What is the best diet to start 2020 on the right foot? It is one of the first doubts that arise at the beginning of the year after deciding that we want to adopt a healthier lifestyle. According to the ranking prepared by the US News & World Report, the one that accumulates a better score is the Mediterranean diet, followed by the Dash diet and the Flexitarian diet.
This report, which has been published for ten years, scores 35 different diets through the opinion of a panel of health experts. To earn a high rating, the diet in question must be easy to follow, nutritious, safe, effective for weight loss, and protective against diabetes and heart disease. Below we explain which ones occupy the first positions and what score they have obtained.
Mediterranean Diet
Good news. According to this influential Washington magazine, the Mediterranean diet is the best option to follow a healthy diet without difficulties and gives it a score of 4.2 out of 5. The report states that the majority of inhabitants of Mediterranean countries tend to live longer than Americans and suffer fewer diseases such as cancer or heart problems. The secret, they reveal, is an active lifestyle, weight control, and a diet low in red meat, sugar, and saturated fat and high in vegetables, nuts, and other healthy foods. They also claim that this diet offers many health benefits, including weight loss, good heart and brain health. and the prevention of cancer and diabetes, among others.
Dash Diet
In second place is the DASH diet, which gets a score of 4.1 out of 5. Promoted by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, this diet is often adopted to stop high blood pressure and focuses on eating of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy, foods rich in nutrients that lower blood pressure.
The DASH diet advises against eating foods that are high in saturated fat, such as fatty meats, full-fat dairy products, and tropical oils, as well as sugary drinks and sweets. It is based on a balanced diet and can be followed in the long term, one of the key reasons why nutrition experts rank it as one of the best in the world.
Flexitarian Diet
The flexitarian diet shares second place with the DASH diet for its emphasis on eating whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and plant-based protein. Basically, it can be defined as a vegetarian diet that occasionally allows you to consume meat or fish, hence its name comes from the word “flexible”.
The report explains that you don’t have to give up meat entirely to experience the benefits associated with vegetarianism. Among other qualities, the flexitarian diet helps us lose weight, enjoy better health, reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer and increase our life expectancy.
The Worst Ranked
The last places are occupied by the Dukan and Keto diets, both ketogenic diets. In these eating plans, fats are the main source of energy – they can account for 90% of our daily consumption – and the intake of carbohydrates is drastically reduced, which is why nutritionists do not recommend it lightly. However, the ketogenic diet is supported by scientific evidence in certain minority diseases such as GLUT-1 deficiency, PDH deficiency, or certain epilepsies, where it has been proven that following it improves the quality of life of patients.
You may also be interested in What you need to know to make homemade pasta
