You may have been following different diet plans all your life, but what is the right plan to follow ? Whats the best diet plan to follow ? Every year we face different weather changes, a slightly different environment, and water challenges as well. Thus, we need to modify our diet plans every year and so should we follow them.
A panel of Health Experts on behalf of U.S. News and World Report revealed the top-rated diets for the year 2018 and which will best suit our health this year.
It has been estimated that only in the United States, more than 45 million people follow various diet plans, weight loss being the primary motive of each plan they follow.
However, whatever the motive is, either to lose weight or to gain better health effects, sticking to a single diet plan for 6-months or all over the year can really be challenging. It could either be hard to follow too. And also, among so many food items, how can you tell which one of them may work for you?
U.S. News and World Report put together a panel of health experts every year to let people know about the most trending foods every year and which suits their health best.
For the year 2018, health experts assessed 40 diets ranking them from lowest to highest in 7 categories, also including the best diets for weight loss, diabetes, and heart health. So, we are here to let you have a look at them and may follow the one that suits your health best.
The Best Diets for Weight Loss:
The most of us tend to follow the diet plans that will let us lose some pounds at the end of the day but sticking to it and keeping the weight off is far from easy.
Researchers have observed that approximately 30-35% of the weight loss from such diets plans ultimately gains you that much weight again after a period of 1 year. But, at the same time, it is possible to keep the pounds off only if you find a right eating plan throughout the year.
The U.S. News and World Report panel of experts evaluated 40 popular diet plans for their effect on both short and long-term weight loss diet plans. They noted that some of the people quickly wants to get rid of their excess pounds while others want to lose. Some of the best weight-loss diets are as follow:
Weight Watchers :
The health experts rated Weight Watchers as the best diet plan on both hands scoring 4 out of 5 for short-term weight loss, and 3.5 out of 5 for long-term weight loss.
Weight watchers have been known to offer one of the best running commercial diet plans that are based on a point system. Now, what does it mean? It means that they have assigned points to foods and beverages based on their nutritional values and dieters are assigned a daily points allowance.
According to U.S. News and World Report, the expert panel has admired the plan by saying, “appreciated the program’s support system, which helps dieters keep pounds off. “
Volumetrics Diet :
The Volumetrics diet made possible to rank at the second place among the best weight-losing diets, scoring 3.8 out of 5 for short-term weight loss and 3.3 out of 5 for long-term weight loss. According to Barbara Rolls, who is a professor of the nutrition working at Pennsylvania State University in Center Country, the volumetrics diet focuses on assigning foods with a low-energy density such as low-fat milk, grains, and non-starchy fruits and vegetables to its followers and thus limits high-energy density foods.
The Best Diets for Heart Health:
Heart diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, mainly in the U.S. killing around 610, 000 people every year.
One of the contributing factors to heart disease is your diet, definitely. As eating the food that is high in calories/fat will lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and obesity which are all major risks to heart-related problems.
Now, what is the best diet plan to follow to avoid any heart disease? For this purpose, the experts analyzed all the 40 diet plans and rated them according to their health effects on the heart.
DASH Diet :
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) ranked first in this category. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), this diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, poultry, and low-fat dairy and also it limits the use of high-caloric food such as saturated and trans fats, sugar-rich foods etc.
The Mediterranean Diet :
This diet plan emphasizes consuming fish, and seafood at least twice a week, alongside regular consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. It ranked second on the list of diet plans that are healthy for heart along with Ornish Diet. In this diet, fat is limited to 10% of daily calories, and foods are divided into five categories from least to most healthy for the heart.
The Best Diets for Diabetes:
The Mediterranean Diet:
The same Mediterranean Diet not only ranked high for the best heart-healthy diet but also did so for the diabetic patients. It scored 3.7 out of 5 for those suffering from Diabetes.
According to an estimate, 30.3 million people in the U.S. have diabetes wherein the blood has high levels of sugar/glucose due to inability to produce or effectively use insulin.
Although, a healthy diet should be a part of everyone’s life people with diabetes need to be extra cautious about their diet plans. If they do miss a meal or overeat something it may be problematic as it consequently leads to a low or high sugar level in the body, respectively.
According to the panel, “The Mediterranean diet is a great option for preventing or controlling diabetes. Some research has shown that diabetics on a Mediterranean diet may improve their levels of hemoglobin A1C, a measure of blood sugar over time.”
While the DASH Diet ranked second on the list of best diets that help with Diabetes. The experts noticed that it menu fills all the nutritional values of those with diabetes.
Whatever diet plan you chose according to your health conditions, it is always recommended to keep an eye on your physical activity too as it is not merely the food that does matter to your health.
According to current guidelines, the adults should engage themselves in at least 150-minutes of moderate intensity or 75-minutes vigorous-activity aerobic exercise every week.
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