The DASH diet remains to be the best overall diet for the fifth year, according to a list released by the U.S. News & World Report on Tuesday.
The DASH diet, or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, is based on research sponsored by the U.S. National Institutes of Health developed to lower blood pressure without medication. Meals and snacks are balanced with fruits and vegetables and foods that are high in protein and heart-healthy fats to quench hunger. It keeps the blood sugar at bay and helps to suppress cravings.
"The DASH diet has been our top diet overall for five years now and this is the fifth year we are evaluating and ranking diets," said Angela Haupt, senior health and wellness editor at U.S. News & World Report.
"Our experts, who rate these diets for us, say it will end up being very good for your waistline, in addition to your high blood pressure, because it is such a common-sense, balanced diet," she added in an interview.
But if you are looking for a diet to help you lose weight, then you might want to focus your attention on the Weight Watchers Diet, which sits at the top spot for diets designed for weight loss. This diet claims to help one lose two pounds per week. You can eat any food you want, as long as you stick within the recommended PointsPlus target, a number based on gender, weight, height and age.
The rankings released by the U.S. News & World Report are finalized by a panel of experts in diet, nutrition, diabetes, weight loss and heart health. Thirty-five diet plans made it on the list out of a possible 41 alternatives, according to WebMD Health News.
Runner-ups for the best overall diet of the year were the TLC Diet that promotes cardiovascular health, the Mayo Clinic Diet that is suitable for diabetes patients and the famous Mediterranean Diet that is based on high consumption of vegetables and olive oil.
