That distinction belongs to Arthur Agatston's (MD) South Beach Diet plan! The diet transcends the common thinking of calorie counting, much the way Atkin's books do. The main differences:
Atkins relies on a constant state of ketosis in order to lose weight. While this will in fact improve insulin sensitivity(provided the carbohydrate parameters are not exceeded). This is one of the things that makes Atkins so hard to maintain. While effective, many experts agree, the elevated blood ketones may have far reaching negative effects. There's no conclusive evidence that this will cause any long term damage, but the state of ketosis places a strain on the kidneys and liver!
Yes, there are positive effects on cholesterol and weight loss, but at what price?
Enter Agatston:
Dr Agatston is a world renowned cardiologist, who's pioneered many different procedures and tests. He looked at his patients diets and said "There's got to be a way to help these people through diet alone".
The South Beach Diet was the brainchild of this vision. It concentrates ONLY on making better food choices, such as carbohydrates with better glycemic scores, improving the glycemic score of other "bad" carbs with the addition of "good" fats. Adding fats to any meal actually slows the digestion of the macronutrients (others are carbohydrates and proteins).
The good fats are clearly outlined and mostly consist of monounsaturated fats, while there is a focus on polyunsaturates, while avoiding trans and saturated fats.
The diet does not present the same risks of liver and kidney damage, as the amount of fats is reasonable, unlike Atkins, where a huge protion of the diet IS fat.
The most ground breaking part of the diet is it's focus on whole (unprocessed) and raw foods. These foods require "work" to digest, improving insulin resistance AND burning calories through catabolism. Some of the foods actually have a lower net impact because of the mechanical (not via enzymes or gastric juices alone. The stomach MUST liquifyit's contents in order to get at all of the nutrients) digestion.
Fiber in whole foods increases tis effect, as the body must break them apart(so to speak) to get at the nutrients. The human digestive system is incapable of digesting fibers, making them a non-net impact carbohydrate (not effecting blood glucose, as other macros do)
That one facet is why the South Beach Diet is actually shown to decrease belly fat first, where other diets have no targeted loss.
Diabetics and cardiac patients alike can benefit from the lower blood glucose, improved HDL:LDL cholesterol ratio, just as everyone can benefit from all of the nutrient packed foods!
The snacks and meals outlined in the books are delicious, though a little costly.
The diet isn't that restrictive, in that you can eat many types of crabohydrates. This is key, as the diet doesn't leave you wanting more food all of the time.
I bought my copies of several of he books through Amazon used, so the investment is minmal (I don't now, nor ever have had a weight issue, but I compete in powerlifting and drop a bit to fit into my class. The dieary guidleines also make me healthier, while I can give my clients the very best of guidance.
Not one person that I have trained hasn't seen unbelievable results, while retaining muscle( I add extra protein, myself, as I have some clients do) and feeling better
