CNN
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Gold medals piled up. For the sixth year in a row, the Mediterranean-style diet has taken the title of best overall diet, according to his 2023 assessment released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report. Diet from the sunny Mediterranean also ranked first in the Best Diets for Healthy Eating and Best Plant-Based Diets categories.
In two new categories added in 2023, the Mediterranean is associated with the cholesterol-lowering TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes) and the flexitarian diet, as the best family diet, and DASH (The Diet to Stop Hypertension). ) and the best bone and joint healthy diet.
“We’re always looking for health conditions that we can address, but often we don’t have enough scientific data to look at diet X and condition X,” said managing editor of health at US News & World Report. As one Gretel Schueller said: Annual diet ranking.
“But bone and joint health is an area with a significant amount of scientific literature,” says Schueller. “We also recognize that the population is aging, so focusing on diets that improve the quality of life of older people is an important factor.”
Also new this year is that only 24 diets were ranked, rather than about 40 diets analyzed over the past few years. Five of his diets from the original list—vegetarian, vegan, Nordic, traditional Asian, and glycemic index—were integrated by the judges into Mediterranean and other diets due to their underlying plant-based principles. rice field.
“The key message here is the realization that the Mediterranean diet is not just about foods around the Mediterranean,” Schuler said. can also be applied.”
That approach is reflected in two new meals — Keyto and Pritikin — these were added to the 2023 review, Schueller said. (Yes, it’s Keyto with a Y.)
“We recognize that more and more people are on a plant-forward or plant-based diet, or at least trying to do so,” she said. Considered to be a flexible, low-carb Mediterranean plan.
“Pritikin’s diet is fairly flexible, with an emphasis on eating low-fat, high-fiber whole foods,” she added. , I think this is great.”
Numerous studies have found that the Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, dementia, memory loss, depression, and breast cancer. It’s also associated with stronger bones, a healthier heart, and a longer lifespan.
The diet features simple plant-based fare, with the majority of each meal focusing on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and seeds, with some nuts and extra virgin olive oil. Fats other than olive oil, such as butter, are rarely, if ever, consumed, and sugar and refined foods are reserved for special occasions.
Red meat is used sparingly and usually only for flavoring dishes. Eating healthy, fatty fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids is encouraged, but eggs, dairy products and poultry are eaten in much smaller amounts than in the traditional Western diet.
Social interaction during meals and exercise is a fundamental cornerstone of a Mediterranean-style diet. Lifestyle changes that are part of your diet include eating with friends and family, socializing at meals, mindful eating of your favorite foods, and mindful movement and exercise.
Just like in 2022, DASH and the Flexitarian diet came in second for best overall diet. Similar to Mediterranean-style diets, these diets reduce or eliminate processed foods and stress over packing your plates with fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
While the DASH diet focuses on limiting salt intake in an effort to lower blood pressure, the flexitarian diet, as the name suggests, allows you to enjoy meat and poultry every once in a while.
A panel of 33 experts examined the top diets and ranked them in several categories. Was it evidence-based? You need food that is available in any supermarket. How easy was the meal preparation and did you use additional vitamins and supplements?
“We were more focused on quality than quantity,” says Schueller. “Our reviewers felt there were some wacky diets not worth your time, such as the Dukan diet, which we no longer rank.”
The worst diet award was given to the raw food diet of the year, which is at least partially due to lack of nutritional integrity, raising safety concerns among reviewers. Because followers can only eat unprocessed foods that have not been cooked, microwaved, irradiated, genetically engineered, or exposed to pesticides or herbicides, reviews have found this diet nearly impossible to follow. It is considered
The popular keto diet, along with the modified keto diet, ranked 20th out of 24 diets, followed by Atkins, SlimFast and Optavia. It ranks lower because it focuses on eating protein or high-fat foods, is very restrictive and difficult to follow, and eliminates entire food groups.
Despite keto’s low overall rating, reviewers named the keto diet number one among the best short-term weight loss diets, said Schuler, and these diets are not considered a healthy lifestyle. He quickly added that he did not.
“These are meals for people who have a wedding or other event they want to go to in the next few months,” she said. is not.
In the best (long-term) weight loss diet category, WW (previously called Weight Watchers) came in first, followed by DASH and TLC in second. The program took top honors, followed by NOOM and Jenny Craig.
Flexitarian and TLC shared gold in the easiest diet category, with Mediterranean and DASH diets coming in third.
The DASH diet won top honors as the best diet for heart health and diabetes, followed by the Mediterranean, Flexitarian and Ornish diets. It was invented in 1977 by Dr. Dean Ornish, founder of the Institute of Medicine.
The Ornish diet, combined with stress management techniques, exercise, social support and smoking cessation, is, according to Ornish, the only scientifically proven program to reverse heart disease without drugs or surgery. .
Is eating Mediterranean style one of your goals this year? Sign up for CNN’s Eat, But Better: Mediterranean Style newsletter. This newsletter is his eight-part series of expert-backed guides to a healthy, delicious eating lifestyle.
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