What Does Dr. Sears Say About Vegetarian Zone Diet?

Dr. Barry Sears claims that there is no reason to give up a vegetarian lifestyle to follow the zone diet. On the contrary, the diet can be improved by having a 40-30-30 daily ratio of carbohydrates, vegetal protein and mono unsaturated fat. To encourage vegetarians to go on The Zone Diet , Dr. Sears published “The Soy Zone”, a book dedicated to establishing soy products as the primary protein source for vegetarian zoners.

The theory of Dr. Sears claims that vegetarians primarily eat carbohydrates. Not only do they have an unbalanced diet but they also gain fat, in spite of low protein intake and no animal-fat consumption. This is due to a high insulin level that provokes fat storage, claims the creator of the zone diet.

The answer to fat storage through high-carb diets is to partially replace them with vegetal protein sources. But in the zone diet, some vegetal protein sources count as carbs (e.g. green beans), others count as fats (cheese, nuts, nut butters). This means that vegetarians have to consider beans both as carbohydrate and protein sources. They must therefore pay attention when counting the food blocks.

What Do Other Experts Think?

Rachel Albert-Matesz, B.A., a nutrition educator and cooking instructor with 12 years of experience, and Don Matesz, a nutritionist certified by the American Academy of Nutrition, debated the Zone vegetarian option. They drew attention to the issue that a vegetarian zone diet would grow deficient in vitamins A, D, E, B3, B6, and B12, and important minerals (iron, zinc, chromium, and selenium). The vegan zoners would also face severe calcium deficiency. For these two groups they strongly recommended diet supplements.

What Do Vegetarians Think?

Dr. Sears' theory about Zone Diet for vegetarians has been analyzed by The Vegetarian Times, both from a zoners' point of view and that of a regular vegetarian.

Those on regular vegetarian diets claim that the problem for vegetarians is not high-carbohydrate meals, but simply too much food, and bad dietary habits. Vegetarians, too, eat too much and unhealthily, just as non-vegetarians. While carbohydrates will not make you fat, but too many carbs will. Ultra-processed, high-cholesterol and high-glycemic foods are in fact the cause of an increased risk of diabetes and blood vessel diseases, and not insulin level or carbohydrate consumption.

On the other hand, vegetarians on the zone diet adhere to Dr. Sears' theory.

The most recommended vegetarian protein sources are:

• tofu
• meat-substitute vegetable protein
• nuts
• nut-butters
• eggs
• cheese
• soybean protein powder
• soy based products
• other meat substitutes such as seitan or tempah

Supply of Vegetarian Zone Food

In The Zone Delivery Inc. provides rich menus both for lacto-ovo and plain vegetarians.