When we eat carbohydrates, it stimulates insulin, a hormone that lowers blood sugar.
When we eat protein, it stimulates glucagon, a hormone that raises blood sugar.

Your brain likes its moment to moment blood sugar to be somewhere between 80-120 mgs/dl

The simultaneous action of these two hormones keeps your blood sugar at equilibrium so all the cells of the body can draw upon it. Insulin levels will remain high enough to keep your muscle metabolism going, but not high enough to block the release of stored body fat.

Blood sugar control is only half the story
Balancing your fats is just as important, if not more important than your protein to carbohydrate ratio. It’s not so much the amount of fat you eat; it’s the type of fats you eat. The most important thing regarding your fat intake is the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. Omega-6 fats are found in animal meats, egg yolks and in oils like sunflower, safflower and corn oil.

Omega-3 vs. Omega-6 ratio
Omega-3 fats are found primarily found in fish oil. Both types of fats (omega-3 and Omega-6) work together to regulate our eicosanoid hormones. Eicosanoids are regulatory messengers that every living cell uses to regulate its various functions. Omega-3 fats directly counteract the hormonal effects of the omega-6 fats. This is nature’s way of creating balance in the body. Omega-6 fats aren’t necessarily bad, it’s just that our Americanized diet gives us enough omega-6 and usually limits our omega-3. Most Americans have a 14:1 ratio of omega-6: omega-3 and the optimal ratio is considered more like 4:1 or maybe even 1:1.

Benefits of Balanced Eating:
The 40/30/30 diet is considered the “all purpose” diet becauseit has many benefits associated with it. These benefits have nothing to do with the word “zone” diet, instead they have everything to do with the dietary concepts of the zone diet. The zone diet takes the best nutritional knowledge and wraps it up into one super-diet. Every benefit listed below is also a benefit associated with taking a fish oil supplement. This is why the zone diet goes hand in hand with a fish oil supplementation.

New age authors and professionals who also believe in the 40/30/30 Diet Philosophy:
Dr. Barry Sears, P.H.D, author "Enter the Zone."
Robert Crayhon, P.H.D, author "Nutrition Made Simple"
Mackie Shilstone, Author and athletic trainer for Roy Jones Junior and Michael Spinks.

**Brain/Blood Vessel Image by LifeArt®