Dr. Barry Sears, inventor of the Zone Diet, believes he has it all considered when it comes to losing weight and just plain feeling good.

Dr. Sears promotes his Zone Diet as the one way to get the body in balance, hormonally, which will then tend to take care of all sorts of other problems, such as inflammation and autoimmune problems and, potentially, other degenerative diseases. In fact, the Zone Diet, done correctly, can have all the effects of that old but great wonder drug, aspirin, but without the possible downsides, such as gastric bleeding. What can be better?

Dr. Sears observed that Americans had drastically cut down on fats over the last few decades, but yet were growing increasingly fatter. He attributed this to an improper balance of insulin in the body. By eating more carbohydrates, including the so-called "good" carbohydrates, the body ended up storing more fat, paradoxically. Dr. Sears believed there had to be a better way of regulating the body's metabolism.

Dr. Sears liked the excess amount of carbohydrates being ingested by people to that of corn-fed cattle and livestock. Instead of normal grass grazing, cattle for a good balance of its later life, was flattened by grain. The fattened cattle were big but were not necessarily healthy.

The Zone in the Zone Diet refers to the perfect balance of hormones in the human body, so that insulin levels are just correct and keep the body in its best possible condition to resist disease and fulfill energy requirements.

So how does the Zone compare to other diets? How has it stood up over time?

The Zone diet is known as a low er carb diet. It is not another incarnation of the Adkins Diet, which Sears believes is deficient in the proper amount of carbohydrates, thus not providing proper hormonal balance in the long run.

For Sears, fat is essential, too. Fat burns fat, according to Sears. Fat --Monounsaturated fats-- are necessary to for a feeling of fullness, which is needed to keep excess carbohydrates from entering the bloodstream, which means less fat storage.

Sears describes the Zone Diet this way. A person should eat enough protein equal to the size of the palm of their hand, eat enough raw but non-starchy vegetables for an adequate vitamin level, and enough carbohydrates to keep the glucose level high enough to the brain. He also advises that you eat enough monounsaturated oils to keep the hunger pangs at bay.

The Zone Diet has been informally studied by various organizations and has found to produce weight loss and also optimum energy and mental clarity.

There has been criticism of the Zone Diet by the American Heart Association, mainly because of the feeling by the association that too much saturated fat is consumed through animal proteins.

Dr. Sears, however, has denied that the Zone Diet is a high protein diet; he states that more calories are produced from carbohydrates.

The Zone Diet has stood the test of time, and many people have lost weight by applying its principles.