This post is good for:

Anyone interested in learning more about various diet plans
Anyone interested in the DASH Diet, Mediterranean Diet or Flexitarian Diet

U.S. News and World Report has released it annual Best Diet list for 2021 and there are some usual suspects atop the list.

The Mediterranean Diet is, once again, the Best Overall Diet followed by the DASH Diet and the Flexitarian Diet which both tied for second. The Mediterranean Diet also earned top honors for Best Plant-Based Diet, Best Heart Healthy Diet, Best Diabetes Diet, Best Diet for Healthy Eating and Easiest Diet to Follow.

The Mediterranean Diet is universally accepted as one of the healthiest and easiest to follow as it incorporates produce, lean protein, olive oil, nuts, dark chocolate and wine. It is considered so good for you that a study at Spain's University of Barcelona found it so effective to protect against coronary heart disease that the study ended early because it was deemed "unethical to continue".

In my experience - it's a fun diet to follow because....wine and chocolate...obvs! The recipes are great and it can be customized for a variety of palates. At heart, the Mediterranean Diet is good, old-fashioned healthy eating.

SHOP MEDITERRANEAN DIET BOOKS

The DASH Diet had an eight-year run as the Best Overall Diet which ended in 2018. It was designed by the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute and is designed to prevent and lower high blood pressure. Weight loss is the nice bonus.

DASH stands for Diet Approaches to Stop Hypertension and focuses on incorporating produce, lean protein and whole grains into your diet. It also encourages capping sodium intake to 2,300 milligrams per day.

SHOP DASH DIET BOOKS

More About the Best Diets of 2020

According to the mag, "a panel of nationally recognized experts in diet, nutrition, obesity, food psychology, diabetes and heart disease reviewed our profiles, added their own fact-finding and rated each diet in seven categories: how easy it is to follow, its ability to produce short-term and long-term weight loss, its nutritional completeness, its safety and its potential for preventing and managing diabetes and heart disease."

There are actually nine lists:

Best Overall Diet: Mediterranean Diet
Best Commercial Diet (a program that requires a fee): WW (Weight Watchers) - "a smart, effective diet"
Best Weight Loss Diet: Flexitarian Diet - marriage between vegetarian and flexible. This is "a nice approach that can work for the whole family"
Best Diabetes Diet: Flexitarian Diet
Beat Heart-Healthy Diet: Mediterranean Diet & DASH Diet (tie)
Best Diet for Healthy Eating: DASH Diet
Easiest Diet to Follow: Mediterranean Diet
Best Plant-based Diet: Mediterranean Diet
Best Fast Weight Loss Diet: HMR Program - "the Health Management Resources Program is a weight loss system and lifestyle-change program designed to reduce calories via meal replacement with added fruits and vegetables, to reduce calories."