South Beach Diet
Encyclopedia
The South Beach Diet is a diet
plan designed by cardiologist Arthur Agatston
and dietician Marie Almon
as an alternative to low-fat approaches such as the Ornish Diet
and the Pritikin Diet advocated by the American Heart Association
in the 1980s. Although the original purpose of the diet was to prevent heart disease
in Dr. Agatston's own patients, in the early 2000s, word of the diet spread and quickly gained popularity as a means to lose weight.
The term "South Beach Diet" is a trademark of South Beach Diet Trademark Limited Partnership. A book, The South Beach Diet, was published by Rodale Books.
which led David J. Jenkins
to develop the glycemic index
in the early 1980s. When sugar enters the bloodstream, the pancreas secretes insulin which triggers cells to absorb it. Many years of introducing quick bursts of sugar would eventually result in cells becoming resistant to insulin. This resistance would leave sugar in the bloodstream longer which would then cause the pancreas to release even more insulin. This excess insulin would eventually drive blood sugar below normal levels. Jenkins (and others) discovered that, in addition to potentially causing diabetes, this effect would also produce cycles of hunger. Excess sugar consumption led to excess insulin which led to low blood sugar which led to hunger pangs which led to the consumption of more sugar.
Agatston postulated that patients on low-fat diets were eating no less food than they had been before they started the diet. They simply had compensated for the fat by consuming additional sugar and simple carbohydrates (which are rapidly reduced to sugar by the digestion process). This led to the cycles of hunger that Jenkins had described. As a result of this hunger, patients were consuming excess calories and gaining weight. Ironically, the attempt to reduce the risk of heart disease actually increased it.
Agatston was aware of the low-carbohydrate diet popularized by Robert Atkins
in the 1970s, but he feared that this diet would lead to too few carbohydrates, too much saturated fat, too little fiber, and a number of maladies including an increased risk of heart disease.
.
and discourages saturated fat
s. Although foods rich in these "bad fats" do not contribute to the hunger cycle, they do contribute to LDL cholesterol and heart disease. The South Beach Diet replaces them with foods rich in unsaturated fat
s and omega-3 fatty acid
which contribute to HDL cholesterol and provide other health benefits. Specifically, the diet excludes the fatty portions of red meat and poultry, replacing them with lean meats, nuts, and oily fish
.
, a holiday close to his heart. Others have built on this concept, allowing for the similar (but somewhat lesser known) "St Paddy's Day" exception.
. Many vegetables are permitted even in phase 1. Complex, fiber-rich carbohydrate sources such as brown rice and 100% whole grain bread are permitted during phase 2. Agatston has tried to distance the South Beach Diet from "low carb" approaches: "It is my purpose to teach neither low-fat nor low-carb. I want you to learn to choose the right fats and the right carbs." In fact, there is a vegetarian variation of the South Beach Diet which is relatively high in carbohydrates.
licensed the South Beach Diet trademark for use on a line of packaged foods called South Beach Diet. These have been renamed South Beach Living
. These products are designed to meet the requirements of the diet.
Dieting
Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated fashion to achieve or maintain a controlled weight. In most cases dieting is used in combination with physical exercise to lose weight in those who are overweight or obese. Some athletes, however, follow a diet to gain weight...
plan designed by cardiologist Arthur Agatston
Arthur Agatston
Arthur Agatston is an American cardiologist best known as the developer of the South Beach Diet, but also the author of many published scholarly papers in the field of noninvasive cardiac diagnostics...
and dietician Marie Almon
Marie Almon
Marie Almon is a registered dietician with a master's degree in nutrition. She is best known for her work on the South Beach Diet.-External links:* http://www.bestofweightloss.com/South_Beach_Dietitians.html...
as an alternative to low-fat approaches such as the Ornish Diet
Dean Ornish
Dean Michael Ornish, M.D., is president and founder of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, as well as Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco....
and the Pritikin Diet advocated by the American Heart Association
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
in the 1980s. Although the original purpose of the diet was to prevent heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
in Dr. Agatston's own patients, in the early 2000s, word of the diet spread and quickly gained popularity as a means to lose weight.
The term "South Beach Diet" is a trademark of South Beach Diet Trademark Limited Partnership. A book, The South Beach Diet, was published by Rodale Books.
