If you're intent in losing weight or you simply want to eat healthier in 2014, it might help you to check out the rankings of 32 of the most popular diets out today. U.S News & World Report has released for the fourth time its annual Best Diets rankings, a collection of diet analyses that were reviewed and rated by a panel of nutrition and health experts.
According to these experts, the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) is the best diet plan overall. It outscored other plans in terms of healthiness and likelihood to prevent diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. "It's the most nutritionally complete," says Angela Haupt, health & wellness editor for U.S. News.
The panelists also named Weight Watchers as the best diet for weight loss and the easiest diet to follow. The Mediterranean diet, on the other hand, claimed the top spot among Plant-Based Diets and ranked number 3 among Best Diets Overall following TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Change), which ranked number 2. Paleo diet, the most searched diet plan on Google for 2013 tied with the Dukan diet in the last place.
"Best Diets 2014 is designed to help consumers identify a diet that suits their specific needs, whether they are trying to lose weight, control a chronic disease or achieve a healthier lifestyle overall," said Haupt. "We assembled top experts and developed the tools and rankings to provide a resource for the thousands of Americans struggling to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle."
The panelists are nutritionists and physicians who specialize in diabetes, heart health and weight loss and rated the diet plans in terms of their weight-loss and disease-fighting potentials. Diets were ranked in eight categories namely Best Diets Overall, Best Weight-Loss Diets, Best Diabetes Diets, Best Heart-Healthy Diets, Best Commercial Diet Plans, Best Diets for Healthy Eating, Easiest Diets to Follow and Best Plant-Based Diets.
The best overall plan, according to the experts are the following: DASH Diet, TLC Diet, Mayo Clinic Diet, Mediterranean Diet, Weight Watchers, Flexitarian Diet, Volumetrics, Jenny Craig, Biggest Loser Diet and Ornish Diet. For the full list, the Best Diets ranking is available on the U.S. News website.
