Mediterranean ranked best overall diet
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U.S. News & World Report released its best diet rankings for 2020, and the Mediterranean diet was named the best overall diet for the third year in a row.
The Mediterranean diet was also ranked the best diet for patients with diabetes, the best plant-based diet, best diet for healthy eating, and the second best heart-healthy diet.
“The fundamentals of sustainable, healthful eating do not change every year, but the ways to get there, the range of variants on that common theme, and the most current evidence all do,” David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, FACLM, founding director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center and president of the True Health Initiative, said in a press release.
The rankings were determined after a panel of experts rated 35 diets in several categories, including likelihood of weight loss, safety and how easy it is to follow.
The DASH diet and the Flexitarian diet — a mostly vegetarian that includes occasional meat consumption — tied for the second best overall diet, with the latter receiving high ratings from experts for completeness and safety. The DASH diet was also ranked second best for health eating, third for heart-healthy diets, and tied for second best for diabetes.
Weight Watchers, ranked fourth for best overall diet, was named the best commercial diet and best weight loss-diet, with the HMR diet ranked the best fast weight-loss diet.
Healio Primary Care compiled a list of stories to provide readers with updates on these and other diets. – by Erin Michael
Mediterranean diet: What you need to know
The diet, with its high intakes of cereals, extra-virgin olive oil, fruits, leafy green vegetables, nuts and pulses/legumes, moderate intakes of dairy products, fish and other meats, and red wine, and low intakes of eggs and sweets, was first defined approximately 50 years ago by Ancel Keys, PhD, a physiologist who taught at the University of Minnesota, according to an article in Nutrients. Read more.
Heart-healthy diets associated with better cognitive function
Heart-healthy diets, such as the Mediterranean diet, that are rich in fruits and vegetables, moderate in nuts, fish and alcohol and low in meat and full-fat dairy in early adulthood were linked to better brain function in middle age, according to data published in Neurology. Read more.
DASH diet may lower risk for preeclampsia
Pregnant women who had a greater adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH, diet were less likely to develop preeclampsia, a presentation from Nutrition 2019 suggested. Read more.
Intermittent fasting comparable to conventional diets for weight loss
Intermittent fasting is equivalent but not superior to continuous calorie restriction for reducing weight, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Read more.
Ketogenic diet causes ‘remarkable’ effect in patients with diabetes
The ketogenic diet lowered blood glucose and HbA1c levels in patients with diabetes, according to study findings presented at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo. Read more.
Disclosure: Healio Primary Care was unable to confirm Katz’s relevant financial disclosures prior to publication.