For those that are interested, there is a radio program called "The People's Pharmacy" on public radio. Recently, they did a show on several subjects, one of which was on diet and that fat is not the enemy. My husband heard it and was describing to me what they were talking about, and it sounded "zonelike" to me. However, I never listened to the radio program. I was waiting to see if the podcast would be available. I just checked, and it is now listed as available.

I haven't had the chance to listen to it, as I have a long day at work planned! But, if you are interested, I will give the link to the page where you can download the podcast. Then, maybe we can have a discussion on it.

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/arch...update.php

Have a great weekend!

Just some additional information that I have found...

I read on the Dr. Sears newsletter about an article published in the NEJM July 17, comparing 3 diets: lowfat, lowcarb, and mediterranean. Coincidently, I believe that this is the article that the podcast is based on. Still haven't listened to the podcast, but I did download the NEJM article (sorry, didn't save the link, but if you want it, I can retrieve it for you).

I listened to the diet comparison study portion of this podcast during lunch today. Dr. Sears' comments on the study in the short article in the August 2008 Zone Science Newsletter are more enlightening in regard to that study than the info presented about it in this podcast. Having already read Dr. Sears take on the study, I was disappointed that the low carb diet was being spoken of as "Atkins-like", which most people equate with high protein/low carb, when it really wasn't "Atkins-like" and in fact contained even less protein that the Zone diet! I also wondered why the guest speaker said half of the population would do well on a low carb diet (what about the other half?). There were a couple other things mentioned that I could go on about, such as the guest speaker lumping"low carb diet" together with "high in saturated fat". IMHO, the podcast of the show containes general info about the study, and the podcast itself is not really worthy of much discussion.

Here are Dr. Sears' comments on the study:



"Will someone please read the data
There was an article published in the July 17, 2008, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that supposedly compared three diets: A low-fat diet, a Mediterranean diet, and a low-carbohydrate diet for long-term weight loss. The media touted the low-carbohydrate diet as an “Atkins-like” diet. As usual, no media person ever took the time to actually analyze the article. The “Atkins-like” diet was actually more like the Zone Diet with too little protein (21 percent vs. 30 percent in the Zone Diet) and too much fat (39 percent vs. 30 percent in the Zone Diet). The carbohydrate content of the “Atkins-like” diet was identical to the Zone Diet (40 percent carbohydrates). In fact, the low-fat diet had the same amount of fat as the Zone Diet (30 percent of calories).

The Mediterranean diet used can be considered a pale imitation of the Zone Diet because it was rich in olive oil), but too high in carbohydrate and too low in protein. After two years of following these diets, the authors found that the “Atkins-like” diet was better for increasing HDL cholesterol, reducing the total cholesterol to HDL ratio, increasing adiponectin, and reducing C-reactive protein, whereas Mediterranean diet was best for reducing LDL cholesterol and improving glycemic control in diabetics.

It would have been simpler just to state that people should follow the Zone Diet to get the benefits of optimal health as well as long-term weight loss. "

The address for the above article:

http://www.drsears.com/tabid/399/it...-data.aspx

Sue,
Have you read the actual study?

I read Dr. Sears' article REGARDING the study, and frankly I have more questions regarding his comments.

I briefly read through the abstract of the ACTUAL study that was published (will have to find time to read the entire document later). I approached it as objectively as I can, and I don't really see why Sears has such a problem with the study. If anything, the study seems to support much of what Sears has been saying all along. However, perhaps my opinion will change as soon as I get into the details of the study.

I haven't listened to the podcast yet. I don't know about what you heard, but from what my hubby told me, he was telling me things that AGAIN supported much of what Sears has been saying. I think he did mention something about saturated fat, and I can't comment on that until I hear the podcast myself.

OHHH, sounds like a good topic. I saw Sears comments, then found the article. Then, saw this thread, so now I will go listen!

I am with Cranberrycat on this one. Reading the article, I really don't "get" what Sears was so upset about! I thought it sounded "pro" zone to me. Perhaps they didn't mention the Zone specifically, but why would they when they weren't specifically STUDYING the Zone?

Sue, after reading your comments below, I also have to wonder if you actually did read the "study" or the abstract of the study?

Getting back to this topic, I still haven't listened to the podcast. I tried, but it wouldn't play for me (sometimes this darned computer really drives me up a wall!).

In any case, there were some comments posted about the speaker in the podcast, the one that talked about saturated fat. The comments were directed at the fact that the speaker was talking about saturated fat, which is primarily an animal fat, but the study actually emphasized using other more healthy fats.

So, I am getting the feeling that the speaker was making his own assumptions based on his own interpretation of the study results.

However, I was wondering if anyone had a chance to find and read the actual study?

I read it. It was very interesting.

I am really confused by Dr. Sears comments on it, though. I mean, the study was basically in favor or a diet such as the Zone. Just because they didn't happen to mention the Zone, doesn't mean anything. It is the type of diet that is important, not the actual name of the diet used. More importantly, it was found that the lowfat/high-carb diet was actually the worst of the 3 diets studied, with regard to the markers that they used to measure the effectiveness of the diet.

Exactly, cranberrycat! I did get a chance to read the article, and I can't see what Dr. Sears is so upset about, either!

First of all, the New England Journal of Medicine is a highly reputable medical journal. For those doctors who have been recommending lowfat diets for years, this study is a real eye-opener! Either way, no matter whether the Zone was mentioned, I think it is more about how it disproved the effectiveness of the lowfat diet. I think that this is a huge milestone!

Hi, Elias!

Good point there!

If anyone is familiar with the New England Journal of Medicine, it is a "highly read" journal in the medical community. This article is bound to get someone's attention.

Rather than being upset that they didn't mention the Zone Diet in the article, I think that Sears should be proud that there is a newer study out there that is suggestive of the fact that these types of diets work, whether you call it Mediterannean, Modified Atkins, or the Zone. I figure that the Zone is really somewhere in between the 2 diets.