What is the South Beach Diet?
Created by cardiologist Arthur Agatston, the South Beach Diet is a three-phased program: a two-week kick start period that severely restricts carbohydrates; a less restrictive program that lasts until a healthy weight is reached; and finally a life-long plan designed to maintain a healthy weight.
High-fiber cereals, apples, multigrain breads are favored over potatoes and refined-grain food such as white bread.
How does the South Beach Diet work?
This diet uses the glycemic index (a ranking measurement of how carbohydrates effect blood glucose levels) to identify recommended carbohydrates. Foods higher in fiber generally have a lower glycemic index. The higher the rank, the more quickly a carbohydrate breaks down during digestion, creating a faster and higher blood-glucose response. Lower ranking carbohydrates digest less quickly creating a slower and lower blood-glucose rise.
Fats are treated with the standard rules of discouraging saturated fats such as those derived from meats and promoting the more healthy olive and canola oils.
The diet does not include counting calories but you will be counting carbohydrate.
What does research say?
The success of low-glycemic index diets has been mixed among researchers. In general short-term studies tend to indicate the diet has significant weight-loss success, while long-term studies tend to show less significance between the results achieved with high and low glycemic diets.