Anti-Aging Zone

Rating:
Summary: The Zone Diet works for me.
Review: After having read "Growing Yound with HGH" (prior to Dr. Sears, "Anti-Aging Zone) I must admit.....many of the same philosophies of anit-aging translated better with Dr. Klatz's book . Maybe it's me, but I felt I needed to go the library and read the book in the reference section for back-up. Dont get me wrong...it has a great deal of good information for turning back the biological clock...you just may have to re-read a couple of chapters....after having done a little research on terminology, biology, and human nutrition. That's my opinion...and I'm sticking to it.

Rating:
Summary: Aging as a chemical engineering problem.
Review: As a zoner for nearly 2 years, I can personally attest to Dr. Sears scientific evaluation of America's high carbohydrate - low fat diets, and the current government dietary pyramid scheme. His latest book describes the hormone system and how sustained high insulin levels accelerate aging. This book explains in great detail how Dr. Sears, through the empirical results of his own studies and research of others, formulated the "Zone Diet". This book should give those who believe in the current wisdom of high carbohydrate - low fat diets pause. The book is not an easy read, but given the complexity of his subject I don't see how it could be more simply written. Just do like I did; read it twice.

Rating:
Summary: Aging as a chemical engineering problem.
Review: As a zoner for nearly 2 years, I can personally attest to Dr. Sears scientific evaluation of America's high carbohydrate - low fat diets, and the current government dietary pyramid scheme. His latest book describes the hormone system and how sustained high insulin levels accelerate aging. This book explains in great detail how Dr. Sears, through the empirical results of his own studies and research of others, formulated the "Zone Diet". This book should give those who believe in the current wisdom of high carbohydrate - low fat diets pause. The book is not an easy read, but given the complexity of his subject I don't see how it could be more simply written. Just do like I did; read it twice.

Rating:
Summary: Good information, terribly badly presented
Review: I don't quite agree with the January 30 1999 review that this is the book Dr Sears should have written in the first place - I'd consider it a rough draft for that book; Dr Sears needs a competent editor!

This is the hardcover edition of the book that has been republished in paperback under the title of "The Age-free Zone". I think it is better to read "Enter the Zone" instead of or before reading this one. I have reservations about recommending this book because there are some obvious mis-statements that should have been caught by an editor, a great deal of boring repetition, and some very stretched analogies (e.g. pages 32 and 50). The persistent reader might reach a point where they are rewarded by more details of biochemical mechanisms than are given in the earlier book. The tables of food amounts are different from those in the other books and appear to be intermediate between the earlier version of "Enter the Zone" and the later amounts of "The top 100 zone foods".

Rating:
Summary: Technical, but worth the effort
Review: I read Mastering The Zone and have been in the zone for about two months. The Anti-Aging Zone is more technical but provides more information on vitamins and ways to verify that you are in the zone. I was especially interested in the Harvard Medical study on heart attacks and the relationship of the Triglyceride/HDL cholesterol ratio. A ratio over 4 is bad news. Before starting the zone diet, my ratio was 7.6. Now, just over two months later, its below three. The goal is to have a ratio below 2. Overall, the book re-enforces the benefits of the zone diet. But if a person is just starting this diet, then I suggest Mastering The Zone or Zone Perfect Meals in Minutes as better "How To" books.

Rating:
Summary: Difficult, but essential reading
Review: If you're just starting out on the Zone, this book 's definitely not the one to start out with (get Mastering the Zone.) In fact, one should also read the original Zone book as well before embarking on The Anti-Aging Zone.

But, for those who are well-versed with Zone's eicasanoid theory, this book is a definite must for all ages.

Anti-Aging Zone is essentially an introduction to endicrinology that specifically elucidates the roles of insulin, cortisol, growth hormone, testoserone and other hormones, how each affects the aging process, and how each is affected by your diet. Moreover, it discusses how the new drugs (DHEA, Viagra among others) affects you on a hormonal level. Needless to say, there's ALOT of science here, but Sears manages to organize it in such a way that the reader can absorb the gist of the whole book without necesarrily understanding everything the first time. Of course, rereading each section will help greatly, but it's not an obstacle to making the book useful.

Athletes, especially bodybuilders, will benefit from this book too, since the 4 above mentioned hormones are critical to building muscle. All in all, the Anti-Aging Zone, provides the solid science that alot of faithful Zoners have been waiting for years.

Rating:
Summary: Live Well or Die Gruesomely--your choice
Review: Techically, not a "Diet" by a system to moderate your "autocrine" hormones. It made the difference between my wife having moderate asthma to no asthma (ongoing 14 months). But it's more than that. If you would like to choose to maximize the likelihood of not getting the major civilization diseases, i.e., heart attack, stroke and cancer--read this book. If you want your brain to last as long as your body--read this book. Your choice: live well or die gruesomely.

Rating:
Summary: Good information, terribly badly presented
Review: This is Barry Sears' most technical book so far about the biological principles behind his Zone diet.

He describes biological markers of aging and mechanisms of aging. He also gives a short course in hormones, which are strongly involved in aging.

Sears explains his anti-aging pyramid, which consists of meditation, moderate exercise and his Zone diet. Unlike the US Department of Agriculture food pyramid, which put bread, grains and starches at the bottom, to be eaten in big amounts, Sears' pyramid puts these at the top, to be eaten very sparingly, to reduce insulin secretion.

Insulin is so important to his Zone diet that he devotes an entire chapter to its effects on the body. He also devotes a chapter to cortisol, a hormone important in stress reactions. Plus, he has a chapter about eicosanoids, which are hormones that are very important in coordinating important body functions.

Insulin strongly affects the output and mix of eicosanoids. Since maintaining the correct amount of insulin in one's body is fundamental to his Zone diet, Sears gives a list of 14 different signs that one has the right amount and kind of eicosanoids active in one's body.

These signs consist of such varied things as hair strength and texture, appetite for carbohydrates, length of time of appetite suppression between meals, sleeping time and grogginess on awakening.

If all of these 14 different signs have the right status, it's an indication that one has had the right amount of insulin in one's body recently.

Sears ranges widely enough to get into trouble. For example, he recommends Coleus forskohli as an anti-cancer agent. Actually, it's catnip for some kinds of cancer.