Cardiologist, Arthur Agatston created the South Beach Diet in 2003 and detailed his nutrition program in his best-selling book, "The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss." The South Beach Diet, contrary to the title of the book, is not medically designed, rather a commercial weight-loss program. It is premised around minimizing carbohydrate consumption and deriving the majority of daily calories from lean meats, proteins and good fats. During the first phase of the diet, you are only obtaining approximately 20 g of carbohydrates per day, which is only 10 percent of your daily calories. The Institute of Medicine recommends deriving 45 to 65 percent of your calories from carbohydrates. During the second and third phases of the program, you only increase your carbohydrate consumption to approximately 27 or 28 percent of your daily calories.
Ketosis
Ketosis occurs when your body is not able to break-down fats. Fats that are partially broken-down are called ketones. Ketones will remain in your body and build up if you are not consuming enough carbohydrates. Your body uses carbohydrates to break down carbohydrates and prevent ketones from harming your body. Ketosis can result in weakness and feeling light headed. Other risks of ketosis include nausea, dehydration, kidney stones, dizziness and irritability.
Diabetes Risks
If you suffer from diabetes, you should use caution and consult your doctor before limiting your carbohydrate intake. Low carbohydrate intake decreases the amount of insulin released in your body resulting in low blood sugar. When your blood sugar gets low a healthy, quick way to bring it up is by consuming carbohydrates or sugar, both limited on the South Beach Diet. Blood sugar levels remain low on the South Beach Diet which is dangerous for diabetics and can even be a concern for people who don't have diabetes.
Low Energy
According to MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health, your body uses carbohydrates as energy. When carbohydrates enter your body your pancreas releases the hormone, insulin to convert carbohydrates to glucose, or blood sugar, to use as energy. Your liver and kidneys store any extra blood sugar for later energy use. You vastly limit your consumption of carbohydrates throughout the South Beach diet, particularly during phase one. You may notice a drop in your physical and mental energy on the South Beach Diet.
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