As a practicing cardiologist Dr Arthur Agatson was getting more and more frustrated when his patients failed to lose weight. They were faithfully following the standard, low-fat American Heart Association diet on his advice, with no results. He noticed that, not only didn’t they lose weight, but their blood chemistry did not improve. The results he was looking for was an increase in HDL (good cholesterol) and a decrease in LDL (bad cholesterol). Eventually, he developed a new diet specifically for his patients, which later became the basis for his best seller book, The South Beach Diet, which was first published in April 2003. The South Beach Diet was on the New York Times best seller list for more than 96 consecutive weeks, and in excess of 8.5 million copies have been printed. The book was listed as #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list for 38 weeks.

Like many other so-called “low carb” diets, the South Beach Diet assumes that many of us are addicted to carbohydrate-rich foods. The South Beach Diet is very similar to the Atkins Diet. They are so similar that many people believe the South Beach Diet is just a revised version of the Atkins Diet. The first phases for both diets are designed to get rid of the body’s addition to carbohydrates. Where the Atkins Diet has four phases, the South Beach Diet only has three, with a single phase replacing the second and third phases of Atkins. The last phases of both diets, again, are very similar. Since greater variety of foods are introduced earlier on in the South Beach Diet Plan, dieters tend to lose weight at a slightly slower pace than those on Atkins, but many find the South Beach Diet easier to follow because it is less restrictive.

This diet focuses heavily on balancing the blood sugar levels, and as such, the Glycemic Index plays a very important role in this diet. The Glycemic Index is a ranking system for carbohydrates based on their effect on blood sugar. On the South Beach Diet, carbohydrates are selected using the Glycemic Index tables; the lower the ranking the better. This also leads us to one of the South Beach Diet’s major differences from the Atkins diet. The South Beach Diet allows most carbohydrates (preferably only those high in fiber, like multi-grain bread and wild rice), while these products are typically just too high in carbohydrates for an Atkins follower, even on the maintenance phase.

Another area where the approaches of Atkins and Agatston differ quite drastically is on the healthy intake of fats. Atkins followers are encouraged to ingest saturated and monounsaturated fats in the first phase, and then gradually reduce the saturated fat content of meals during later phases as more carbohydrates are introduced. Dr. Agatston advocates mostly monounsaturated fats, like those found in olive oil, nuts and oily fish like salmon, throughout his diet. You will not find butter, bacon or anything fried in the South Beach meal plans, whereas they are positively encouraged during the first Atkins phases.

One of the benefits of the South Beach Diet over many of its competitors is that Kraft Foods entered into an alliance with Dr Agatston. Together they launched a whole range of South Beach Diet convenience products, which covers breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and even snacks. Examples of the convenience food on offer include breakfast cereal, meal replacement bars, frozen pizzas and frozen entrees. Dr Agatston once stated “My goal is to help change the way America eats, and these great-tasting, nutrient-rich products from Kraft are convenient, making it easier for people to follow The South Beach Diet – whether for a healthy lifestyle or weight loss.”

As with many of the other popular diet books on the market, it is very difficult to find specific scientific proof for the South Beach Diet. Some aspects of the diet may have been scientifically studied and reviewed, for example the benefits of monounsaturated fats, or the benefits of regulating your blood sugar. In general though, it is safe to say that the South Beach Diet is based on sound principles, and can offer you a well-balanced and sustainable way of life.