Have you ever wondered what are the best overall diets? Here is our top review of the 5 best diets overall available today to help you achieve your weight loss goal.
You know, dieting is always on our minds. If healthy eating was one of your goals this year, then it may be time to rethink your eating habits. While fad diets will come and go, some tried-and-true healthy eating plans, the best diets, can help get you on the right track.
World Report and U.S. News evaluated and ranked 41 diets. For a diet to qualify as a top-rated plan, it had to be safe, nutritious, simple to follow, and well-known for weight loss. The regimen also had to be proven to help prevent heart disease and diabetes.
A List of the 5 Best Diets Overall
- Mediterranean diet.
- DASH diet (tied for No. 2).
- The Flexitarian diet (tied for No. 2).
- WW (formerly Weight Watchers).
- MIND diet (tied for No. 5).
Top-Ranking 5 Best Diets
1. THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET
The Mediterranean diet received the top rank on the list. The heart-healthy diet, rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, and whole grains, is also high in healthy fats like olive oil, avocados, and nuts.
The researchers noted that the Mediterranean diet reduces heart disease risk and may have numerous other health benefits, including lower LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol, and a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer.
One of the studies published in the British Journal of Nutrition found following the Mediterranean diet reduced death from any cause by 25 percent. That is the reason why it is one of the Top-Ranking Best Diets for 2019 and Beyond.
2. THE DASH DIET
This Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet, also known as the Dash Diet, is designed to help manage blood pressure. Many experts believe it has many overall health benefits, which allowed it to capture the number two spot on the best diets.
The Dash diet emphasizes healthy food sources, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, poultry and fish, and legumes and nuts. It also limits red meat, sweets, and salt.
Research suggests the DASH diet, in addition to lowering blood pressure, may help reduce the risk of diabetes and fight depression. No wonder it made it to the list of The Top-Ranking Best Diets for 2019 and Beyond.
2. (Tie) The Flexitarian Diet
Flexitarian is a combination of two words: flexible and vegetarian. Dawn Jackson Blatner, registered dietitian, coined the term, Flexitarian, more than a decade ago in her 2009 book “The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease and Add Years to Your Life.”
Blatner recommends that you don’t eliminate meat completely to reap the health benefits associated with vegetarianism. You can be a vegetarian most of the time, but still, enjoy a burger or steak when the urge hits. When eating more plants and less meat, people who follow the diet will not only lose weight but can improve their overall health, lowering their rate of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, and live longer as a result.
To learn more about the Flexitarian Diet, click here
4. THE MIND DIET
The MIND Diet combines a few elements of two popular nutrition plans proven to enhance heart health: the Mediterranean and DASH diets. Moreover, the MIND mind stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay.
The Mind Diet, designed by researchers from the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, was explicitly developed for brain health. The study found that the diet may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by as much as 53 percent.
Researchers also found that those who moderately followed the diet reduced their risk of Alzheimer’s by about a third.
The diet plan features a wide variety of options, including fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, poultry, and fish.
5. THE WEIGHT WATCHERS DIET
The Weight Watchers diet gained fifth place. Experts say, although designed to help people lose weight, its focus on healthier living makes it a smart overall diet to follow.
The Weight Watcher Freestyle program, launched in 2017, builds off the SmartPoints system, assigning every food and beverage a point value based on its nutrition. The new program expands dietary options. The plan also involves in-person meetings or online chats designed to support those in the program and keep them accountable.
Conclusion:
Diets that lacked scientific evidence for health benefits or had a severe restriction of foods – including certain healthy foods were reasons for low scores.