Best Low Carb Diet

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Author:
Ian Mason

What is the South Beach Diet and what are its benefits and its drawbacks? The South Beach Diet is the creation of cardiologist Arthur Agatston, MD, director of the Mount Sinai Cardiac Prevention Center in Miami Beach, Fla. And like the Atkins Diet, Dr. Agatston’s South Beach Diet also limits the intake of carbohydrates as well as including a severely restrictive two week induction phase that is followed by a long term diet. So this means that potatoes, fruit, bread, cereal, rice, pasta, beets, carrots, and corn are no longer allowed, especially during the induction phase. So, with the aforementioned similarities, you may be wondering where Atkins and South Beach actually differ.

First of all, while Atkins promotes the obscene consumption of saturated animal fats, South Beach bans all unhealthy fats while, on the other hand, promoting the consumption of healthier unsaturated fats. The other difference can be found in their opposing views of carbohydrates. The South Beach diet doesn’t count grams of carbohydrates and low-sugar carbs are actually recommended. Therefore, South Beach is unable to be pegged as simply as “low-carb” unlike the Atkins diet, and it’s stance on fats disqualifies it from being labeled a “low-fat” diet as well. One of the more beneficial points that the South Beach Diet makes is for people to snack throughout the day so that hunger pangs are offset and their metabolism remains elevated. Actual meal portions will be just large enough to satisfy one’s hunger but no larger. Another point that many diets such as South Beach are stressing is insulin control by eating less refined carbs and more complex, fiber-rich carbs that will keep your energy levels high and your risk for diabetes low.

But what about this harsh induction phase? As mentioned above, one must begin the South Beach Diet with what they call an induction phase that lasts for 14 days. During these 14 days, one’s choices for food are limited greatly. Foods to avoid include bread, cereal, fruit, pasta, rice, potatoes, and alcohol. While one can have dairy products, only two servings of low-fat or non fat dairy are permitted during induction. Once the induction phase is over, and your carb cravings have waned, you can now begin to reincorporate some carbs back into the diet. However, most foods are still banned, but things like pasta can be had occasionally. This diet is maintained until you reach your target weight.

Now, South Beach is not as wonderful as Dr. Agatston would like for you to believe. In my opinion, any diet that includes a highly restrictive period that leaves people nutritionally unbalanced is not a good idea. Furthermore, most of the weight lost during induction turns out to be water weight, therefore disrupting the electrolyte balance and leaving you dehydrated. Lastly, the induction phase is a necessary stage, yet it is a nearly impossible challenge for many to go without grains, pasta, and fruit for two weeks. And for the uninitiated, this induction phase simply asks for too much too soon. So, Dr. Agatston’s heart appears to be in the right place, but one-size-fits-all diets like the South Beach Diet appear to be more trouble than they are worth.

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A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Popular Diet... The Basics Of The Low Carb Diet And How To Succeed With It Dieting is one of the favorite past times of many people today. But what then is the reason for such activity? Well, there are only two main reasons for dieting, the first is to lose weight, and the other one is to improve health, or even both. So today, those who are deformed and overweight are engaging in the low carb dieting for their better health and vitality. However, it is interesting to know that not only those who are deformed and overweight who are after the low carb diet. In fact, even those who are healthy and who are not overweight were able to maintain their vitality and health by following the basics of the low carb diet. The low carb diet is noted to have given great benefits to most of the people. In fact, the low carb diet is considered as the best diet fad that strikes at the true cause of obesity, high cholesterol, hypoglycemia, high blood pressure, and diabetes. With such effect that the low carb diet contributes, many doctors and nutritionists are now starting to recognize the nature about the low carb diet. Generally, the low carb diet has various versions. Among the well-known versions of the low carb diet include the Protein Power, Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, Neanderthin, The Carbohydrates Addict’s Lifestyle Plan, Life without Bread, and much more. It is then considered that all of these versions of the low carb diet have one thing in common, and that is a very strict diminution in the intake of carbohydrates. And this particular thing in common among these mentioned versions of the low carb diet is the main reason that they are considered as part of the low carb diet. Most of these kinds of diet largely replace the carbohydrates with fats and proteins. Even though the diet differ in their recommendations, it is very nice to recognize...