South Beach Diet Foods To Avoid

When starting a diet, the first question most people ask is "What can't I eat?" It's a valid question. After all, how many of us have deprived ourselves of one thing or another to lose weight?

Since the South Beach Diet aims to resolve a condition known as insulin resistance (the inability of your body to properly process fuel, fats or sugar), it focuses on foods with a low glycemic index. The glycemic index measures how much a certain food increases your blood sugar. The higher the food indexes, the more it will contribute to your weight gain.

By using the glycemic index as a guide, emphasis is not put on eliminating certain food groups as much as it is put on regulating your blood sugar levels by eating foods that are slowly absorbed into your system. A good rule of thumb is that whole is always better than sliced which is better than mashed or pureed and much better than squeezed. The reason is the more processed a food, the less fiber it contains. Fiber does the essential job of slowing down your body's absorption of food. For example, eating an apple is not the same as drinking apple juice.




A whole apple contains the majority of its fiber in its skin which slows your body's absorption of the apple's natural sugars. Remove the fiber, juice the apple and your body quickly absorbs the apple's sugar directly into your blood stream.

So, what foods have a lower glycemic index? Typically, foods that are more acidic or have higher fiber or fat content score lower on the glycemic index. (Remember lower is better.) Foods to avoid are highly processed. A good example is bread. In the process of making white bread, grains are stripped of all fiber (unlike whole wheat or whole grain bread).

The South Beach Diet also asks that you avoid low-fat prepared foods (with the exception of dairy) since the fat is normally replaced with sugar. However, this doesn't mean that you should eat as much fat as you want. The diet emphasizes lean proteins and fish, low-fat dairy products (since sugar is usually not added to them) and mono- and polyunsaturated fats such as olive oil, canola oil and peanut oil. The occasional treat is allowed, as long as it is done in moderation.

As you are on the diet, you will notice how your body reacts to different foods. Not everybody is the same and, in addition the diet's guidelines, you will develop your own sense of which foods to avoid and which foods you can enjoy more often.

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