Atkins Vs South Beach: My Comparison

[shawnee]

OK I've read South Beach very carefully all the way through & talked to lots of people who doing one or the other or have tried both. 1st yes Actually they're not that different . Here's my take on it. I pretty much believe people w/Blood Glucose problems do better on Atkins & people who have stable & normal Blood Sugar readings but bad Cholesterol isssues may do better with South Beach. Each of us is different so we need to monitor ourselves & see what works for us personally.

Both Atkins (Induction) & South Beach (Phase I) have almost identical two week introductory stages to kickoff weight loss based on 20 grams or less a day of carbs.

These are to be low glycemic, antioxidant & nutrient rich, fibre dense carbs (read green veggies for Atkins & for South Beach veggies, berries & selected fruits)

Later on in both plans you add 'blocks' (South Beach) or 'steps' (Atkins) of carbs until you find your equlibrium point. Personally if I am exercising daily I can go as high as 50-60 grams of acceptable carbs w/o gaining & if I drop back to 30-40 grams while exercising I will start losing again.

The main difference between the two nutritional plans is that Atkins uses high fat to smooth out the insulin surges of food consumption & later only adds back mre or less things like nuts & berries while South Beach adds back complex carbs like legumes (beans, lentils) Whole grain breads & selected fruits.

Both are vehemently against transfats which are molecularly rearranged oils (Hydrogenated Oils) to increase shelf life. Problem with the oils used in these 'frankenfoods' is they also stay in your arteries too. Recent studies show about 85% of arterial placque removed from blocked arteries is made up of transfat. Unfortunately these are found in almost all packaged foods to prolong shelf life & were, until recently, even being used to fry foods for fast food chains. So actually Grandma was right in telling you to eat fresh whole foods only.

My fellow Mods may not agree with me here but this is my conclusion & in my eyes the crux of the matter. ]Some people, especially those metabolically resistant to weight loss & w/severe blood glucose problems do better w/Atkins while other people, especially those genetically disposed toward elevated cholesterol do better on South Beach

Both are based on the same science, the relationship between carbs (particularly simple carbs) & insulin resistance & creation of fat (weight gain). Both agree that a low carb diet leads to weight loss for overweight & obese people & marked improvement in conditions like elevated Blood Glucose levels, high Blood Pressure & bad Cholesterol thus leading not only to weight loss but better overall long term health.

For those who feel South Beach is an Atkins ripoff I don't agree. What we have is two cardiologists who in trying to find an effective way to treat their patients reached essentially the same conclusions. Dr Agatston's account of how he reached the conclusion that high carbs were responsible for a lot health problems & his explanation of the relationship between carbs, insulin resistance, obesity & a host of other health problems is very well written (maybe even explained more clearly than by Dr A) & an interesting story. If anything his coming to almost the same conclusions as Dr Atkins while trying to solve the same problem (how to best help his heart patients) is in my mind a very good independent validation of Dr Atkins approach.

[Sara-me-o]

I think another thing that makes a difference is the types of food you prefer. I didn't stay with Atkins because I don't like heavier, fattier foods. I was really forcing myself to eat them. I much prefer South Beach. There are some fats, but not quite so much.