Read an Excerpt
Introduction
Do you want to live a longer and healthier life? I know I do. Unfortunately, I am also genetically programmed for an early heartattack. For the past two generations most of the males in my family have died of heart attacks by their mid-fifties. I have inherited these same poor genes.
I can't change my genes, but perhaps I can change my genetic destiny by altering the expression of certain genes through the foods I eat. This may sound like scientific fantasy, but it turns out that food is the most potent medicine of all. This is because food can indirectly turn certain genes on and off by altering levels of hormones. I have spent nearly 20 years researching how the foods we eat affect our hormones and how these hormones alter our genetic fate. I hope the scientific odyssey I have embarked upon to prolong the length and quality of my own life can help you do the same.
The basis of the Zone Diet comes from my background in the development of intravenous delivery systems for cancer drugs. I learned that if too little of the drug is administered, the patient dies of cancer. If the patient gets too much, he will die from the drug's toxicity. The goal of the cancer treatment is to maintain that drug within a therapeutic zone: not too high, not too low. I realized that the same philosophy was relevant to maintaining food-generated hormones in similar zones, and our success in reaching that goal depends on the balance of protein, carbohydrate, and fat we eat at every meal.
The Soy Zone represents the next chapter of my ongoing scientific journey, which I have chronicled in all the Zone books I have writtenin the last five years. This book will explain how following the Zone Diet using primarily soy protein will move you closer to that elusive goal of a longer and better life. It will also bring you vast benefits right now: You'll have more energy and a sharper mental focus to tackle your daily challenges. You'll also shed excess body fat, and keep it off for life. Without a doubt, the Soy Zone Diet is the most powerful version of my Zone technology that I have developed. What's more, the Soy Zone is ideally suited for vegetarians (even vegans) who want to enter the Zone.
The humble soybean is now being hailed as the next magic bullet that will help save us. In many ways that statement is true, because as we replace more of the animal protein in our diet with soy protein, better health is assured. However, if your goal is living longer and better, that can only be achieved by ensuring that your overall diet is hormonally correct, and that means keeping your hormones within a defined zone: not too high, not too low. In other words, you need to combine all the health benefits of soy with a hormonal balancing system like the Zone. When you do, you enter the Soy Zone—which I believe is the healthiest diet in the world.
Baked Golden Tofu Dumplings with Saucy Dip
Servings: 1 Dinner Entree
Ingredients
Dumplings
8 ounces extra-firm tofu
4 teaspoons natural peanut butter
1 1/2 tablespoons tamari sauce
3 scallions, chopped
1 small green or red pepper, chopped
2 medium stalks celery, chopped
8 medium mushrooms, diced
3 water chestnuts, diced
1 medium sprig parsley, minced
Sauce
3/4 cup apple juice
2 teaspoons maple syrup or brown sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons tamari sauce
1 to 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Optional: 1/2 teaspoon ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 to 2 teaspoons arrowroot powder dissolved in 1 to 2 teaspoons water
4 medium leaves kale, washed and de-stemmed
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