The U.S. News & World Report has just released the annual assessment of this year’s best diets, and there is also a separate ranking looking specifically at heart-friendly diets to help Americans make better choices with food and nutrition-related resolutions to better achieve anti-aging and health goals.
Not all diet plans are nutritious and safe, this report should help you to accurately decipher facts of 40 popular diets and ranks them on a range of levels from safety to healthiness to the likelihood of weight loss. Each profile breaks down the diet to explain how it works, whether it will work or fall short, cautions on possible health risks, lists dos and don’ts, plus it says what it would be like to actually live following the diet.
“The ones that get high scores in safety and in nutritional value – they’re very similar to each other,” says Andrea Giancoli, a registered dietitian who serves on the U.S. News expert panel. The recurring theme across the diets that excelled in healthiness is adequate calories supplied by a heavy load of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains; a modest amount of lean protein, nonfat dairy, and healthy fats; and an occasional treat. Plants are the foundation, and the menu is always built around minimally processed meals made from scratch.
Their assessments on 40 diets are based on feedback from 27 different experts working in the fields of nutrition, diabetes weight loss, and heart health. Lists include Best Diets for Healthy Eating, Easiest Diet to Follow, Best Plant-Based Diet, Best Diet for Diabetes, Best Weight Loss Diet, Best Heart Healthy Diet, and Best Diet Programs among others.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Mediterranean Diet ranks as the No. 1 Best Diet Overall. The Mediterranean diet is among the most studied diets, and one of few (most of which are higher fat/lower carbohydrate diets) showing benefits on cardiovascular disease outcomes. The Mediterranean Diet also claimed the top spot in five other lists: Best Diets for Healthy Eating, Easiest Diets to Follow, Best Diets for Diabetes, Best Plant-Based Diets and Best Heart-Healthy Diets (tied for No. 1).
In addition to making a top-five appearance in Best Diets Overall, WW (Weight Watchers) continues to rank high across multiple categories, once again taking the No. 1 spot for Best Weight-Loss Diet (tied with the Flexitarian Diet and the Volumetrics Diet) and Best Diet Programs (tied with the Mayo Clinic Diet). U.S. News’ panel of experts agreed WW provides a customizable, community-driven, long-term strategy for weight loss.
Once again, the DASH Diet and Flexitarian Diet tied for the No. 2 spot on the Best Overall Diet ranking list. The MIND Diet took the No. 4 spot while WW (Weight Watchers) moved to No. 5, tied with the TLC Diet, Volumetrics and the Mayo Clinic Diet.
“Eating well to maintain a healthy body and mind is one of the most personal and necessary aspects of caring for oneself,” said Gretel Schueller, managing editor of health at U.S. News. “The U.S. News Best Diets offers information on nearly every major diet out there, as well as targeted categories so everyone can find the right diet for their specific needs.”
“The influence of diet on health across the life span cannot be overstated, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic where diet quality can impact outcomes,” said Dr. David Katz, president of True Health Initiative and former director of Yale Prevention Research Center. “While the themes of eating well for long- and short-term health are well established, there are many variants that allow for ‘personalizing’ the benefits of great nutrition, and there is no better source for the careful curating of those options than the U.S. News Best Diets report.”
To determine the rankings, U.S. News convened an expert panel of the country’s top specialists in nutrition, diabetes, heart health, and weight loss. Through an in-depth survey, 27 panelists scored 40 diets in seven areas, including ease of compliance, the likelihood of losing significant weight in both the short and long term, and effectiveness against cardiovascular disease and diabetes. To account for the ever-evolving nature of diet and nutrition, the U.S. News health team added Intermittent Fasting and Sirtfood diets to round out this year’s list. For further details on how the rankings were calculated, see the methodology. The U.S. News Best Diets rankings, paired with advice from a doctor or registered dietitian, can help Americans adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Alongside the 2022 Best Diets rankings, U.S. News offers extensive wellness content plus expert analysis tailored to each specific diet. A new addition this year is a seven-day email healthy eating course, featuring tips and tools from the U.S. News Health team to create a healthy eating plan.
U.S. News Best Diets Ranking For 2022:
- Mediterranean Diet
- DASH Diet (tie)
- Flexitarian Diet (tie)
Best Diet Programs (Formerly Best Commercial Diets)
- Mayo Clinic Diet (tie)
- WW (Weight Watchers) (tie)
- Jenny Craig
- Flexitarian Diet (tie)
- Volumetrics (tie)
- WW (Weight Watchers) (tie)
- Atkins
- HMR Diet (tie)
- OPTAVIA Diet (tie)
- Mediterranean Diet
- DASH Diet (tie)
- Flexitarian Diet (tie)
- Mediterranean Diet
- Flexitarian Diet
- MIND Diet (tie)
- Fertility Diet (tie)
- WW (Weight Watchers) (tie)
- Mediterranean Diet
- Flexitarian Diet (tie)
- Vegan Diet (tie)
- Mediterranean Diet (tie)
- Ornish Diet (tie)
- DASH Diet
- Mediterranean Diet
- Flexitarian Diet
- Vegetarian Diet
Eating healthy isn’t only about losing weight, it does not require schemes, gimmicks, fancy appliances, or a lot of money. All you really need to do is look at what you are eating and recognize what healthy food looks like, which is most often available fresh in nature, not prepackaged, processed, and in a take-out bag. This may not fit with today’s on-demand want of convenience, but if you really want weight loss and/or improved health you will need to adjust your lifestyle with a program that is sustainable for the long haul. This means maintaining a diet that is nutritious and delicious, it may take a bit of planning until you get the hang of it, but this commitment is well worth it and you deserve the best.
“A healthy diet is one that improves health and helps fight disease,” says Denice Taylor, a registered dietitian at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital in Arlington, Texas. “We know that there is not one diet that’s right for everyone, so it’s important to follow an eating plan that’s packed with tasty, healthy foods that keep your unique lifestyle in mind.”
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