The South Beach Diet

Developed by cardiologist Arthur Agatston of Miami, The South Beach Diet is one of the more popular weightloss programs, originally intended to help the doctor's patients avoid or improve cardiovascular disease, with weight being a secondary aim.

What Is The South Beach Low Carb Diet?

Based on the idea that there are good and bad carbohydrates and good and bad fats, the South Beach diet does not require calorie counting and you are expected to eat until you are satisfied. However, you are restricted on what foods you can eat. Foods are also rotated according to their sugar content (the glycemic index).

'Bad fats', which are mainly saturated fats and trans fats, are to be avoided because of their alleged contribution to heart disease. This means replacing high fat meats and dairy products with lean meats, oily fish and olive oil.

'Bad carbohydrates', which are the quickly absorbed, high glycemic index carbs such as sugar and refined grains (white flour, white rice etc) are replaced with whole grains and high fiber foods - plus fruit in limited quantities.

This diet consists of three phases. South Beach Phase 1 - the Induction Phase - which lasts 2 weeks, is the most restrictive - excluding almost all carbohydrates from the diet, including such items as potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, and fruit.

Some people think this diet is a little like the Atkins diet in the beginning, but even though both diets were created by doctors, the South Beach diet tends to be the more heart-friendly version of the two. Since this first phase is the most restrictive, it is during this time that you could experience a very quick weight loss of about 8 to 13 pounds in just 2 weeks.

In the second phase, more foods are gradually added back into the diet. Phase 2 lasts until you meet your target weight, hopefully losing 1-2 pounds per week during this time. Phase 3 - the maintenance plan - is even more flexible, and is what you follow once you have reached your ideal weight, hopefully for life.

The South Beach diet encourages dieters to eat 6 times a day (3 meals, plus 3 snacks) and to eat more non-starchy vegetables.

Why Does The South Beach Diet Work?

In the first phases of the South Beach diet, you will probably go into a state of 'ketosis', much like you would on the Atkins diet. In the absence of carbohydrates, the body uses its fat reserves for energy - inducing ketosis.

After the first phase of the diet, more fiber will be added back to the diet, which is good for us. The standard American or Western diet often does not contain even the minimum of fiber. Fiber helps in our weight loss efforts because it is a bulky substance that is not easily absorbed by the body - it fills us up while containing very few calories.

So, although you are not consciously restricting calories while eating South Beach meals, you are likely to reduce your calorie intake automatically, just because you will be filling your stomach with bulky, low calorie foods.

By switching to a diet containing more vegetables, most people will likely have more of the essential minerals than they have in their diets already. Having more essential minerals in our diet also increases satisfaction so that we will stop eating sooner. Often, people overeat partly because on a high-fat diet, a huge number of calories must be consumed in order to get the nutrients they need.

Another factor that makes the South Beach diet work for many people is the fact that research has shown that eating frequent, smaller meals is often better for weight loss than restricting yourself to 2 or 3 meals per day.

Any Negatives To The South Beach Diet?

Although there are vegetarian options with this diet, strict vegetarians and vegans may find the first two weeks very difficult. The same may hold true for people who have a very active lifestyle, as there is not a lot of emphasis on exercise in this program.

Artificial sweeteners, some of which have health risks themselves, are accepted and even encouraged on the South Beach diet. But using them will keep you in the habit of having sweet tasting foods, so you are likely to still crave sugar and candy.

Switching from the standard Western diet to the South Beach diet will most likely increase your grocery bill, as healthy food tends to cost more. So replacing junk food with fresh vegetables will be more expensive, but you might save on items like candy and alcohol (a small amount of red wine is allowed in the later phases, but no more).

The South Beach diet has the reputation of being a celebrity-driven fad diet, but this is probably just the result of the name and the hype that has surrounded it. Overall this is one of the better, healthier weightloss programs that has worked for many people.

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The Raw Food Detox Diet

'Gourmet Raw Food' is a great new cuisine consisting of vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts and sprouts that are prepared in new and interesting ways. These are often healthier, more delicious versions of cooked dishes that you are probably familiar with, and their texture, flavor and heartiness is quite surprising.

Reportedly, the risks of such issues as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and others can be reduced, and in some cases reversed, just by omitting processed grains and sugars, animal-based foods, and most of the trans-fatty acids from the diet. The body can do amazing things when your internal environment is not laden with toxicity.

