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The Dash Diet has been named the best overall diet by the US World and News Report for the third year in a row, beating popular diets such as the South Beach, Dukan and Paleo diets.
The TLC diet is in second place, whereas the Mayo Clinic, Mediterranean and Weight Watchers diets are tied in third place.
Each year, the US publication asks an independent panel of experts to rank diet plans to help consumers make informed decisions about nutrition. This year the panel evaluated 29 popular diets. The results were published on Tuesday in the Best Diets 2013 report.
“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 US World and News Report says.
Recommended for everyone
2013's Best Diet, the Dash Diet, was awarded top marks “for its nutritional completeness, safety, ability to prevent or control diabetes, and role in supporting heart health”.
Dash, an acronym for "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension", was originally developed by the National Institutes of Health (the US medical research agency) to fight blood pressure. However, it has proved to be so healthy over the years that it’s been recommended for everyone. (Besides lowering blood pressure, it also lowers cholesterol and reduces the risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney stones and diabetes.)
The Best Diets 2013 runner-up, the TLC diet, was also created by the National Institutes of Health. TLC stands for “Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes” and is particularly good at promoting cardiovascular health. It is described as a “very healthful, complete, safe diet”.
Besides the “Best Overall Diets” category, the US World and News Report also published several other listings including Best Weight-Loss Diets (winner: Weight Watchers), best diabetes diets (winners: Biggest Loser and Dash Diet tied in first place), Easiest Diets To Follow (winner: Weight Watchers) and Best Plant-Based Diets (winner: Mediterranean).
- (Birgit Ottermann, Health24, January 2013)
Read more:
The Dash Diet
Menu plan for Dash Diet
Using the Dash Diet in South Africa
