Weight loss diets: The South Beach Diet

By the name of it, one would think that The South Beach Diet is a brainchild of a fitness guru or a vacation enthusiast. Yet it has been developed by a cardiologist, Dr. Arthur Agatston, as an eating plan for cardiac patients aimed at reducing the level of insulin and cholesterol. It turned out that in some patients this diet would also produce weight loss. Still, the South Beach Diet allegedly places health first and shedding pounds second.

The general principles of the diet are simple. The carbohydrates you eat should be slow-digestible -- this reduces blood sugar spikes and diminishes release of insulin. The fats you eat should be mostly heart-healthy, such as monounsaturated fat (olive oil) and omega-3 fat (fish) -- this improves lipid profile. Simple sugars, easily-digestible carbohydrates (e.g. white bread) and saturated fat should be avoided.

In practice, the South Beach Diet has some complexities. It has three distinct phases:

Phase 1. This is the strictest phase: you have to eliminate virtually all carbohydrates. This first phase of the South Beach Diet resembles the Atkins diet, except it places much emphasis on consuming mainly heart-healthy fat. This phase lasts two weeks and typically produces at least a few pounds of weight loss.

Phase 2. You slowly add complex slow-digestible carbohydrates, such as whole grains, to the level that should allow the weight loss to continue at a modest pace. This phase resemble a simplified version of the Zone Diet.

Phase 3. This is the least restrictive phase that begins after you have achieved your desired weight. Slow-digestible carbohydrates should still be the main source of carbohydrates. Heart-healthy fats should remain the main source of fat. However, virtually any food can be added in modest amounts as long as spikes in blood glucose are kept to a minimum and saturated fat is not consume in excess. At least in theory, this phase could be sustainable in the long term. One can adjust the menu close to phase 2 patterns if any weight gain resumes.

By and large, the South Beach Diet is a sensible approached to dieting. Nonetheless, it does have drawbacks making it problematic for some people. This includes:

What about clinical studies? Is there any research to back the South Beach Diet? Some popular articles refer to clinical trials of the South Beach Diet yielding positive results. However, we have not seen any such trials in peer reviewed medical journals. There are similarities between phases 1 and 2 of the South Beach Diet and low-carbohydrate diets. The latter have been studied (see index of low-carbohydrate diet studies).

Bottom line

Among the numerous diets promoted to the public, the South Beach Diet is at the more sensible end of the spectrum. It stresses reducing insulin excess and improving lipid profile through low-glycemic food and heart-healthy fats. It is reasonably balanced, does not exclude any major food groups, and, in phase 3, is sustainable over the long-term. Its stated complete lack of restrictions on total intake of calories is somewhat unrealistic. For many people, reducing insulin excess will not be enough to achieve dramatic weight loss. Furthermore, please with normal insulin levels at the outset are likely to see little or no effect if total intake of calories remains unchanged. (In fairness, many, if not most, overweight people have some degree of insulin excess.)

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