History and theory
While Agatston accepted the prevailing wisdom among cardiologists that a low-fat diet would reduce cholesterol and prevent heart disease, he found that, in practice, patients had a difficult time sticking to the diet. To explain this failure, he turned to the scientific work with insulin resistanceInsulin resistance
Insulin resistance is a physiological condition where the natural hormone insulin becomes less effective at lowering blood sugars. The resulting increase in blood glucose may raise levels outside the normal range and cause adverse health effects, depending on dietary conditions. Certain cell types...
which led David J. Jenkins
David J. Jenkins
David J.A. Jenkins is a British-born University Professor in the department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto, Canada....
to develop the glycemic index
Glycemic index
The glycemic index, glycaemic index, or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more...
in the early 1980s. When sugar enters the bloodstream, the pancreas secretes insulin which triggers cells to absorb it. Many years of introducing quick bursts of sugar would eventually result in cells becoming resistant to insulin. This resistance would leave sugar in the bloodstream longer which would then cause the pancreas to release even more insulin. This excess insulin would eventually drive blood sugar below normal levels. Jenkins (and others) discovered that, in addition to potentially causing diabetes, this effect would also produce cycles of hunger. Excess sugar consumption led to excess insulin which led to low blood sugar which led to hunger pangs which led to the consumption of more sugar.
Agatston postulated that patients on low-fat diets were eating no less food than they had been before they started the diet. They simply had compensated for the fat by consuming additional sugar and simple carbohydrates (which are rapidly reduced to sugar by the digestion process). This led to the cycles of hunger that Jenkins had described. As a result of this hunger, patients were consuming excess calories and gaining weight. Ironically, the attempt to reduce the risk of heart disease actually increased it.
Agatston was aware of the low-carbohydrate diet popularized by Robert Atkins
Robert Atkins (nutritionist)
Robert Coleman Atkins, MD was an American physician and cardiologist, best known for the Atkins Nutritional Approach , a popular but controversial way of dieting that entails close control of carbohydrate consumption, emphasizing protein and fat intake, including saturated fat in addition to...
in the 1970s, but he feared that this diet would lead to too few carbohydrates, too much saturated fat, too little fiber, and a number of maladies including an increased risk of heart disease.
The diet
The South Beach Diet is relatively simple in principle. It replaces "bad carbs" and "bad fats" with "good carbs" and "good fats.""Good carbs" vs "bad carbs"
According to Agatston, hunger cycles are triggered not by carbohydrates in general, but by carbohydrate-rich foods that the body digests quickly, creating a spike in blood sugar. Such foods include the heavily refined sugars and grains that make up a large part of the typical Western diet. The South Beach Diet eliminates these carbohydrate sources in favor of relatively unprocessed foods such as vegetables, beans, and whole grains. Carbohydrate sources are considered "good" only if they have a low glycemic indexGlycemic index
The glycemic index, glycaemic index, or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more...
.
"Good fats" vs "bad fats"
Given that South Beach Diet was designed by a cardiologist, it should be no surprise that it eliminates trans-fatsTrans fat
Trans fat is the common name for unsaturated fat with trans-isomer fatty acid. Because the term refers to the configuration of a double carbon-carbon bond, trans fats are sometimes monounsaturated or polyunsaturated, but never saturated....
and discourages saturated fat
Saturated fat
Saturated fat is fat that consists of triglycerides containing only saturated fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids have no double bonds between the individual carbon atoms of the fatty acid chain. That is, the chain of carbon atoms is fully "saturated" with hydrogen atoms...
s. Although foods rich in these "bad fats" do not contribute to the hunger cycle, they do contribute to LDL cholesterol and heart disease. The South Beach Diet replaces them with foods rich in unsaturated fat
Unsaturated fat
An unsaturated fat is a fat or fatty acid in which there is at least one double bond within the fatty acid chain. A fat molecule is monounsaturated if it contains one double bond, and polyunsaturated if it contains more than one double bond. Where double bonds are formed, hydrogen atoms are...
s and omega-3 fatty acid
Omega-3 fatty acid
Nā3 fatty acids are essential unsaturated fatty acids with a double bond starting after the third carbon atom from the end of the carbon chain....
which contribute to HDL cholesterol and provide other health benefits. Specifically, the diet excludes the fatty portions of red meat and poultry, replacing them with lean meats, nuts, and oily fish
Oily fish
Oily fish have oil in their tissues and in the belly cavity around the gut. Their fillets contain up to 30 percent oil, although this figure varies both within and between species...
