Edited by Dr. Francesca Fanolla
The term "diet" has been part of social business for years and fills our daily lives by entering our homes through magazines, books, web pages and television programs.
There are hundreds of "diets" proposed by these mass media and dozens of "dietary styles" on which famous dieticians and nutritionists debate.
Among these that I define "styles" with a more bland meaning than the more rigid "diet" we find the famous DIET A ZONA that for years has revolutionized the lives of millions of people and "celebrities" of TV and entertainment, starting from America, a country in which it is born about twenty years ago thanks to the biochemist from which it took its name: Barry Sears.
His nutrition studies started to look for an answer and solution to the sad fate that had struck his family for years, from his grandfather to his brother who were all affected by a heart attack despite having always had a "healthy" lifestyle from the point of view both motor and food.
His attention focused on a particular category of powerful hormones already being studied by other doctors of the time: eicosanoids, biological agents that control many organic functions such as the cardiovascular system and the immune system, controlling fat deposits. These hormones are produced in two forms: the good ones (vasodilators) and the "bad ones" (vasoconstrictors) the balance between which guarantees a normal blood pressure.
The "traditional" and "original" American diet therefore bases its particular distribution on nutrients (40% carbohydrates, 30% proteins, 30% fats) precisely on the goal of keeping the organic production of these eicosanoids under control. And all this without considering, as we are used to do, the daily caloric intake, but the number of "blocks", each of which is composed of the aforementioned percentage distribution and above all the "glycemic response" that each food causes at the blood level ( and the consequences on insulin levels).
However, given its particularity of banishing, for example medium and high GI carbohydrates (glycemic index) such as bread (and derivatives such as pizza, pasta, etc.), the typical foundation of the Mediterranean diet to which above all we Italians are used since childhood, very often the zone diet scares those who approach it.
This is how the Italian Zone was born, which nonetheless follows the directives and principles of the original American one, but also presents typically Mediterranean foods in its nutritional tables, while inserting them in the categories of "privileged, almost privileged and disadvantageous sources". so, anyone who wanted to try the Zone, would not necessarily be forced to give up, for example, the mythical slice of bread and tomato, but he would still be informed and aware of how convenient it is to use these foods with moderation.
I honestly find this Italian version of the Zone Diet much more "accessible" and less drastic to those who have always been used to having breakfast with coffee and a croissant and having lunch with a nice plate of pasta followed by the "scarpetta" with bread.
It is an evolution that I would call "intermediate" given that it lies halfway between the Mediterranean diet and the original Zone diet.
It works? Well, coming from university studies of Motor Sciences in which I too, personally, have been accustomed and "trained" on the imprints of what I call "Mediterranean food style" (60-65% carbohydrates, 20-15% proteins, 20-15 % fat), I must admit that I have been somewhat skeptical about the Zone for many years and only recently have I approached it and become passionate because trying it on me "in the first place 'I have found that it really ... works!
Both in terms of "aesthetics", losing those extra kilos of fat mass and improving the appearance of the skin both in terms of general psychophysical well-being, the constant sense of energy (which is known above all in the increase of loads in the weight room), all "high" and active mood throughout the day and high self-control that it gave me without closing myself in excessive "prohibitive food schemes".
Also important is the integration with omega-3 fatty acids of which I am appreciating the effective effectiveness.
In conclusion, if you have fears or don't want to give up your grandmother's slice of bread or dessert for good, I invite you to try the Zona by approaching it through the Italian version clearly and simply described in the text: "The great book of the Italian Zone" (Gigliola Braga - Sperling & Kupfer Editori).
Enjoy your meal and enjoy your workout!
