US News and World Report just published its 4th annual “Best Diets” report. The DASH Diet ranked first; the Paleo Diet ranked last:
Best Diets 2014
Here is their panel of 22 experts who reviewed 38 diets. Recognize anyone?
Kathie Beals, Ph.D., R.D.
Amy Campbell, M.S., R.D., L.D.N. C.D.E.
Lawrence Cheskin, M.D.
Michael Davidson, M.D.
Marion Franz, M.S., R.D.
Teresa Fung, Sc.D., R.D., L.D.N.
Andrea Giancoli, M.P.H., R.D.
Carole V. Harris, Ph.D.
David Katz, M.D., M.P.H.
Penny Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., R.D.
Robert Kushner, M.D.
JoAnn Manson, M.D., Dr.P.H.
Lori Mosca, M.D., M.P.H, Ph.D.
Yasmin Mossavar-Rahmani, Ph.D., R.D.
Elisabetta Politi, M.P.H., R.D., C.D.E., L.D.N.
Rebecca Reeves, M.P.H., Dr.P.H., R.D.
Michael Rosenbaum, M.D.
Lisa Sasson, R.D.
Joanne Slavin, Ph.D., R.D.
Laurence Sperling, M.D.
Sachiko St. Jeor, Ph.D., R.D.
Brian Wansink, Ph.D.
The panel rated each diet in 7 categories:
- How easy it is to follow
- Ability to produce short-term weight loss
- Ability to produce long-term weight loss
- Nutritional completeness
- Safety
- Potential for preventing and managing diabetes
- Potential for preventing and managing heart disease
The winners:
- Best Diet Overall: Dash Diet
- Best Commercial Diet: Weight Watchers
- Best Weight-Loss Diet: Weight Watchers
- Best Diabetes Diet: The Biggest Loser
- Best Heart-Healthy Diet: Ornish Diet
- Best Diet for Eating Healthy: Dash Diet
- Easiest Diet To Follow: Weight Watchers
- Best Plant-Based Diet: Mediterranean
Of the 38 diets reviewed, 32 were ranked. Here’s a table showing the ranks of all 32 diets. I can’t put the whole thing here, but if you click the image it will take you to the whole list, along with links that describe each diet:
Fanatic Cook 
I think they were being safe here … Weight Watchers and the DASH diet. Safe, and maybe a bit beholden to some organization.
I like the plant-based diets. They reviewed 10 of them. Of those, I like the Engine 2 Diet. It focuses on the whole plant, instead of a processed derivative. It does away with processed oils, but for those calories you can eat more food … more fruits, vegetables, beans, rice, potatoes, squashes, nuts.
Another point … why wouldn’t a diet that’s considered healthy also be a diet that helps to prevent or manage diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, etc.? I didn’t think the categories were helpful, although it did allow some good diets to get attention that might not have, like Ornish’s and the Mediterranean.
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Call me dumb, but I don’t recognize any of the specialists’ names. I’m looking forward to digging into this and trying to make some informed judgments (with your help of course Bix!). Thanks
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I recognized a few … Drs. Katz and Penny Kris-Etherton, Amy Campbell, Brian Wansink. Wansink wrote the bestseller Mindless Eating.
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Aha!–the secret (“not-so-surprising,” they say) to the Mediterranean diet is an active lifestyle. Probably applies to some of the others too. That could be wrong, of course….
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Here’s yet another study on the Mediterranean Diet and type 2 diabetes: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/13/mediterranean-diet-for-diabetes/?nl=health&emc=edit_hh_20140114
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