Er, about the steel-cut oats. You may be tempted to eat it everyday, but, it will create an AA overspill or whatever it's called ... which basically increases inflammation. You only need a small amount at the most per week ... I don't know that much about it myself, I limit myself to two tablespoons a week personally LOL. But others may be able to explain in greater detail if you want ... or you might already know!! :-) :-)

Er, I think it's the GLA overspill I'm thinking about here? LOL

You can get too much GLA which reverses Zone progress ...

Sarah

Good point Sarah... You are correct it is GLA spillover or ("overspill" if you like). GLA = Gamma-linolenic acid.

I am researching.. How much steel oats would you need to eat to spillover...

LOL! overspill is probably the right word!

I do recall Dr. Sears saying "a bowl of oatmeal per week," but, it feels like, for me anyway, it's so easy to get the GLA spillover effect that I need to stick to very small amounts ...

I think the bowl applies to most people ... but highly carb-sensitive people? I wonder if we are more sensitive to the GLA spillover effect?

Sarah

I am not sure how to tell when enough is enough.
However, I eat (like nuts) raw, 1 serving (1-1/2 TBL), about twice per week.

Tolerance if GLA differs among individuals. While some people will be able to handle a 3 block bowl of steel cut oats daily, others won't even tolerate even a couple bowls a week. The signs of too many bad eicosanoids are the signs of spillover, symproma like constipation and letharargy. See the Eicosanoid Status Report for more info. Dr. Sears usually recommends a couple bowls a week. For the more carbohydrate sensitive person he's recommended no more than 1 block of steel cut oats at a time. Despite their GLA benefit, oats are on the the higher density side for a Zone favorable food. Spillover can creep up on you over time. You can be thriving in the Zone with the amount of GLA you're ingesting at first, and then a few months later be at a bad place with it without realizing things had been gradually going downhill. It's happened to me.

I suspect that grains, including oats, may be causing my increase in sinus and chest mucus since I started the Zone Diet so I'm experimenting with not eating oatmeal for a couple of weeks. Does Dr. Sears recommend anything else as a source of GLA?

Sue, I was reading the posts and saw you were talking about bad eicosanoids and signs of spillover, symptoms like constipation....
I got to thinking, I have always had a problem with constipation and doctors have just told me to take miralax up to 3 times daily. Was doing this and then I will stop if not having symptoms and then use again when I notice I am not going again. When I started the zone in april I had quit taking miralax and used fruit and veggies when I felt good and not bloated. Then I started adding more veggies and less fruit to feel full longer. I did have to start taking miralax again two days ago and don't feel so bloated as I did when I started my post at end of june. So I guess my question is maybe I have too many bad eicosanoids and its not the veggies making me bloated. Where can I find more info on eicosanoids?

Hi Stephanie, yes, I agree, which is precisely the reasoning behind my suggestion to begin over and closely follow Zone principles. Lowering your current fruit intake (replacing much of it with vegetables) will reduce the amount of insulin you produce. By avoiding omega 6 fat and lowering insulin. the better your eicosanoid balance will be and the less inflammation you'll have. As I wrote the other day, starting at the equal balance again, with less fruit and more vegetables, basically the classic Zone meal, will give you a solid baseline from which to adjust, if necessary. Zone books are the best place to find out more about eicosanoids. Dr. Sears' most recent book "Toxic Fat" gives the whole picture in a way that none of the earlier books have and it also explains how the Zone Diet can change the expression of your genes (turn off the bad genes and turn on the good ones).

Stephanie, I hope it all works out for you. It could be the eicosanoid balance, as well. One way to approach this (especially with advice coming from all angles) is to work on ONE thing at a time. It doesn't matter to me which thing you focus on first, as long as you are able to track the cause and effect from all that you have changed. Otherwise, you will not really know what worked and what didn't, and things basically get more confusing. Continue to keep a good food journal!

When I think of eicosanoid balance, I think of fat, and I think about improving my fat choices. So, using good lean sources of protein and avoiding fats that contain higher levels of omega-6 is a good first step.

Improving insulin control will come along with time. You are already improving your insulin control by choosing to follow the Zone Diet, and so by reducing your carb intake to be more moderate, avoiding the grains and starches, etc. is already a good start. You can improve your insulin levels even further by improving your carb choices, but since there was a question of how you were tolerating those veggies when you first started to increase them, I still feel that you should increase them more slowly, to tolerance.

Just out of curiosity (and you don't have to answer if this is too personal), do you have any issues with inflammatory bowel disease? I was just wondering because of what you said about your previous problems with constipation and what your doctors have recommended. This could also explain the problem with the huge amounts of vegetables.

Good luck!

Thanks Sue, I am keeping a food journal and will check that book as well. Cranberrycat, I agree already felt confused on what to do so going back to balanced meals and decreasing fruit just a bit and eating more different types of veggies instead of just one or two large quantities. Also trying to keep fruit to berries mostly. Not sure about inflammatory bowel disease. Originally when bloated and other symptoms they thought I had ovarian cancer. They ruled that out and then the next to doctors said I was just backed up and to deal with constipation and bloating to take miralax. Even if it meant taking everyday and nothing to worry about unless symptoms get more severe. I am now interested in this and will have to discuss this with my doctor. Thanks again for everyones help.

You're welcome! Wow, I bet you are relieved that you don't have ovarian cancer!

I mentioned inflammatory bowel disease because I have a good friend who suffers from it, she often has problems with constipation, and has a hard time with the tolerance of veggies.

Keep us updated...