Hi, As Dr. Sears explains in his books the French paradox by stating that the fact that the French eat a lot of fat but are yet nog fat themselves is caused by the fact that their carb portions tend to be low, their protein portions tend to be adequate and their fat sources of the good mono-unsaturated source. However Asians also tend to be not overweighted and less risks of getting heart diseases, diabetes and breastcancer. This can partly be explained by the fact that Asians tend to eat a lot of fish, but they also tend to eat more calories (in the form of mostly carbs) than the average American. Can this also be explained using "The Zone" theory? I'm looking forward to any responses. Regards, Denise

I know plenty of Asians who are overweight. I'm not sure that Asians (or any culture for that matter) eat more calories than the average american. I think many asians subsist on a meagre diet low in calories. I could be wrong of course. There is a theory about the type of fat cells you're born with. Apparently there are fat burning fat cells and fat storing fat cells. Some people could be born with more fat burning fat cells. So they are genetically predisposed to be less efficient at storing body fat. It is only a theory though. Kindest regards, Andrew Cavanagh

I have a good friend who has been living in China for about a year, and from what she tells me of the Chinese diet, I think I understand the Asian paradox somewhat. The Chinese diet consists mainly of protein in the form of fish, chicken, or pork, vegetables, and rice. However, the meal is not eaten all together. The protein is served with the vegetable first. Rice is only served after the meal, basically to finish the job if you are not feeling satisfied. So it is eaten in smaller amounts than most people think. It is also true that the Chinese diet is very high in fat, but this comes mostly in the form of vegetable and peanut oils, not animal fat, since they eat pretty lean proteins. There is very limited consumption of sweets and other processed carbs, and almost no dairy products. Also, many Chinese people are very, very poor and have limited sources of food. Many people are unable to afford cars, so walking and bicycling are prevalent modes of transportation for much of the population. So I think this helps to explain (along with some biological reasons, I'm sure) why Asian people are known for being so lean.

[quote:7405a13ebf="merryberryq"]I have a good friend who has been living in China for about a year, and from what she tells me of the Chinese diet, I think I understand the Asian paradox somewhat. The Chinese diet consists mainly of protein in the form of fish, chicken, or pork, vegetables, and rice. However, the meal is not eaten all together. The protein is served with the vegetable first. Rice is only served after the meal, basically to finish the job if you are not feeling satisfied. So it is eaten in smaller amounts than most people think. It is also true that the Chinese diet is very high in fat, but this comes mostly in the form of vegetable and peanut oils, not animal fat, since they eat pretty lean proteins. There is very limited consumption of sweets and other processed carbs, and almost no dairy products. Also, many Chinese people are very, very poor and have limited sources of food. Many people are unable to afford cars, so walking and bicycling are prevalent modes of transportation for much of the population. So I think this helps to explain (along with some biological reasons, I'm sure) why Asian people are known for being so lean.[/quote:7405a13ebf] The bicycling thing is the main concept. Asians in China are generally thin but in America we Asians are sadly...FAT! Why? Our Typical meal is based on tons of rice, fatty beef and so on mixed together. Since if your in America you tend to ahve more money then those in China so you have an opprotunity to buy extra amount of food. Plus we Asians in America are adapted to driving in cars instead of bicycling. In China meals are pretty much the same except it smaller portions. If you go to a buffet though it's different. In the old days in China people were limited to teh amount of food they could buy. You would pretty much eat nothing but rice and vegetables and if you were lucky you can get scraps of meat. It's sorta like the concept of food combining except that all you eat is carbs all day.