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The Mediterranean-style diet earned the title of best overall diet for the seventh year in a row, according to 2024 ratings released Wednesday by U.S. News & World Report.
The Mediterranean diet also ranked first in the categories of easiest diet to follow, best family-friendly diet, best diet for healthy eating, and best diet for diabetes, bone, joint and heart-healthy eating, the report said.
The DASH diet (dietary approaches to stop hypertension) took second place in the best diet category, while the MIND diet (Mediterranean-DASH intervention for neurodegenerative delay) took third place in the list of 30 diets. The top three diets are all plant-based and focus on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, and seeds.
The award committee, consisting of 43 nutritionists, evaluated the vegan diet for the first time, which came third in the ranking of the best plant-based diets. Other newly evaluated diets for 2024 include the Dukan diet (28th of the top 30 overall diets); Herbalife Nutrition diet (29 out of 30 diets); HMR (Health Management Resources) (21 out of 30 diets) and its sister brand Profile Plan (19 out of 30 diets); and the Plantstrong (formerly Engine 2) diet, which ranked 15th in the best overall diet category.
“The world of diet and nutrition can be overwhelming and full of misinformation and false health claims,” U.S. News senior health editor Shanley Chien said in an email.
“That’s why U.S. News does the legwork for its users by gathering information from nationally recognized medical and nutrition experts to determine which diets will come out on top for nutritional integrity, ease of following, and promoting a healthy lifestyle over the long term,” added Gretel Schueller. , managing editor of the health section at U.S. News & World Report.
Studies have found that the Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, dementia, memory loss, depression and breast cancer. A style of eating rather than a restrictive diet, the meal plan has also been linked to stronger bones, a healthier heart and a longer life.
The diet includes simple, plant-based cooking; The majority of each meal focuses on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and seeds, with a few nuts and extra virgin olive oil. Fats other than olive oil, such as butter, are rarely consumed, while sugar and refined foods are reserved for special occasions.
Red meat is used sparingly, usually just to flavor a dish. Consuming healthy, fatty fish full of omega-3 fatty acids is encouraged, while eggs, dairy products and poultry are consumed in much smaller portions than in the traditional Western diet.
Social interactions during meals and exercise are the cornerstones of the Mediterranean-style diet. Lifestyle changes that are part of the diet include eating with friends and family, socializing at meals, eating your favorite foods mindfully, and engaging in mindful movement and exercise.
The report states that the last place in the list of the 30 best overall diets is the raw food diet, which recommends consuming foods that “have not been cooked, processed, microwaved, irradiated, genetically modified or exposed to pesticides or herbicides.”
While these may seem healthy, they may be overly restrictive nutritionally and unsafe for some people, according to the U.S. News & World Report website. D., an internal medicine physician and clinical director of Barnard Medical Center in Washington, DC. In fact, cooking some foods “allows for greater variety and increases intake of protein and other essential nutrients,” Vanita Rahman said.
“The safest and healthiest way to enjoy raw foods is to be a part of whole foods, a plant-based diet rich in raw fruits and vegetables and cooked lentils, beans, grains and vegetables,” Rahman said in the website’s review.
According to the report, the popular keto diet ranked 25th overall but took the No. 1 spot in the fastest weight loss category. But experts say the diet, which requires limiting the amount of carbohydrates to about 20 per day, is too restrictive to follow for a long time.
“I see a lot of people go keto when they want to lose weight and then give up keto when they can’t. This diet is difficult to stick to, and many people actually follow a low-carb diet instead of a keto diet,” registered dietitian and panelist Amanda Sauceda said in a review on US News & World Report.
The report stated that people with heart, liver and kidney diseases and certain types of cancer should not diet. Children, pregnant women and high-performance athletes who have not been told to lose weight by the doctor should not resort to the keto diet.
A 2023 research review raised concerns that staying on the keto diet for more than two years could cause cognitive decline, nutritional deficiencies, kidney stones, heart disease, and muscle wasting.
Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified the source of a quote about false health claims.