The South Beach diet is a very different dietary plan which is often wrongly linked to Low fat and carb diets. This basic clarification is the primary concern we have to consider. Instead of limiting fats and carbohydrates in general, it ascribes to good fats and carbohydrates, favoring unsaturated fats and omega3 rich fatty acids over trans-fats and saturated fats and consumption of carbohydrates that take more time to break down. So it isn’t a low fat or carb diet but a smart carb and fat diet.

Designed by cardiologist Arthur Agatston and dietitian Marie Almon originally to prevent heart disease, their patients found that the weight loss the diet induced was evident and rapid and word quickly spread about the program. Dr. Agatston focused on the effects of carbohydrates that were rapidly digested into glucose in inducing hunger pangs and elevated insulin levels that resulted in low blood sugar levels. To solve this problem, they planned a diet that focused on carbohydrates that weren’t quickly broken down so that instead of fast and voluminous introduction of sugar to the bloodstream, the carbohydrates were slowly and gradually broken down.

Because of this premise and its reliance on the Glycemic Index, a rating mechanism of carbohydrates based on how rapidly they are digested and converted to glucose established in 1981 by University of Toronto doctor David Jenkins, the South Beach Diet occupies a niche in the world of diets that it calls all its own. Broken into three phases, the plan gets less restrictive as the patient progresses.The initial phase excludes a few higher-glycemic vegetable, fruits, sugars and processed carbs. This stage has drastic weight loss and eliminates the hunger cycles. The second stage allows for a little whole grains and most fruits and veggies. Stage three is more of a way of life rather than a diet regimen, it involves understanding the principles of the South Beach Diet which is good fats and carbs.

More than general-opinion assumptions on the South Beach Diet, understanding how and why it works will be more beneficial to people looking for a long-term health oriented dietary regimen and not a three-month fad diet. The more recent erroneous associations to low fat and carbs diet overshadow the science and healthy benefits behind the South Beach Diet. The South Beach Diet is not a lose-weight fast promise, the weight loss is simply a by product of heart disease prevention dietary planning with a corrective and not exclusionary nutrition focus.

This is definitely a great diet plan to consider, not only for weight loss, but for excellent long term health as well. In fact, it is one of the best diet plans available on the market today.

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