If you’re thinking about changing your lifestyle by eating something different to what you’re used to, here we give you the best and worst diets that US top nutritionists, dietary consultants, and physicians, have considered as the “most popular.” This list released on Wednesday suggests that there’s no better way to eat than having a well-balanced plate, with all five primary food groups integrated into only one meal.
This is not the first time that scientist accord that the majority of people should eat based on balanced plans. That is why our parents teach us since childhood to eat greenly and healthy. However, not all of us need to follow the same eating plan because we’re not the same and because we aim to different goals. This is why the U.S. News & World Report gathered the 40 most popular diets across nine categories and ranked them from the best to the worst of them all.
The experts included among the categories ease of compliance, the probability people have to lose weight at short or long terms, and how effective the diets are in front of chronic conditions – like heart disease and diabetes.
One thing that experts highlight is that a diet is not necessarily good or healthy depending on the level of popularity it has among people. There are a few of them that are deeply searched on Google, although they might generate the individual more damage than benefits.
The Mediterranean Diet and the DASH Diet, for instance, are on top of the list because they gather real food and reasonable, flexible guidelines. Angela Haupt, who’s the assistant managing editor of health at U.S. News & World Report, said that the Mediterranean Diet is “tasty, sensible and nutritionally sound,” and that there is great research that it “can help ward off or control a whole host of chronic diseases.”
“There’s a lack of good solid research on nutrition and diets in general, so it says something when a plan like the Mediterranean Diet is backed up with good solid research,” Haupt said.
What a diet should include
The Keto Diet and the Whole30 Diet, on the other hand, demand people to eat low amounts of carbohydrates, but high levels of fats instead. According to the doctors, restricting carbs can lead to a process called ketosis.
Haupt doubted the Keto Diet as “not sustainable” and the diet “of the moment.” Also, she said that this one could be a “pretty extreme plan” due to how much it restricts carbs from people. According to her, the experts say “it’s not necessary to be so extreme or restrictive.”
On the same line, Haupt commented that people shouldn’t “take seriously” a diet that recommends them to snack “bacon” because that is not a “health-promoting” way to eat.
Unlike those, the assistant managing editor commented that other diets help the public avoid health issues – like heart disease and diabetes.
There’s a large variety of plans from where people can choose what to eat if they follow plans like the DASH and Mediterranean diets. This flexibility allows them to pick what they most like, and feel more comfortable with their foods.
Include more and exclude less
Kelly Hogan, the clinical nutrition and wellness manager of the Mount Sinai Hospital’s Dubin Breast Center in New York City, said that both diets are very well constructed and that both are similar. They include fruits and vegetables of different colors, low-fat dairy, healthy fats, all the grains, lean proteins, and demands people to avoid processed, packaged or high-in-saturated-fats foods.
Hogan said that the DASH and Mediterranean diets don’t exclude “any foods or food groups.” She assured that is “really important” when it comes to how a “normal person eats in general.”
According to both Haupt and Hogan, diets like Keto indeed help people to lose weight quickly. However, it’s not healthy for them to maintain it for longer periods of time.
“These diets are so restrictive that of course you’re going to lose weight fast because you’re not eating enough calories to sustain basic activities of your body, let alone any exercise. That’s nothing that any person can sustain for the long term,” Hogan said. “The weight’s going to come back if you do lose any weight, and then it’s going to be harder to lose weight in the future.” – CBS News reported.
This list of diets comes in times when scientists have already adverted that the number of people suffering from obesity and diabetes in some states of the US keeps increasing, although in others has decreased.
Source: U.S. News & World Report