Weight Loss & Diet Plans

The Sugar Busters! Diet

What the Experts Say About the Sugar Busters! Diet continued...

"Furthermore," Storey says, "the diet perpetuates the myth that your body can distinguish from sugars that are naturally occurring in food products and sugars that are added to a manufactured product. It can't. Even a high-fiber cereal such as Kellogg's All Bran has some sugar in it. We are all concerned about getting more fiber in the diet, so if adding a little bit of sugar to the food makes us eat more, that is great."

Theresa Nicklas, PhD, professor of pediatrics at the Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, says her main complaint about the diet is its claims about insulin resistance. "Diet does not cause insulin resistance," she says. "Insulin resistance is a medical condition that must be diagnosed by a physician. It isn't something that can be self-diagnosed by reading a book."

She is also concerned that the diet is too high in protein. "High protein diets increase calcium excretion," she notes. "Possible side effects include kidney and liver damage, fatigue, weakness, and irritability. Just why are people losing weight on this diet? Each menu averages a mere 1,200 calories. Just about anyone can lose weight on 1,200 calories a day."

Food For Thought

While you will lose weight on the Sugar Busters! diet, realize that it cuts calories -- and that you will lose weight on it primarily because of that. In addition, experts are critical of the diet's claims to control certain types of diabetes-related problems.