The Best Diets of 2013
January 15, 2013 14 Comments
U.S. News & World Report has taken on the challenge of ranking the best diets for the last three years. How do they do it?
They take out a dartboard and some index cards.....no, that is how I choose what to wear every day.
Actually, they convene a panel of experts, mostly from top colleges and universities, and ask them to rate 29 popular diets. Registered Dieticians and researchers took a hard look at all the data about efficacy and health and chose the DASH diet at the best diet for overall health.
Never heard of it? Yeah, I hadn’t either. Seems my inbox is flooded by diets like Slim Fast, Medifast, and Green Coffee Extract.
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) was developed by....wait for it......the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a division of the U.S. government. That’s right people, your tax dollars at work. The best part is you can get FREE guides to the plan here: DASH pdf and DASH overview.
I know you can afford this diet. It was not originally designed for a weight-loss diet but researchers have found that it helps with both losing pounds and cardiovascular health. I call this a Win-Win. The second best diet on the list was also developed by NIH (National Institutes of Health), the TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes) diet.
When I asked Angela Haupt, editor of Health+Wellness for U.S. News & World Report, why there were many non-profit diets on the top of the list, she said it was easier to find research on these diets that weren’t sponsored by a company and the non-profit diets tended to follow FDA guidelines.
The winner for the best weight-loss diet was Weight Watchers, though DASH will still work for weight loss. The experts didn’t like the cost, but they did like the flexibility to shape your own diet.
Angela was surprised by a common theme of the top diets on the list, “These top diets all are easy to follow, tasty, filling, and have no stringent requirements. You can have alcohol in moderation, and there is plenty of eating throughout the day.”
I guess the idea that you have to eat only cottage cheese and hamburgers to lose weight is out.
Check out the entire list here: US News Best Diets and let me know what you think of it.
I was able to find a book about the DASH diet (see Amazon link below). It was written by a Registered Dietician trained in the DASH diet.
Other posts you might like:
Weight Watchers 360°: What’s New in 2013
Weight Watchers has launched a new product for 2013. How is it different?
Green Coffee Bean Extract - Your Diet Pill Savior?
Do you wish you could take a pill and all the extra pounds would just melt off your body? Join the club....
The DASH Diet Action Plan: Proven to Boost Weight Loss and Improve Health (A DASH Diet Book)
$26.00 $14.99 Buy on Amazon.com
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
