The Anti-Inflammation Zone: Reversing the Silent Epidemic That's Destroying Our Health (The Zone)

Popularizers of medical trends must often simplify concepts in order to make a strong impact. Nuanced dithering ("in some people" and "in some cases") is seldom tolerated by the marketers or, frankly, most readers.So, I understand the broad sweeps in this book. And I appreciate the general message: the importance of reducing inflammation by diet and exercise. Inflammation is indeed a national epidemic, one that could decimate the U.S. and even the rest of the world if we keep exporting our diet.What I object to, though, is playing loose with the facts to make the case.Because I write and speak on the topic of ADHD, I am often asked about the use of fish oil in the treatment of ADHD. I keep up with the research and so I happen to know about this subject. That's why I'm very disappointed with Sears and am now more likely to take everything else he says with a grain of salt.For example, in the two pages he devotes to Attention Deficit Disorder, he makes several factual errors and betrays his unfamiliarity with the scientific research:1. He says there are six sub-types of ADHD.Not true. There are three official sub-types. Sears later refers to Dan Amen, MD, who has written about what he sees as the six sub-types but these are neither documented nor in any way considered official sub-types. (Personally, I still find Dr. Amen's six categorizations useful as they make clear that ADHD does have varying manifestations as well as commonly co-existing conditions.)2. He says, "One factor common to all ADD patients is a deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine."No. Rather than having a "dopamine deficiency," it's more typically that the dopamine molecules are being "recycled" too fast by the dopamine-reuptake mechanism. Medications such as Ritalin do NOT, as Sears states, increase dopamine production. Rather, Ritalin and other methylphenidate class stimulants slow the re-uptake mechanism, allowing the dopamine molecule to do its job at the synaptic level.(The AMP class stimulants work a little differently, but Sears doesn't mention those.)3. He says, "Many of my insights into ADD have come from my associations with two colleagues, Ned Hallowell, one of the most respected leaders in the treatment of ADD, and Dan Amen, who did pioneering work with brain scans to identify different types of ADD."Ned Hallowell, MD, has done a great job of popularizing the concept of ADHD with his books and TV appearances, but his talents are widely considered to lie more in that area than in treatment leadership. That is the domain of MDs and PhDs actually performing scientific research.Dan Amen has done a great deal to create public awareness that the brain is, in fact, an organ, and we better pay attention to its health. His research is very interesting but it is not published research.So, it is disturbing that this is the extent of Sears' professional associations in the field of ADHD.4. He states that, "ADHD symptom severity is directly linked to the level of silent inflammation in the blood (as detected by the SIP). Children with ADHD have a much higher SIP."That's the first I've heard of this. Maybe it's true, but there is no footnote reference number.5. In fact, the book has no direct references at all. Yes, there are 50 pages of references but no direct links. I cannot recall ever seeing a book that uses this kind of "elephant shot" referencing. It's as though Sears just compiled a list of every study that touches upon the chapter's topic and did a data dump. That seems very sloppy and, actually, rather deceptive. A list of references does not prove his points.6. The research to date on ADHD and fish oil has not shown it to be an effective treatment. One recent study indicated that fish oil might be helpful in some co-existing conditions. And one recent meta-study showed a minor mitigation of symptoms. But that is hardly considered ADHD treatment.Indeed, we all need fish oil for healthy brain function. And people with ADHD might find benefit from supplementation and/or healthier diets, just as all of us might experience improved brain function. But fish oil as treatment for ADHD? We have no evidence of that, so I do wonder how much Sears is stretching the case in other realms.UPDATE: I started to doubt my assessment of this book and Sears himself, so I sought other articles or criticism of Sears for validation. By about the fifth page of a Google search of "Barry Sears" + critic, I found this article. (If the link doesn't come through, perform a Google search for Barry Sears + Jessica Seigel) [...] This article definitely confirms my suspicions about Sears. Also, many reviewers of his earlier books take issue with his "science."

Remember the late 1990s when "Balance Bars" first came out? That was Dr. Barry Sears and his Zone Diet which completely reframed the world regarding carbohydrates.Nobody listened to Dr. Atkins before Sears came out with his book. Nobody had heard about Arachidontic Acid (AA) before that either. Unless you know about AA, then you know zilch about inflammation or dietary causes of chronic disease. Bet your doctor knows NOTHING about this. Keep reading.Fast forward to 2007. Now every 7-11 has a whole shelf of balance bars of all types including Dr. Sears new brand Zone Bars. (He's no longer part of Balance bars.)After the success of the Zone Diet, Dr. Sears kept busy working on new fronts and he landed a very big fish (or should I say fish oil) in the area of health.Medical compasses around the world were starting to point towards silent inflammation as the major culprit behind chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis, obesity, altzheimers, ADHD, and more.Half of what medicine does is deal with inflammation if you think about it. Put ice on it. Take two aspirin. Gobble ibuprophin. Steroids you say? Doctors deal with inflammation to make us feel better.So what?Well, there's something called silent inflammation too. That type of inflammation of your arteries, brain, internal organs, joints etc. is a time bomb ready to go off and shorten your life.Sears understands this and others follow. Researchers chased him and verified his lower carbohydrate balanced diet is more healthy for you than the mighty FDA food pyramid.They're chasing him again proving that high dose (Eskimo dose) fish oil knocks out silent inflammation and crosses tbe blood brain barrier better than other anti-inflammatories. And... it's just food oil. Safe? Not unless you get pharmaceutical grade. Sears sells it... surprise.You can get it from other sources if you are smart. Why shouldn't Sears profit though? All the copycats profit off of him.Anyway, this book will start you on the path to understanding that all those aspirin you've taken over your life and ice packs put on sore ankles had a deeper message for you. GET RID OF INFLAMMATION.Read this book, get smart and do what Dr. Sears tells you to do. Get all of his books. Omega RX, Zone Diet, Toxic Fat. These will give you a much improved quality of life well into the sunset years.

Easy to follow, feeling much clearer-headed after only a couple of weeks. Weight loss slower than promised though. I do have a little more energy.

I found this book to be very informative and learnt a lot from it to help with my condition.

This is an excellent book, which gives very detailed information about the effect of various food items and oils on our health. This book gives very detailed information about the neutrients in most of the foods we use. One can benefit from reading the book. I like the book very much . The price of book is reasonable.

An interesting book but a bit simplistic and out of date. The key message is good but I think the methodology has moved on since this book was first written.

Did not receive this product as yet. Order it since January 6 and still didn't receive anything. I can not track it either because their no tracking information. So what is going, and when i will receive my order.Very poor