DASH, TLC, Mediterranean: U.S. News Ranks Best And Worst Diets

U.S. News evaluated and ranked the 25 diets below with input from a panel of health experts. To be top-rated, a diet had to be relatively easy to follow, nutritious, safe and effective for weight loss and against diabetes and heart disease. The government-endorsed Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet snagged the top spot.

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Comments

[Lin M Eleoff]

08:08 PM on 01/09/2012

No diet's going to work unless you address the cause of the weight gain in the first place. Just saying'.

Thank you for the info... Glad to see DASH in no. 1 spot.

[structurehouse]

07:51 PM on 01/09/2012

The best diets are the diets that aren't diets at all-they're lifestyle changes. Gimmicks, drastic, restrictive plans, food choices that are too hard to maintain for the rest of your life-these are all setups for failure down the road. We're glad to see that the top ranked diets are those that promote healthy food choices, physical activity, and making changes people can stick to. Structure House was featured in Health Magazine a few years back as the #1 diet but wasn't featured in this article, so to check us out, visit our website at www.structurehouse.com or find us on Facebook and/or twitter if interested in a plan that teaches from a behavioral point of view. Ultimately we think as long as people are making informed decisions and on a plan that helps them identify WHY they use food outside of nutrition, and make changes to their lifestyle that they can stick to long-term, that's a diet that will set them up for success for the long haul.

[jacquelinenh]

11:16 AM on 01/09/2012

I am glad to see the DASH diet getting its due since it's probably the most un-faddish diet out there -- no diet doc guru or celeb endorsement, just the results of a long-term, no-nonsense medical study! Here's a good comparison of DASH vs. other types of diets (low fat/hi protein, etc.): http://www.womentowomen.com/healthyweight/popular-diets.aspx

[kabach]

05:52 AM on 01/09/2012

I am not very good at following diet plans so I think I will stick to what has worked for me before http://www.facebook.com/pages/Proactol-plus/273721892687288?sk=app_190322544333196

[JJHopkinsauthor]

04:18 PM on 01/08/2012

The original article showed a vote by readers who did each diet. They could vote yes if it worked and no if it didn't. In almost every diet the no votes far outnumbered the small number of yes votes. The experts ranked the "winners" but the voters said they don't work for most dieters. The Well Fed Dieter says our food has changed, additives in it cause false hunger signals and even an addiction to bad foods for many people. That's why you may lose weight short term but the cravings triggered by a hooked brain usually win out in the long run and the eating and weight comes back.

[NDBob]

12:47 PM on 01/08/2012

I'm surprised the HCG Diet is not in the rankings at all. I've researched and found both positive and negative recommendations about HCG. I've also had personal experience with family members who've been successful at losing substantial amounts of weight (30+ pounds) using it. I don't have any personal experience with anyone who has not been successful.

All that being said, I'm on the HCG Diet now. On Monday, 1/2/2012, my weight was 263. As of this morning, my weight is 251. I'm eating 500 calories per day, using the drops and losing weight. No side effects. So far, so good.

[nitza417]

07:55 PM on 01/08/2012

500 cals a day... not so good...

[Mary DiRoberto Christo]

12:53 PM on 01/09/2012

My husband and I also had success with Hcg. The 500 cal is temporary. It's not harmful for a short period of time.

[Wa marino]

12:25 PM on 01/08/2012

I find it interesting that diets like weight watchers, slim fast, Jenny Craig, and Nutrisystem are in the top. But the soo called experts rank all natural diets like the paleo diet at the bottom. So what this list says is that if you want to do a great diet, buy all the boxed, highly processed crap food made by these billion dollar diet companies. But a whole food all natural paleo diet, or a low carb diet, or even a vegetarian diet will hurt you. Soo stupid.