The South Beach Diet for Your Heart

The South Beach diet has been one of the most popular diets on the “popular diet” market for over four years. It quickly overshot the popularity of the Atkins diet quite possibly because while the Atkins diet advocates the complete restriction of carbohydrates from the diet, the South Beach Diet acknowledges that some carbohydrates are good for people.

Since its release, the South Beach Diet has inspired a wide variety of companion books, and recently Dr. Agatston (the creator of the South Beach Diet) has developed a version of the South Beach Diet that is designed to increase the healthfulness of the heart. It was only a matter of time, considering that Agatston is a cardiologist.

The new diet, the South Beach Diet Heart Program Agatston advocates the avoidance of trans fats (these come from the hydrogenated oil that is often used in fast food and some baked products), eating more fruits and vegetables instead of taking dietary supplements and eating more fish to increase the omega-3 fatty oil intake. Like the original South Beach Diet, the South Beach Heart Diet is divided into three phases with the first phase being the most restrictive.

There has been some controversy surrounding the book. Some doctors are very skeptical as to the overall healthfulness of the South Beach Heart Diet. The first phase is very restrictive of heart-healthy foods and that could prove disastrous for someone with a heart condition. What the book is good for is teaching people how the heart and cardiovascular system work. Learning how the cardiovascular system works is the first step to making sure you eat a heart healthy diet, whether you follow the South Beach Heart Diet or not.

Here are some background tips on the South Beach Diet:

South Beach Diet Recipe Tip #1

The South Beach diet is named after the South Beach area of Miami Florida and was developed by Arthur Agatston. Agatston, at the time the South Beach diet was developed, was a cardiologist who believed that people should eat carbs and fats… good carbs and good fats. A cardiologist advocating carbs and fats carries quite a bit of authority in the dieting world.

South Beach Diet Recipe Tip #2

Kraft Foods conducted a study of the South Beach diet. The study involved sixty nine research subjects who were studied over a three month period of time. The research study backed up the information that was found by Agatston, who did his own study of the effectiveness of the South Beach diet a year prior to the Kraft Foods study. The results of both studies were favorable.

South Beach Diet Recipe Tip #3

The South Beach diet promotes eating habits that are low in “bad” carbs and “bad” fats. Examples of the good and the bad of each food category can be found in the South Beach diet books.