Though many people turn to a raw food diet rather than some of the other weightloss programs in order to lose weight, there are many others with normal weight who follow the diet because it is a more natural and healthy way to eat. There are people who consider cooked food to be unnatural.

But, whatever your beliefs are about a diet of raw foods, following a cleansing diet such as the raw food detox diet is almost certain to alleviate symptoms you may have such as mood swings, insomnia, indigestion, sugar cravings, fatigue, and problems losing weight, among others. Eliminating toxins by detoxification purifies the whole body, and the liver in particular, which is the body's filter.


Raw foodists claim that not only is a raw food diet extremely nutrient dense - affording you many times the nutrients you get from heated foods where most of the nutrients are destroyed - but that raw food contains no toxins.

As with many other diets out there, the raw food diet has many variations, depending on who you talk to. But for the most part, raw foodists seem to agree that heating any food above 118 degrees significantly reduces the nutrients in the food.

What Foods Are NOT Raw?

Determining the difference between foods that are eaten cold, and raw food, can be confusing to some people, so here is a run down of foods that are NOT raw:

• Bread or any other food that has been cooked before you bought it.
  
• Any food that has been pasteurized (including all dairy products unless marked raw or unpasteurized, all fruit juices unless freshly squeezed from the fruit, and almonds from California).
  
• Nuts that have been heated to extract them from the shell, even if marked raw (macadamia, brazil, cashew). Nuts in shells are usually raw, as are out-of-shell unroasted filberts (hazelnuts), peanuts, pine seeds and non-Californian almonds.
  
• Sugar, molasses, maple syrup, most commercial brands of honey.
  
• Oils, unless marked extra virgin.
  
• Nut butters and tahini, except from a specialist raw food supplier.
  
• Almost all canned and processed foods.
  
• Dried foods are raw only if they are dried at temperatures below 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius).
  

Some raw foodists eat foods that have been frozen, if safe, but others do not - citing that freezing breaks down the food in much the same way as cooking. Defrosted frozen fruit usually looks and tastes more like cooked than raw fruit.

Why Does A Raw Food Diet Work?

Most forms of a raw food diet are very high in fiber which leaves you feeling full with fewer calories, and as a result you will lose weight just from the calorie reduction. However, this may not be the case if you include a lot of high fat raw food in your diet such as nuts, seeds, avocados and coconut. If, after trying raw food you find that you are not losing weight, try reducing your consumption to 2 ounces (50 g) of nuts or seeds, or 1/2 an avocado per day.

Though the raw food community will argue that cooked food is unnatural and is harder on the body, causing weight gain and disease, whether you will actually lose more weight eating raw food than you would if you ate the same food cooked, is not known.

Negatives Of Raw Food Diet Explained

There are plenty of negatives with this diet. Nevertheless, people attribute some amazing health benefits to it including weight loss and overcoming depression and chronic fatigue, among other things.

• The raw foods diet is notoriously difficult to follow 100% on social occasions. And though you can normally ask for salad and fruit in a restaurant, you will likely have to take along your own food when visiting with friends.
  
  
• It can be difficult to meet nutritional requirements on this diet, and you will need to eat a lot of raw green vegetables, which some people may find unpalatable. You can however, blend many of your vegetables with fruit to make green smoothies, rather than trying to eat them all.
  
  
• The vegan diet, whether cooked or raw, requires supplementation of vitamin B12, and it may not be suitable for small children. Some versions of the diet are very high in fat, and this can be a negative factor depending on your medical history.
  
  
• If you have diabetes or problems with candida overgrowth, a high fruit diet may not be a healthy way to lose weight. A combination of high fruit and high fat is definitely to be avoided if you suffer from either of these medical conditions.
  
  
• Some foods, including kidney beans and their sprouts, and unpeeled potatoes are actually dangerous if eaten raw. Other foods, such as raw meat, can be deadly if it is contaminated, and unpasteurized dairy products could cause food poisoning and should not be eaten by pregnant women or anyone who is at risk.
  

Some vegetables contain natural pesticides which may be dangerous in high doses, but are destroyed or altered by cooking. The brassica family of vegetables including broccoli, cabbage, etc., falls into this category. However some people are big fans of raw broccoli, including it in their raw food diet because the natural pesticide in broccoli has been shown to protect against cancer in many research studies.

Whatever your medical history, it's always a good idea to talk with your doctor before embarking on any diet, including a raw food diet. Please visit our sister site - Carolina Health Notes - for more great weight loss tips.