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The Diet Wars-#3 The South Beach Diet

THE DIET WARS by JR Tillotson Our diet series, which began with the May, 2005 Villager, continues this month with The South Beach Diet, one of the most popular diets to come along in many years. The South Beach Diet In addition to weight loss, the goal of the South Beach Diet is to teach a new way of eating. Dieters stop counting calories or fat grams, stop weighing food portions and stop doing without satisfying food. South Beach Diet recommends 3 normal-size meals and 2 snacks per day, with meal plans designed to be flexible, so a dieter can enjoy variety, based on what looks good on a particular day. South Beach meals consist of healthy combinations of carbohydrates, proteins and fats--dishes that can be made by anyone with ingredients found at the grocery store. It's relatively easy to stick to this diet even if you eat out a lot. Created by cardiologist Dr. Arthur Agatston, South Beach works in phases, the first two for a specific timeframe and the third phase for life. Dieters are helped to understand and apply the principles of metabolism. A precept of South Beach is that low quality starches and sugars (junk foods) cause problems with your blood chemistry, making you perpetually hungry and likely to eat more than you need. According to Nicholas Perricone, MD, who advocates a similar regimen, "Our (American) focus on meat & potatoes, dairy products, refined carbohydrates and sugar addiction has made us the leaders in cancer, stroke and heart problems. We can also lay claim to being the most overweight nation on the globe." A major component of the South Beach Diet is the Glycemic (or GI) index, which ranks carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating. Low Glycemic Index foods (with numbers below 55), produce a small rise in blood sugar and insulin levels. Foods with GI index numbers between 55 and 70 are classed as intermediate-GI foods. High Glycemic Index foods have numbers above 70; these make our blood sugar and insulin levels rise fast. Research shows that low-GI foods can improve glucose and lipid levels, help weight control by controlling appetite and delaying hunger. A low glycemic diet prevents heart disease, reduces insulin levels and insulin resistance.  Success with the South Beach diet depends on choosing foods low on the Glycemic Index. The Glycemic Index is full of surprises--for instance, a baked potato has a Glycemic Index considerably higher than that of table sugar. On the other hand, pearled barley has the lowest GI of any grain. Good news: "free" foods-- those with fewer than 5 grams of available carbs in a 100-gram portion include raspberries, strawberries, snap beans, broccoli, celery, lettuce, cucumbers and many more. Find a list of "free" foods at http://www.mendosa.com/freefoods.htm In addition, if you go on the South Beach Diet, the plan recommends that you drink a minimum of eight glasses of water (or sugar-free decaffeinated beverages) per day, that you limit your daily intake of caffeine-containing beverages to one cup, that you take a multivitamin and mineral supplement daily with special reference to calcium--500 mgs for men & women under age 50, 1,000 mgs for women over age 50. The diet gets its name from a posh, ten-block stretch of one of the most talked-about beachfronts in the US. The beach is wide, white, and bathed by warm aquamarine waves. It is prime people-watching territory. The Internet is jam-packed with South Beach diet sites--many of them very commercial, so surf with caution Here are a few sites with useful information on the Glycemic Index-- http://www.mendosa.com/gidigest.htm http://www.weightlossforgood.co.uk/glycemic_index.htm http://www.diabetes.ca/Section_About/glycemic.asp http://www.weightlossforall.com/gly-index.htm http://www.carbs-information.com/glycemic-index.htm NEXT TIME: The Atkins Diet The opinions expressed herein are those of the columnist and are meant for informational purposes only. If you have questions about your health, you should consult your physician. Find the whole series of Diet Wars articles online at www.nyackvillager.com J.R. Tillotson, a writer, illustrator and long time river villager, welcomes comments and food questions from our readers.

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