a growing obesity epidemic -- with more than 50 percent of us overweight.

Let's cut through all the nutribabble and focus on one thing: If you balance the foods you eat, you achieve balance in your body, which will lead to a longer and healthier life. The Zone Diet contains the balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat that will take you 90 percent of the way there. If you replace some of the low-fat animal protein (meat, chicken, fish, dairy, egg whites) from the Zone Diet with soy protein, you'll get the rest of the way there.

I believe the Soy Zone is the healthiest diet in the world -- a diet that creates balance in your body's hormonal systems and keeps your body running at peak efficiency. You'll feel healthier and will have a lower risk of developing such life-threatening diseases as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. At the same time, you'll experience more energy and a mental sharpness that will carry you through the day. If you're overweight, the Soy Zone is a perfect way to shed excess fat and keep it off for life.

It's time to enter the Soy Zone.


The Soy Zone Diet is the most advanced form of the Zone. What is the Zone? It is the balance of hormonal systems that occurs every time you eat. You can enter the Zone by balancing the foods you eat through a diet program that I introduced in my 1995 book, The Zone, and refined in my 1997 book, Mastering the Zone. The Zone is a protein-adequate diet in which you consume about 40 percent of your calories from carbohydrates, about 30 percent from protein, and 30 percent from fat. As you can see, this diet is neither high-protein nor high-carbohydrate. It's a diet that restores the proper balance of protein, carbohydrate, and fat, a balance your body needs to work effectively.

The Zone is not some mythical place or catchy marketing slogan. The basic premise of the Zone is that eating the proper balance of foods will keep certain hormones within a therapeutic zone. What's amazing is that you can precisely control how your body functions through the foods you eat. You can help extend your lifespan and prevent chronic disease.

So where does soy fit in? Soy is a natural form of plant protein that fits perfectly into the Zone Diet. In fact, it actually enhances the effects of the Zone, making it easier to achieve the hormonal balance that your body needs. If you're familiar with the rules of the Zone, you'll find it easy to adopt the Soy Zone. All you need to do is replace some of the low-fat animal protein you normally eat with soy protein products. If you've never tried the Zone, simply follow the step-by-step rules outlined in the next chapter. You'll see that it won't take much effort to get into the Zone. And once you're there, you'll want to stay there.

Over the past few years, soy food products have become extremely popular in this country. Newspaper headlines tout study after study showing the health benefits of soy. Sure, you'd like to try some soy foods -- if you haven't already. But maybe you've stared quizzically at the package of tofu or soy hamburger crumbles on the supermarket shelf, wondering how to incorporate these foods into your favorite dishes.

Read more about the Soy Zone Diet...