The Zero Diet winning recipe…

We are all so excited over our cure for Syndrome Zero. All of my employees are behind this effort.

And of course, we practice what we preach so we’re following the Zero Diet.

It’s already having a dramatic effect on everybody’s health and we’re feeling better. We’re all doing it together as a team.

Many of my employees have been doing this on their own at home. They’ve come up with some great recipes so we decided to have a cook-off.

I asked every member of my staff to prepare a dish based on my Zero Diet plan and bring it into the office. We had a big lunch in the conference room and got to try each dish.

To sweeten the pot a little more, I decided to turn it into a contest. We all voted for our favorite dish. The top three winners each received a gift certificate for dinner at my favorite restaurants here in Palm Beach, Florida.

But I think we were all winners. Not only did we have a great time eating a healthy lunch, the cookbook is going to be even better than I imagined. I’ll share the winning recipe with you in a moment.

But first let me tell you why you should follow a Zero Diet…

My Zero Diet is high in fat with moderate amounts of protein. It contains zero to near-zero levels of carbohydrates. When you eat this way, carbs don’t trigger insulin. And since your body doesn’t have carbs to burn for fuel, you burn fat instead. This is known as ketosis.

Every person was born in a state of ketosis. In fact, it’s the way we all lived until the introduction of agriculture.

Studies confirm the benefit of a near zero-carb diet. In one study of overweight women, a diet with less than 10% of calories from carbs improved insulin sensitivity. And a low-fat, high-carb diet made insulin sensitivity worse.

Following a Zero Diet is simple. Here’s what I recommend to my patients:

• Go super-low carb. Did you know your daily requirement of carbs is zero? You don’t need carbs at all. You can easily make carbs from fat or protein. Carbohydrates should make up no more than 5% or 10% of your total calories.
• Choose the right fats. Avoid trans fats and so-called vegetable oils like corn, sunflower, safflower, soy and canola. Instead, choose olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, butter, ghee and heavy cream. I also recommend MCT (medium chain triglycerides) oil for a keto diet. Your liver converts it directly to ketone bodies.
• Eat plenty of protein. Beef, organ meats, fish, poultry and eggs are your best sources of protein. If possible, eat grass-fed beef and wild-caught fish. Choose eggs from pastured chicken. Nuts like almonds, peanuts and walnuts also have plenty of protein.
• Focus on the glycemic index (GI). The GI measures how quickly food breaks down into sugar in your bloodstream. High glycemic foods turn into blood sugar very quickly.

We followed these simple rules for our office cook off. The recipes were easy to make, provided plenty of choices and most important — they were delicious!

The Winning Recipe

Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf

• 1 pound grass-fed ground beef
• 1 pound pastured pork
• 2 pastured eggs, beaten
• 1 cup crushed pork rinds
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 pound bacon
• 2 tbsp mustard
• 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Heat olive oil over medium high heat in small skillet. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, eggs, pork rinds, mustard, whipping cream, salt and pepper. Add in garlic and mix until all ingredients are combined.
4. Pat into a loaf shape. Wrap slices of bacon around the loaf.
5. Bake for 40 minutes or until internal temperature reads 160 degrees.
6. Let sit 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD, CNS