X-Message-Number: 13270
From: "George Smith" <>
References: <>
Subject: Re: Anecdotal comment on Sear's dietary approach
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 10:11:48 -0800

Professor Ettinger called for additional feedback on Barry Sears'
"anti-aging" claims which are based predominantly as I understand it upon
his "Zone" diet.

I can state that I personally know of at least two human patients (I am not
one) who have pursued the dietary principles Sears advocates and found
measurable results.  One patient was borderline diabetic as determined by a
complete blood workup including a four hour Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT).
The other patient also had serious problems with blood sugar spiking as
confirmed by the GTT and other clinical testing.  In less than 90 days since
the dietary change over, these problems have ceased to present themselves in
ongoing testing and completely normal sugar handling has reasserted itself
in both cases.

The physician who oversees this approach is accustomed to seeing this kind
of response for many years, as he explained in a private interview with me.
He considers Sears' specific diet far too complicated for most of his
patients to follow and, instead, recommends the same general approach but
with the generous use of personal on site at home blood testing with a
glucometer following the ingestion of questionable foods.

For example, one of his patients I know personally cannot eat any apples
(and most fruit) without having a wild blood sugar response within minutes,
but she can consume (authentic) maple syrup (!) without any such abnormal
response.  There would seem to be a critical need for cusomizing the diet
based upon the specific responses of the patient.  Everyone has a slightly
different metabolism, it would seem.

I recognize that this is anecdotal evidence in nature, however the treatment
is based on conclusions drawn from numerous studies both in the Americas and
especially Europe.  All I know is that I have personally seen dramatic
results in two cases I know and have no reason to doubt the truthfulness of
the treating physician's resport to me regarding his overall clinical
experience with the majority of his patients.

George Smith

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