Don't Eat The Sugar

It's lunchtime at a famous New Orleans eatery, not where you'd expect to find anyone trying to diet, but CBS News Correspondent Elizabeth Kaledin found a couple, Stacy Salamone and Mark Rosenbohm, who have lost 20 and 70 pounds respectively while still indulging in the foods they love.

In this city famous for it's gastronomic pleasures...the sugar busters diet is on the menu. It's also the nation's hottest selling diet book .

The theory is that sugar is toxic: the real reason Americans are getting fatter.

According to author and heart surgeon Dr. Morrison Bethea some foods high in sugar trigger the production of large quantities of insulin...insulin in turn helps the body store fat. The secret to losing weight then is avoiding foods that produce a lot of insulin.

Cakes and pies and cookies made with refined sugar are obviously avoided on any diet, but the Sugar Busters Diet vilifies many foods we always thought were good for us like bananas, baked potatoes and even carrots!

Though they seem healthy, even low fat, these foods are all carbohydrates that turn into sugar quickly in our bodies...so pasta and white rice are out...meat fish and dairy products are in.

"Sugar Busters is not a gimmick... It's not a quick fix. Sugar Busters is a nutritional lifestyle; for most people, it involves changing their dietary habits," said Dr. Bethea.

Critics of the book, like obesity expert Dr. Louis Arrone, say it's yet another fad diet that puts too much emphasis on one food group.

"Do I think we eat too much sugar in the United States? Yeah, I think people are eating too many calories as sugar and saturated fat, but there's no evidence that sugar is toxic," said Dr. Arrone.

The authors say it's simply about making better choices and, for Stacy and Mark, it really worked. But nutritionists warn that dieting is hard work, and no one book holds the answer for everyone.

Reported by Elizabeth Kaledin