For the seventh year in a row, the Mediterranean eating style has won the title of best overall diet, according to the 2024 rankings announced by US News & World Report.
The Mediterranean diet also ranked first in the categories of easiest diet to follow, best family diet, best diet for healthy eating and best diet for diabetes, healthy eating for bones, joints and heart, the report said.
The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) took second place for best diet, with the MIND diet (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) taking third place on the list of 30 diets.
All three main diets are plant-based, focusing on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and seeds. The award committee made up of 43 nutrition experts evaluated the vegan diet for the first time, which won third place in the best plant-based diets . Other recently evaluated diets for 2024 included the Dukan diet (28 of the 30 best diets overall); the Herbalife Nutrition diet (29 out of 30 diets); HMR (Health Management Resources) (21 of 30 diets) and its sister brand, Profile Plan (19 of 30 diets); and the Plantstrong diet (formerly Engine 2), which ranked 15th in the best overall diet category.
“The world of diet and nutrition can be overwhelming and full of misinformation and inaccurate health claims,” Gretel Schueller, chief health editor at US News & World Report, said in an email. “That's why US News does the legwork for its users, gathering information from nationally recognized medical and nutrition experts to determine which diets rise to the top in terms of nutritional completeness, ease of following and promoting a healthy lifestyle long-term.”
What is the Mediterranean diet?
Studies have found that the Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, dementia, memory loss, depression and breast cancer. The eating plan, which is more of an eating style than a strict diet, has also been linked to stronger bones, a healthier heart and a longer life.
The diet features simple, plant-based cuisine, with the majority of each meal focused on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and seeds, with some nuts and a heavy emphasis on extra virgin olive oil.
Fats other than olive oil, such as butter, are rarely consumed, if at all, and sugar and refined foods are reserved for special occasions. Red meat is used sparingly, usually just to add flavor to a dish. Consumption of healthy, oily fish, packed with omega-3 fatty acids, is encouraged, while eggs, dairy and poultry are consumed in much smaller portions than in the traditional Western diet.
Social interactions during meals and exercise are basic pillars of the Mediterranean style of eating. Lifestyle changes that are part of the diet include eating with friends and family, socializing during meals, mindfully eating favorite foods, and engaging in mindful movement and exercise.
Ranked last by experts
Last place on the list of 30 best overall diets went to raw food diet which recommends eating foods that have not been “cooked, processed, microwaved, irradiated, genetically modified, or exposed to pesticides or herbicides,” the report said.
While these attributes may seem healthy, the diet is nutritionally overly restrictive and may be unsafe for some people, according to US News & World Report. In fact, cooking some foods “allows for more variety and increases your intake of protein and other essential nutrients,” said Dr. Vanita Rahman, an internal medicine physician and clinical director at Barnard Medical Center in Washington, DC.
“The safest and healthiest way to enjoy raw foods is as part of a whole, plant-based diet rich in raw fruits and vegetables and cooked lentils, beans, grains and vegetables,” Rahman said in the website review.
The popular ketogenic diet It ranked 25th overall, but won first place in the best quick weight loss category, according to the report. However, experts say the diet, which requires limiting carbohydrates, is too restrictive to follow for long. “I see a lot of people doing keto when they want to lose weight and then abandoning keto when they can't do it anymore.
This diet is difficult to follow, and many people are not actually (following a diet that is) ketogenic, but low carb,” said nutritionist and speaker Amanda Sauceda in a review on the US News & World Report website.
People with heart, liver and kidney problems and certain types of cancer should not diet, the report noted. Children who have not been advised by a doctor to lose weight, pregnant women and high-performance athletes should also not follow a ketogenic diet. A 2023 review of studies found concerns that staying on keto for more than two years could cause cognitive decline, nutritional deficiencies, kidney stones, heart disease and muscle loss.
Source: CNN Brasil
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