.
"Oktoberfest" exception
While normally the South Beach Diet does not allow consumption of any alcohol other than small amounts of red wine, Agatson (a native of Hamburg) was careful to include one notable exception, stipulating that any amount of beer or lager may be consumed during the celebration of OktoberfestOktoberfest
Oktoberfest, or Wiesn, is a 16ā18 day beer festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and is the world's largest fair, with more than 5 million people attending every year. The...
, a holiday close to his heart. Others have built on this concept, allowing for the similar (but somewhat lesser known) "St Paddy's Day" exception.
Phases
Agatston divides the South Beach Diet into three phases, each progressively becoming more liberal. "Phase 1" lasts for the first two weeks of the diet. It eliminates all sugars, processed carbohydrates, fruits, and some higher-glycemic vegetables as well. Its purpose is to eliminate the hunger cycle and is expected to result in significant weight loss. "Phase 2" continues as long as the dieter wishes to lose weight. It re-introduces most fruits and vegetables and some whole grains as well. "Phase 3" is the maintenance phase and lasts for life. There is no specific list of permitted and prohibited foods. Instead, the dieter is expected to understand the basic principles of the diet and live by the principles.Scientific studies
A 2004 study of the South Beach Diet by diet developer Agatston, et al., reviewed a 1998ā1999 trial completed by 54 participants over the course of a year. A 2005 study of the South Beach Diet conducted by Kraft Foods, makers of the South Beach Diet food line, was completed by 69 subjects over the course of just under three months. Both studies showed favorable results for the groups using the South Beach Diet.Confusion with "low-carb" diets
Many sources place the South Beach Diet on lists of "low carb" diets such as the Atkins Diet. While the diet does prohibit foods rich in simple carbohydrates such as white bread, white potatoes and white rice, it does not require dieters to forgo carbohydrates entirely or even measure their intake. Instead, it focuses on glycemic indexGlycemic index
The glycemic index, glycaemic index, or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more...
. Many vegetables are permitted even in phase 1. Complex, fiber-rich carbohydrate sources such as brown rice and 100% whole grain bread are permitted during phase 2. Agatston has tried to distance the South Beach Diet from "low carb" approaches: "It is my purpose to teach neither low-fat nor low-carb. I want you to learn to choose the right fats and the right carbs." In fact, there is a vegetarian variation of the South Beach Diet which is relatively high in carbohydrates.
Criticism
- In 2006, the Journal of General Internal Medicine published an evaluation of 42 nutrition and health claims made by the South Beach Diet book. The report found that only 33% of the claims made in the book could be confirmed by findings in the scientific literature, while 17% were not supported. Another 43% yielded "both supported and not supported" results, and 3 claims had no support for or against.
- Most criticism of the South Beach Diet lumps it (fairly or not) with "low-carb" and other "fad diets" and dismisses the entire set as "snake oil."
- Dr. Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, a diabetes researcher, questions the validity of the glycemic index, on which the diet is based.
- Cindy Moore, RD, a director of nutrition therapy at Cleveland ClinicCleveland ClinicThe Cleveland Clinic is a multispecialty academic medical center located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The Cleveland Clinic is currently regarded as one of the top 4 hospitals in the United States as rated by U.S. News & World Report...
and a former spokeswoman for the American Dietetic AssociationAmerican Dietetic AssociationThe American Dietetic Association is the United States' largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, with nearly 72,000 members. The American Dietetic Association is officially changing its name to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The announcement was made Saturday, September...
noted that the diet meets the important criteria for a healthy diet: it emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean protein while not omitting any major food group. However, she warns that phase 1 can throw the body's electrolyte balance off because most of the weight loss is water weight. - Anheuser-BuschAnheuser-BuschAnheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
produced a press release disputing Agatston's claim that beer has a high glycemic index due to its maltose content.
South Beach Living packaged foods
In 2004, Kraft FoodsKraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
licensed the South Beach Diet trademark for use on a line of packaged foods called South Beach Diet. These have been renamed South Beach Living
South Beach Living
South Beach Living was a low-carbohydrate line of foods from Kraft Foods that is based on the South Beach Diet.In 2004, Kraft Foods licensed the South Beach Diet trademark for use on a low-carb line of packaged foods called South Beach Diet. The line was renamed South Beach Living. These products...
. These products are designed to meet the requirements of the diet.