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Originally Posted by ssipes
The south beach diet is not totally unhealthy; from all research I have done it is one of the healthiest of the popular diet books out there. Many of us here who are healthy and managing our weight problems are essentially following the principles of the south beach diet. Sedonia
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Ahh, and your last statment there makes all of the difference. Following the "idea" of a diet plan versus the strict plan itself will make a difference. Many fad diets have aspects of them that are actually good ideas or pans to follow - cutting out fried foods, eating in moderation, increasing fruits and veggies, etc. Those are all good concepts to take on in a diet. However, when you place other restrictions o the eating habits of person and state "facts" that are not based in science, that's where the fad and unhealthful eating habits come in.
The South Beach diet is a walking contradiction. Telling people what they want to believe is part of the reason that the Atkins diet and the SOuth Beach Diet has become so popular.
Initiialy the athor of the south beach diet states that “the faster the sugars and starches you eat are processed and absorbed into your bloodstream, the fatter you get. However, the reall reason that you lose the weight (if you follow the diet to a “T”) is because it is a low calorie plan…average intake is about 1400-1500 calories per day…not because it promotes sugars that digest slowly.
The author also make some serious missteps in his writing the book and professionals have sighed over these mistakes again and again. The book purports portion size and exercise are not important initially and then later suggests such things as counting nuts and daily walks. For another example, early in the book he states that trans-fats are dangerous and need to be avoided, yet on page 54 he makes the outrageous claim that French fries and potato chips are healthier choices than baked potatoes because of the "fat in which they're cooked."
There is also a period in the diet where you are supposed to avoid all chocolate for some reason, but then in the recipes section for that phase, he recommends a recipe for fruit dipped in chocolate!
Also, the books says eggs, a big part of Phase 2, have no saturated fat but they do (1.5 g)
For you beer drinkers, the author wrongly targets beer carbs as being particularly bad, attributingthe problem to maltose. He says the high "glycemic index" of maltose in beer raises a person's blood sugar response, contributing to weight gain. But beer contains no maltose, and there is no published glycemic index for beer. In fact, the carbohydrate level of beer is too low to measure a glycemic index.