The highly plant-based Mediterranean diet is associated with stronger bones and heart, and better overall health.
If you are aiming to have healthier eating habits in 2020, the US News and World Report picked the Mediterranean diet as the most ideal.
According to Dr. David Katz, one of the 25 panelists, the third-time winner has met all the criteria for best diet: balance, maintainability, palatability, family-friendliness, sustainability, and healthfulness.
Originated from the Mediterranean region in Europe, the said diet is primarily plant-based with a moderate intake of fish and milk and a few portions of red meat. It also includes drinking red wine occasionally, most of the time during social events.
On top of that, it has a simple preparation which makes it easy to follow, said nutritionist Lisa Drayer, a CNN contributor.
The interest on the diet has started around the 1960s after multiple studies linked the diet to healthier hearts of Mediterranean people compared to the people in the United States Northern Europe. More research claimed that it is associated with a lower risk of dementia, breast cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Other sustainable diets
What comes after the Mediterranean diet are the DASH, Flexitarian, WW, and MIND diets. These top five diets were backed up with a series of research and not just fad diets that will eventually phase out, said Angela Haupt, managing editor of health at U.S. News & World Report.
The DASH diet, which stands for "dietary approaches to stop hypertension", is recommended by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to control hypertension. By eating more veggies, fruits, low-fat dairy and limiting the intake of salt and saturated fat, this diet can reduce your blood pressure in a few weeks.
The flexitarian diet also ranked second. Like the DASH diet, it emphasizes plant-based foods, but you are allowed to eat meat and fish occasionally.
The MIND diet, which stands for "Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay". Like what its name suggests, it is a combination of Mediterranean and DASH diet, and it aims to lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
If you are looking for a healthy program to lose weight, the fourth place, WW, is your best pick. The Oprah Winfrey-approved diet plan does not just provide complete nutrition but also gives emotional support for people who want to make a change.
Unfortunately, due to the growing popularity of the keto diet, WW's market shares depleted by at least 80 percent.
The Worst diet program
Thirty-five diets were ranked in the 2020 list, and the bottom ranks are keto diet and Dukan diet. Both aimed to deprive your body of carbohydrates to force it to undergo "ketosis", a metabolic state in which the body uses stored fats as its source of energy rather than the natural and acceptable carbohydrates.
Dr. Katz, who is also the founding director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, called keto diet "silly and unbalanced" which will lead to even faster weight regain.
But what makes it problematic is it deprives your body of healthy foods like fruits and legumes which might result in nutrient deficiency, said Christoper Gardner, another panelist who worked at Stanford Prevention Research Center.
The only reason it is popular is because of the short-term weight loss benefit. However, there is still no study that discusses the long-term effect on health.
The other three at the bottom are Raw Food, Atkins, and the Whole30 Diet. Like the keto and Dukan, they have high marks for weight loss but not on healthfulness.
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