The South Beach Diet

The South Beach Diet, famous for its political connections, i.e. Bill and Hillary Clinton use and advocate it, is relatively new to the diet scene. So what's its platform?

Ever play double Dutch? How about triple Dutch? You know, that’s when you play jump rope, but with more than one rope.

Ok, now let’s take the standard low fat diet, get that rope turning, get the rhythm down, now add in rope number two, a typical low carb diet, you can do it 1, 2, 1, 2.

Now faster, let’s add some fats but only “good fats,” you have it, and faster yet, your doing fine.

Let’s add some carbs, but only the “good carbs” 1, 2, 1, 2. Ok now, keep it going, now you have it.

It’s the every diet! It’s the low fat, low calorie, good fats, low glycemic index, complex carbs, and portion controlled South Beach diet.

Boy, does this diet play it safe!

The low fat diets are criticized because they restrict too many fats and with that, sometimes needed protein, while, at the same time, compensating with too many carbohydrates and often sugars.

The low carbohydrate diets are criticized because they restrict too many carbohydrates, even good fiber rich ones, while allowing “unhealthy” amounts of fats, even saturated fats.

So, Dr. Agaston, director of the Mount Sinai Cardiac Prevention Center in Miami Beach, Florida apparently decided to cover all the bases with his South Beach Diet. Kind of like a diet politician making sure he shakes hands and kisses the babies in every camp.

Some call it the “updated version of the Atkins diet” or the "healthy" version of the Atkins diet, but Dr. Agaston says “The South Beach Diet is not low carb, nor is it low fat."

Right!

So why, in the first two weeks, (phase #1) do you eat a bunch of low carb foods with low fat ingredients?

Yet, in another place, Dr Agatston says, “it is not a ‘strictly’ low-carb diet.” OK, so doesn’t that depend on what the meaning of “is” is?

Agatston says he created the South Beach diet program after becoming disillusioned with the low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet of the American Heart Association and the high fat theories of Dr Atkins. In the end, the South Beach Diet falls somewhere in between. See what I mean, a true diet politician.

In all fairness, as a cardiologist, who can blame him? Frustrated with the years of low fat diets failing to produce the lasting results his clients need, he looks at the low carb alternative and starts to see promising data. Yet, how can he, a heart doctor, really permit all that fat into his patient’s regime?

The answer -- “good fats.” Says Agatston, “I also allowed plenty of healthy monounsaturated fats such as olive and canola oils. These are the good fats. In addition to actually reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke, they taste good and make food palatable. They're filling too.”

He’s also a “moderate” with his stance on carbohydrates. In phase #2 of his diet, he reintroduces “good carbs” (that is complex, high fiber carbs with a low Glycemic Index) back into the diet.

Says Agatston, “Here's where you gradually reintroduce certain healthy carbs into your diet: fruit, sweet potatoes, whole grain bread, whole grain rice, whole wheat pasta. Start with one piece of fruit a day for lunch or dinner, and continue with some cereal or a piece of bread. Weight loss will slow a little.”

By the way, the glycemic index (GI) of a food portrays how rapidly that food raises blood sugar levels. Foods with a GI under 50, do not raise blood sugar as quickly.

So, while you can’t please all of the people all of the time, Agatston's South Beach Diet is certainly trying. He lobbies to the anti-fat camp and the Atkins camp alike, and I’m sure, as long as you know your good fats from your bad fats and your good carbs from your bad carbs, and you can keep all the ropes going, you’ll be healthy and thin on this cautious diet.

One word of warning however: Eat too many of those good carbs and Dr. Agatston sends you back to phase #1… at that point, you may just call for a recount on this Florida contender.

South Beach Diet Recipes