What are the Top Diets of 2024?
At the start of each new year, people often make resolutions to lose weight or change their diet, yet knowing which are healthy can be challenging. U.S. News & World Report’s Best Diets rankings provide valuable guidance. 43 experts evaluated 30 diets and awarded ratings to each. Considering the Best Diets in 2024 can significantly aid individuals in making informed choices for their health and wellness.
Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean Diet, topping the charts for six years, is considered the healthiest. Best diets In 2024, it’s linked to lower risks of heart disease and dementia. This diet involves whole foods, lean proteins, whole grains, healthy fats like olive oil, and limited red meat. You can even enjoy moderate alcohol.
Following it is easy, says Karadsheh. You can fit it into your routine with minor changes, like adding salads or veggies to meals and having more fruits as snacks. It’s flexible and helps with weight loss by not restricting daily calories.
Ranked second for heart health, the DASH diet addresses hypertension by reducing sodium and promoting a balanced intake of fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. It caters to vegetarians, vegans, and those requiring gluten-free options.
DASH Diet
This diet helps to Stop Hypertension, one of the best diets for overall health and blood pressure reduction. This diet comes under large portions of vegetables, fruit, and whole grains while strictly no added sugars, meat, and full-fat dairy products; using herbs and spices
CES instead of salt for flavor enhancement; such as an omelet with low-fat yogurt for breakfast; then salad with lean proteins, whole grains, and low-fat cheese for lunch; then finally grill chicken, and squash with beans for dinner!
This plan can help reduce high blood pressure, prevent or control diabetes, and promote potassium, calcium, and magnesium-rich foods that will lower serum uric acid levels for those suffering from gout – painful inflammatory conditions that all benefit.
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet wasn’t intended to aid weight loss, but many find that following it helps them shed pounds as they switch out high-calorie processed foods for healthier vegetables and fruits that contain lower caloric counts and are lower in saturated fat, thus helping lower heart disease risk.
MIND Diet
U.S. News & World Report ranks healthy diets as part of its annual review, ranking MIND diet #4 on their Best Diets Overall 2024 list. A group of nutrition specialists, which includes dietitians registered with Franciscan Health, examined the impact of every diet on both physical and mental well-being.
The MIND diet is a simple plan designed to promote mental wellness without strict restrictions or drastic diet restrictions, making it the ideal diet for anyone wanting to enhance mental wellbeing, improve memory recall and reduce dementia risk. Created by researchers at Rush University in 2015, it offers low risks of weight gain or high blood pressure – perfect for anyone seeking Alzheimer’s disease prevention! For more information or assistance starting the journey contact Franciscan Health’s registered dietitians to begin your MIND diet journey today.
Mayo Clinic Diet
Unlike many diets that require extensive time and effort to stay on track, the Mayo Clinic Diet was created for life. With meal plans, recipes, and tools like habit trackers to help stay motivated on track – as well as its support community – this diet offers something suitable for daily life.
This weight-loss program is grounded in nutrition research and emphasizes consuming nutritious food that makes you feel full while encouraging physical activity. “This comprehensive approach to weight loss can improve overall health while decreasing disease risks,” according to Kennedy.
Other diets that ranked highly include the DASH diet – known for combatting high blood pressure – and the Volumetrics diet, which encourages you to consume more satiating whole foods. Both these diets tied for second place behind keto.
Atkins came in third and Flexitarian was fourth on our list. Diets that require drastic food group restrictions, necessitate drastic lifestyle changes, or rely heavily on processed shakes or meal replacements didn’t rank nearly as well (This article contains affiliate links; for our disclosure policy please read below.).
Noom Diet
Noom provides an individualized plan and daily calorie budget designed to help you lose weight. After signing up, you will complete a questionnaire about your goals, eating habits, and exercise regiment – plus, scan food labels and track physical activity! Once complete, the program will assign you an approximate target weight according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
Noom stands out by not banning foods or placing any “off limits.” Instead, food is organized based on color categories and recommended according to its calorie density; green foods (such as vegetables and fresh fruit) tend to have the least caloric intake and provide plenty of essential vitamins and nutrients; yellow or orange colored items ( such as potatoes and oils) have more caloric intake but less nutritional benefit compared to green ones; while red food ( such as sweets and chips ) typically has high calorie counts with no real nutritive benefit.
Although Noom does have some drawbacks, such as its cost and lack of attention paid to behavior change, it remains an excellent way for those ready to commit to losing weight and building healthy habits to do so. Before beginning this program, however, it’s wise to consult a registered dietitian to ensure your calorie goals are suitable and that you aren’t following an unsustainable diet plan.
Ornish Diet
Dean Ornish, MD created The Ornish Diet as a low-fat vegetarian diet focused on whole foods that eliminate processed sugar, limit animal protein consumption and encourages the consumption of healthy fats like vegetable oils to help reverse heart disease and diabetes. Although this diet claims it can do this successfully, long-term adherence requires extensive social support as well as costs involved with maintenance.
This diet recommends cutting back on red meat while permitting fish and poultry. It also limits high-fat dairy consumption and restricts carb consumption; with its primary purpose being heart disease prevention. Weight loss may also occur with this plan despite its vague guidelines.
U.S. News & World Report recently named the Ornish diet number nine on their 2024 Best Diets list, making up part of an encompassing program known as Ornish Lifestyle Medicine which also emphasizes fitness, love and support as well as stress management to enhance overall quality of life. You can learn more about how you can start following it here; as with any new eating plan however, consult a healthcare professional or registered dietitian first before beginning this one.
Vegan Diet
The vegan diet excludes any food containing meat, fish and dairy. Some individuals follow this lifestyle for ethical or environmental reasons while others do so for health benefits. A high-fiber vegan diet has been found to reduce risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other health conditions significantly; plus it provides plenty of protein from vegetables beans and whole grains!
Vegan diets may be challenging to follow due to animal products found in processed food products; however, evidence supporting their effectiveness is overwhelming: observational studies have linked vegan diets with reduced obesity and heart disease rates while randomized controlled trials demonstrate they can improve markers of blood sugar control while decreasing total cholesterol.
Start right by searching online for vegan recipes and meal plans, such as those found at Forks Over Knives blogs or websites or foodies and influencers on Instagram and TikTok who share vegan meal prep and recipes. Making gradual transitions will be simpler – just remember to plan and make healthy substitutions wherever possible!
