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Please give an Indian alternate to the South Beach diet?

Q: I am looking for a similar type of diet as the South Beach diet. Being an Indian, it is hard to follow the South Beach diet as the recipes are mainly Italian and American. I would appreciate it if you could suggest a book or any other source where I can get a diet programme based on Indian recipes.

A:The South Beach diet is one of several popular diet plans that are based on the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a ranking (0 to 100) of how different foods, when eaten alone, influenced glucose levels in the blood. The three-part diet consists of the following steps: • Phase 1. The plan starts with 2 weeks of avoiding bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, baked goods, sweets, alcohol, and fruit. Dieters are encouraged to eat normal-size portions of meat, poultry, fish, and seafood, accompanied by vegetables, eggs, cheese, and nuts. Dieters are told to expect to lose between 8 and 13 lb during phase 1. •Phase 2. Carbohydrates are gradually reintroduced in limited amounts. The plan encourages the selection of low glycemic-index food choices. Dieters remain in phase 2 until they reach their weight goal. •Phase 3. Carbohydrate intake is liberalized to a level that allows dieters to maintain their ideal weight. Normal-sized portions of all foods are encouraged, and dieters are urged to continue to adhere to the basic rules of the South Beach diet. The main safety concern is in the initial 2-week phase that induces ketosis. Risks associated with ketosis include loss of glycogen stores, dehydration, dizziness, heart palpitations, fatigue, lightheadedness, constipation, irritability, and electrolyte imbalance. Ketosis suppresses appetite, and can lead you to often think you're feeling fine until you try to exercise. This can be very dangerous for those with chronic illness, a history of heart disease, diabetes, or kidney disease, and those who are significantly overweight. In such cases it is a must to consult your physician before embarking on this program. The major deficiency of the South Beach diet is the absence of any significant mention of exercise. It only favours the quick appeal of ketogenic weight loss over a properly designed exercise prescription that can prove very dangerous. The South Beach diet is merely a diet trend or a fad diet, not really suited to the Indian diet, and not a long-term solution to good health. Fad diets have been around for decades. New ones surface regularly, and some older ones fall in and out of favour. And they don't really work. Besides, this diet is not easy to stick to long term. And although you may initially prefer eating the foods included in the low-carbohydrate diet plan, food choices are actually more limited and perhaps less appealing over time. If your goal is long-term health and appropriate body composition, the answer is simple, but not easy: Eat a sensible array of various foods and walk briskly for 30 minutes a day. Look beyond diet trends toward more important lifetime dietary goals. Be wary of diets that promise a quick fix or that sound too good to be true, Because if they are too good to be true, they probably are. Aim for a long-term plan — one that offers you a lifetime of tried-and-tested health strategies. Though traditional recommendations for weight management — eating a variety of vegetables, fruits and grains, and being physically active daily — may produce slower results, they're the scientifically proven path to improved health and lasting weight loss. Here’s a list of good books on nutrition that you can avail of locally: 1. Human Nutrition & Meal Planning by Sheel Sharma, Publisher: Jnanada Prakashan 2. Ayurvedic cooking for Self Healing By Usha Lad & Vasant Lad Paperback: 254 pages Publisher: Ayurvedic Press; 2nd ed edition (October 1997) ISBN: 1883725054 Included in this book are chapters on the principles of Ayurveda and individual constitution, maintaining one’s health, digestion and constitutional balance, the importance of proper food combing for optimal well-being, setting up an Ayurvedic kitchen and planning menus inclusive of every member of your family,More than 100 recipes of delicious Ayurvedic cuisine. 3. Ayurvedic Indian Cooking By Dr. Sunanda Ranade, published by International Academy of Ayurveda. 4. Dr. Dean Ornishs Program for Reversing Heart Disease: The Only System Scientifically Proven to Reverse Heart Disease Without Drugs or Surgery by Dean Ornish. This is not an Indian book but it is easily available and gives a balanced point of view. 5. Real Fitness by Dr Nadkarni 6. Reverence For Health by Dr Bhamgara 7. Nature Cure A Way of Life by Dr. S. R. Jindal 8. Nature Cure For Childrens Diseases by Dr. H.K.Bakhru 9. Diet Cure For Common Ailments by Dr. H.K.Bakhru 10. The New Fitness Mantra by Kiran Sawhney 11. How To Lose Excess Weight Permanently by Dr. R.H.Gandhi; Mrs. Anita R. Gandhi 12.The Banyan Tree Editor : Carol Huss

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