- Experts convened by US News & World Report suggest that the worst diet in 2023 is the raw food diet.
- They said the diet was overly restrictive, not evidence-based, and may lack essential nutrients.
- A healthy diet is flexible, easy to maintain over the long term, and emphasizes whole foods and plants.
US News & World Report’s annual diet rankings identified the raw food diet as the worst overall eating plan for 2023.
The diet includes only uncooked foods such as fruits and vegetables, sprouted grains and beans, and sometimes animal products such as raw fish and unprocessed dairy products. , or keto for short, took over the bottom spot in several categories.
Each year, US News & World Report convenes health and nutrition experts to identify popular diets based on factors such as overall health, how easy it is to follow, and potential for weight loss and disease prevention. rank the This year, they reviewed her 24 diets.
Raw foods tend to be lower in calories and protein than processed foods, experts say, so there’s no evidence of a benefit to cutting out cooked foods, which can be very restrictive and leave you hungry. That’s why we ranked the raw food diet the lowest overall.
As a result, it is difficult to maintain over the long term. Short-term diets can lead to temporary results, often for weight loss, but long-term healthy diets include eating strategies that can be maintained.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about how long you can keep doing this, how long can you keep doing this,” Schuler told Insider. , eventually returning to its original state.”
Experts say diet plans can backfire if there are too many restrictions
Diets with strict rules or cutting out certain food groups may seem to work, but they can be difficult to maintain and can be effective if stopped within a few weeks. It doesn’t last.
“The moment you feel overly restrictive or deprived, you jump off and you can’t keep doing that in the long run.
The panel of experts noted that other low-ranking diets are also overly strict, difficult to follow long-term, or exclude potentially nutritious food groups.
Other poor performers were commercial diets such as SlimFast and Optavia, which include the low-carb Atkins diet and highly processed shakes, bars, and supplements used to replace whole foods.
In contrast, top-ranked Mediterranean diets and other highly rated plans offer versatility, don’t exclude food groups, and are easy to adapt to different lifestyles.
“The top diets are the ones we’ve known for years to use a common sense approach to healthy eating, incorporate whole foods, and be flexible,” Schuler said. rice field.
The Keto Diet Slightly Tops This Year
For several years, it ranked as the worst diet for healthy eating, but the high-fat, low-carb keto diet this year ranked first for rapid weight loss and 20th overall.
In the last few years, evidence has emerged suggesting that keto and low-carb diets can help people manage their weight and blood sugar and can be made up of ways that include more nutritious foods and healthy fats.
“We found that if done properly, it could be done in a healthy way,” said Schuler. “Ask yourself what people are replacing carbs with. If it’s a healthy answer, it will make all the difference.”
Experts ranked the keto diet last for heart health. Cutting out carbs also means eliminating nutrient-dense foods such as fruits, some vegetables, and whole grains. Part of why experts ranked keto in the bottom five again this year.
But it doesn’t have to be your typical “dirty keto” diet full of butter, burgers and cheese, Dr. Mark Cucuzella, a professor at the West Virginia University School of Medicine who studies low-carb diets, previously told Insider.
He says examples of healthier keto-friendly foods include fat sources like olive oil, proteins like fish, low-carb fruits like berries, and leafy greens rich in nutrients. said.
Correction: January 3, 2023 — An earlier version of this article’s headline misrepresented the keto diet’s place in the latest US News & World Report rankings. I didn’t rank it as the second worst diet.
